In 1901, a small church, 20 feet wide by 30 feet long, was built under the direction of Franciscan Father Hugo Kummer by Nelson H. Woods. The Franciscan Fathers took care of the mission parish along with other places along the Kansas Pacific and Rock Island railroad lines until 1909. By that time Rock Island had a spur to Colorado Springs and Father Godfrey Raber, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Colorado Springs, and his assistant were given charge of the mission parishes. In 1912 Father George Fenske was appointed pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Stratton and was also responsible for the Catholic communities in Burlington, Cheyenne Wells, Hugo and Limon.

In February 1913, Bishop Nicholas Chrysostom Matz of Denver appointed Father Alphonse Keiffer to the Stratton Parish with responsibility for all the missions. In May 1918, Father Keiffer moved from Stratton to the newly opened parish of Cheyenne Wells and was given the missions of Kit Carson, Hugo and Limon. Father Keiffer’s assistant, Father Michael A. Horgan, was appointed pastor of St. Anthony in Hugo along with the missions of Limon, Deer Trail and Strasburg in 1923. Three acres of land were acquired by Father Horgan, and he moved into a new rectory on Jan. 1, 1924. In August of that year the small church was moved to a site next to the new rectory, and a sacristy was added. In 1944, Father Horgan obtained a 24-by-86 feet building from the Civilian Conservation Corps, and had it moved near the church. Later on further improvements were made and the building remains as the parish hall.

In October 1945 tragedy struck St. Anthony when Father Horgan was fatally injured in an automobile crash. He was 52 years old and had been a priest for 28 years, having served 22 of them as St. Anthony’s pastor. In December 1945, Father John Scannell was appointed pastor. In 1947 Father Francis Pettit was appointed new pastor in Hugo and Limon and built a new church. The cornerstone was laid on Dec. 4, 1949, and the new church dedicated on Feb. 20, 1950. The cost of the church was $34,000. In October 1950, the Hugo Catholic Calvary Cemetery was plotted and fenced. The cemetery was started at the bequest of a man who left the property to the church suggesting that it be used for a cemetery.

In 1992, Vincentian Father Bill Rhinehart became pastor, ushering in a 10-year period when the Vincentian Fathers committed themselves to serving the parishes of eastern Plains. Father Jay Jung, another Vincentian priest, was appointed pastor and served the community from July 1999-2001. Father George V. Fagan, a former chancellor and judicial vicar for the Diocese of Colorado Springs, was appointed pastor in 2002. Benedictine Father Sijo George was named pastor effective July 1, 2025.

St. Anthony of Padua (1195–1231) was a Portuguese-born Franciscan friar celebrated for his profound theological knowledge, eloquent preaching, and devotion to the poor. Canonized less than a year after his death, he is a widely revered Catholic saint, famously known as the patron saint of lost items, travelers, and the elderly. 

Key Aspects of St. Anthony's History & Tradition

• Life and Transition: Born Fernando Martins de Bulhões, he initially joined the Augustinians but left to become a Franciscan in 1220 to follow a more radical, missionary lifestyle, taking the name Anthony. Born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1195, Anthony’s life was defined by a series of "divine detours."
• The Augustinian Scholar: He first joined the Augustinians, where he became an expert in Scripture and Latin.
• The Franciscan Shift: After seeing the bodies of the first Franciscan martyrs brought back from Morocco, he was inspired to join the Order of Friars Minor (the Franciscans) to become a missionary and martyr himself.
• Patron of Lost Things: The tradition of asking St. Anthony to find lost items stems from an incident where a novice stole his personal Psalter (book of psalms). Anthony prayed for its return; the novice not only returned the book but returned to the Franciscan order.
• The Vision of the Child Jesus
• The most common artistic representation of St. Anthony shows him holding the Infant Jesus.

This stems from an account where a benefactor, looking through a window, saw Anthony in a room bathed in light, cradling and conversing with the Child Jesus. This symbolizes his intimacy with God and the purity of his teaching.

Key Traditions and Devotions