Hoven’s “Cathedral of the Prairie” is visible for miles at night. It isn’t really a cathedral; just a prairie church. But Monsignor Anthony Helmbrecht, who presided over the Catholic parish for half a century, hoped one day Hoven might be a bishop’s home. Bishops have visited, and in the Jubilee Year of 2000, Bishop Robert Carlson declared St. Anthony’s Church a destination for Catholic pilgrims. But no bishop has resided in Hoven, and the Cathedral of the Prairie remains a small-town church — one of extraordinary beauty and grandeur. Photos by Dan Ray.
