Assumption Parish had its beginning 135 years ago, when our first limestone church opened in 1875. For around 20 years prior to this, missionary priests from Dubuque, Monti and Delhi served the Catholic families in the Manchester area. In the early 1900s, the original church was enlarged and faced with brick. Around 1938, the name of the parish changed to St. Mary. In 1960, a campaign was begun to build a larger church and new rectory with the old rectory becoming the convent. This new church boasts a 30-foot by 50-foot stain glass window showing various depictions of Mary. The first Mass celebrated in the new building took place on December 8, 1963. In 1994, a large gathering space was added to the church.

Other buildings on our campus include St. Mary School built in 1952, which began as St. Xavier School in 1891. A parish center was dedicated on July 22, 2007, connecting the church and school.

St. Xavier School started with 13 grades (kindergarten – 12^th in 1891) then went down to nine grades in 1938. The name was changed to St. Mary School in 1952, and changed to just six grades (1^st-6^th) in 1971, due to increased enrollment. Currently the school has approximately 153 students enrolled in grades junior kindergarten through sixth. A total of 15 principals have served our school. Originally St. Xavier School was staffed by the Sisters of Mercy of Cedar Rapids. The Sisters of St. Francis from Dubuque took over in 1940.

St. Mary Parish was a member of the very first cluster in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The Manchester Area Cluster was formed in 1998, by St. Joseph, Greeley; St. Mary, Manchester; and St. Patrick, Ryan. In 2005, the cluster was reorganized into the Blessed Trinity Cluster when Immaculate Conception, Masonville, became a member and the church in Greeley closed.

From our humble beginnings, our parish has grown to 1,093 families. (2011)