The Parish of St. Mary’s was established when Lukenge first set foot at the Odibo village and it was one of the first structures constructed. The old church was built near the Omwandi waLukenge, his home for the early days of his arrival and at the ground where classrooms of the High School currently stand. The current church building was dedicated on 07 July 1956 by the Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Reverend Dr A.B. Geoffrey Clayton, while the Rt. Rev John Decre Vincent was the Diocesan Bishop at the time. The red Crucifixion Cross (with the inscription INRI) hanging in St Mary’s Parish Church of 12 feet (approximately 3.6576 metres) long was made by the African Craftsmen at Cyrene in Zimbabwe (about 30 km from Bulawayo).

St Mary’s Parish became the mother of all parishes in northern Namibia, the role it continues to play till today. The Parish is the only department which has never been closed regardless of the heated war of liberation being waged in its surroundings. Except for the 1976 Confirmations that were held in Angola due to the fact that Bishop Colin Winter, the Bishop of Namibia at the time, was not allowed by the South African regime to enter the country. Over the years the St. Mary’s Odibo Parish continued to grow in bounds and today it has thousands of parishioners, of which some reside in Angola.