The first Mass offered by SSPX in the
Columbia-Centralia, Missouri area was in May 1979 at the Tiger
Hotel in Columbia, MO. Mass was then celebrated twice a month
on Monday evening. At this time the chapel was titled
Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel and there were about 20
parishioners.
In March 1981, the chapel’s temporary
premises moved to a permanent location on the northeast corner
of the Square in Mexico, MO, in the basement of a craft store.
The chapel now had the Blessed Sacrament reserved, Stations of
the Cross, and visits could be made anytime during the week.
On June 7, 1981 the chapel had its first Sunday Mass.
On December 19, 1982, due to the sale of
the craft store building, the chapel was forced to move to the
second floor of a ceramics shop called "The Mud Puddle" on the
northwest corner of the Square.
In 1991, the current property at 1200 N.
Clark in Mexico was purchased. The chapel was blessed on June
16, 1991 and dedicated as St. Mary Magdalene Chapel.
Priests of the SSPX, traveling from either
the priory in Kansas City, MO or St. Louis, MO, now service
the chapel every Sunday. In addition to the chapel, the
building complex consists of a bookstore, several classrooms
and a parish hall.
Recently, several improvements have been
made to the chapel, which included the erection of a large
cross on the roof peak, the installation of a grotto of the
Holy Family over the main entrance, and the addition of
stained glass windows.
The chapel seats about 110 people and is
usually 80-95% full for Sunday Masses, with regular
parishioners coming from surrounding towns as far north as
Quincy, IL and Macon, MO and as far south as Jefferson City,
MO.