In the early 1900s, Kansas City boasted a burgeoning population of about 160,000. Many developers thought the city would grow north of the Missouri River. But some, including a real estate developer named J.C. Nichols and the city’s first Catholic Bishop, John J. Hogan, foresaw a southward expansion. Nichols began buying land along the far edge of town, south of 47th Street, including part of a farm belonging to John and Elizabeth McDonald. Bishop Hogan envisioned continued growth of the Catholic population in this new residential area, and in 1909 he appointed John and Elizabeth’s son, Father Thomas McDonald, to serve as Visitation’s first pastor. Twelve families attended the first Mass in the parish at the McDonald family home on Sept. 5, 1909.
Bishop Thomas F. Lillis laid the cornerstone of the new Visitation Church on Sunday, June 6, 1915, and the dedication service took place May 6, 1917. The new church became available at a crucial point in time: three weeks prior to the dedication, America entered World War I. The building served as a place of comfort for many, as parishioners and residents of the neighborhood gathered to pray and make plans for the future. Throughout the war and thereafter, the number of families moving into the area continued to grow, as did Visitation. The rectory was completed in 1919. In 1921, the parish broke ground for a school at 5134 Baltimore, and two Sisters of St. Joseph from the nearby St. Teresa's Academy took on teaching duties. The Sisters served Visitation for over 50 years, eventually (1947) taking up residence in the home at 2 E. 52nd St. By 1934 the parish census included 270 households and 1,064 individuals.
Msgr. McDonald was not alone in his affection for Spanish Colonial architecture. Between 1915 and 1930, the popularity of this style spread from California throughout the country, culminating in 1925 as a "Spanish year” across the United States. In Kansas City, J.C. Nichols admired Visitation’s newly constructed church so much that he featured it prominently on brochures advertising the new Country Club residential district. When Nichols hired architect Ed Tanner to design the Country Club Plaza shopping district, begun in 1922, the area echoed the Spanish Colonial style. This style reflects the history of Spain and her conquerors, a synthesis of Romanesque, Mediterranean, and Northern African or Moorish architecture. Spain’s subsequent colonization of 16th century Mexico added another dimension to Spanish colonial style incorporating the work of native Incan and Mayan artisans. The 2004 renovation kept the original facade, arched walkways, parish office (former rectory) and rectory (former convent), while maintaining throughout the church the stucco walls and colorful painted ornamentation reminiscent of “Spanish colonial style.”
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Plans soon were underway for a larger, more permanent structure. In 1910 ground was purchased at the southeast corner of Main Street and Rock Spring Road. As a seminarian, Fr. McDonald (later Monsignor McDonald) had visited the Santa Barbara mission church in California and found its architectural style intriguing. When the architectural firm of Owen & Payson was chosen to design a permanent church, they employed the Spanish Colonial style. The exposed foundation wall in the current Tighe Hall (church basement) remains from the 1911 construction. 
In the early 1970s, Monsignor Tighe initiated plans for further church renovation but it was the next pastor, Fr. Richard Carney, (1972-81) who completed and implemented the plans. In 2001, the parish school was expanded and renovated. And in 2002, the parish began construction to renovate and expand the church to its current form. Bishop Raymond J. Boland presided at the dedication June 10, 2004, with the pastor, Father Norman Rotert, at his side. The parish census included 1,141 households and 3,467 individuals.
Just as the early Mission churches were built by pioneering priests, Visitation pastor Father Norman Rotert, assisted by liturgical consultant, Brother William Woeger, FSC, the architectural firm of Berger Devine Yaeger, Inc., and the construction company of Haren & Laughlin, convened a process in which the gifts of parishioners, staff, artisans and laborers worked in concert to give the parish a sacred home that will last for generations.
