The Diocese of Fort Wayne, 1857--September 22--1907, A Book of Historical Reference, 1669-1907. By the Rt. Rev. H. J. Alerding. Fort Wayne: The Archer Printing Co. 1907.
CHAPTER XIV. The Churches--From 1898 to 1907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
FORT WAYNE. Allen County.
Church
of the
Most Precious Blood. [est. 1895] . . 390-391
HAMMOND. Lake County.
All Saints'
Church. [est. 1896] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
391-392
SOUTH BEND. St. Joseph County.
St.
Stanislaus' Church. [est. 1898] . . . . . . . . . 392-393
FAIRMOUNT. Grant County.
St.
Cecilia's Church. [est. 1899] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
394-395
SOUTH BEND. St. Joseph County.
St.
Casimir's Church. [est. 1899] . . . . . . . . . . 395-396
SOUTH BEND. St. Joseph County. St.
Stephen's (Magyar) Church. [est. 1900] . . 396-397
HAMMOND. Lake County.
St.
Adalbert's Church. [est. 1902] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
397-398
INDIANA HARBOR. Lake County.
St. Patrick's
Church. [est. 1903] . . . . . . . . . . 398-399
MISHAWAKA. St. Joseph County.
St.
Bavo's Church. [est. 1903] . . . . . . . . . . . . 399-400
INDIANA HARBOR. Lake County.
St.
John
Cantius' Church. [est. 1906] . . . . . . .400-401
On February 12, 1895, Bishop Rademacher
assigned the territory north of the St. Mary's river and to the New
York, Chicago
and St. Louis railway, and west of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern
railway, in and near the city of Fort Wayne, to the pastoral care of
the Society of the Most Precious Blood. October 12, 1897, marks
the beginning of the new congregation, when the Rev. Frank Nigsch, C.
PP. S., entered upon the pastoral duties, within the territory
mentioned. On the north-west corner
of Fourth and Barthold streets, nine lots were bought for $2,500; and
the
additional purchase of the feeder, of the old Wabash and Erie canal,
gave
the church grounds the entire length on Fourth street between Barthold
and
Andrew streets, and 250 feet north of Fourth street. About 135
families
resided within the parish limits; fifty-five of which had hitherto
attended
the Cathedral, forty-two St. Mary's and about thirty-eight St.
Paul's. A two-story brick building, to serve the purposes of
church and school, 50x111 feet, at a cost of $9,945, was erected in
1898. The street, sewer and other improvements, and the
furnishings of the second floor, for church purposes, including an
organ, necessitated an additional outlay of $6,783.98. The school
was opened on September 12, 1898, in charge of the Sisters of the
Most Precious Blood, with an attendance of 160 children. The
eight grades
[391] of a common school education are being taught. The School
Socieety
of the Precious Blood, organized in the same year, has the support of
the
school for its principal purpose. The same year the Fathers of
the
Most Precious Blood erected a Missionary House, which serves also as a
pastoral
residence, fronting on Barthold street.
An assembly hall, 30x80 feet, being a
one-story brick structure, furnished with a stage and necessary
fixtures, was erected in 1902, at a cost of about $3,200. The
present indebtedness on the property is $1,832.65.
In 1898 the School Society, the Rosary
Society,
the Young Ladies Sodality and the Society of the Holy Infancy, were
established; and in 1899 the Young Men's Sodality and the Sodality of
the Children of
Mary, with a total membership of 517.
One of the boys of the congregation has
entered
a religious community, and is now studying for the priesthood; and one
of
the girls has become a Sister.
The Rev. Frank Nigsch, C. PP. S., was
the pastor of the congregation until January 19, 1903, when he was
transferred to Ottawa, Ohio. The Rev. Chrysostom Hummer, C. PP.
S., has been the pastor since January, 1903. He reduced the debt
to its present figure. The parish has 170 families, with total of
823 souls. The school, taught by four Sisters of the Most
Precious Blood, has an attendance of 172 pupils. Besides the
societies mentioned, there are the C. B. L., the C. K. of A., and the
Ladies Catholic Benevolent Association, with an aggregate membership of
eighty-two.
The church grounds have a frontage of 300
feet, and a depth of 164 feet; 250 feet of which was secured by Rev.
John Cook, in April 1896, and fifty feet by Rev. E. F. Barrett, on
March 8, 1904, at a total cost of $7,500. Father Cook, at that
time, resided in a two-story frame house, located at 265 Fayette
street. The church, a very plain frame building, was erected in
1896, by Father Cook. It had no features of architecture [392]
nor decorations to recommend it, and cost about $1,000. This
building was enlarged in 1897 for $3,000, and again in 1902, at an
expense of $3,600, by Father Barrett. It answers the purposes of
both church and school; the church portion having a seating capacity
for 400, and the school portion, 33x122 feet, will accommodate 268
children.
The school was opened in 1897, and has from
the beginning been in charge of the Sisters of Providence, of St.
Mary-of-the-Woods, the usual grades being taught by six Sisters.
The attendance at school is 229. The Sisters live in a house,
especially erected for them,
in 1899, at an expense of $2,200.
The priest's house is an elegant brick
building, with every modern improvement, erected in 1897, at an outlay
of $4,875. Improvements were made on it, in 1901, costing
$480. The church property has a debt of $3,000. The number
of souls in the parish is 600, consisting of 146 families. Two
girls have become Sisters.
All Saints' Parish has the Knights of
Columbus,
Unity Council No. 726, organized on January 18, 1903, with a membership
of
105. The Catholic Order of Foresters, Luers Court No. 111, with
fifty-one
members. The Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Association, All Saints'
Branch
No. 989, organized on June 8, 1905, with forty members. All these
are
insurance societies. Besides these there are: The Rosary
Society,
for married women, with eighty-one members; the Young Men's sodality,
with
forty-two members; the Young Ladies' Sodality, with fifty-seven
members;
the Children of Mary, with fifty-eight members; the St. Aloysius'
Sodality
for boys, with thirty-three members.
The first pastor of All Saints' Church was
Rev. John Cook, from April 1896 till February 27, 1897, on which date
he was succeeded by Rev. Edward F. Barrett, the present pastor.
The Polish Catholics, residing in the
north-western section of South Bend, constitute the St. Stanislaus'
Congregation. [393] It was called Linden Place and Golden
Hills. At the time of
its organization, the number of families was about sixty. The
church
was erected in 1898. It is in the Gothic style of architecture,
has
a seating capacity of 425, and cost $23,000. St. Stanislaus, B.
and
M., is the patron Saint of the parish. Not the entire church
according
to the original plan was erected but only two-thirds of it, the other
third,
being the sanctuary is still wanting. At first the accommodations
were
ample, but at the present time it is much too small, three masses being
necessary to give all the opportunity of hearing mass. The Rev.
V. Czyzewski, C. S. C., pastor of St. Hedwig's Church, assisted by an
able committee of lay-men and a willing people, organized St.
Stanislaus' Congregation, bought the site for $5,000, and built the
church.
For fully three years and a half the pastors
of St. Stanislaus' Church resided at St. Hedwig's. The Rev. H.
Jarzynski, C. S. C., was the first temporary pastor. He resied
with Father Czyzewski for six months. The present pastor, Rev.
Roman A. Marciniak, C. S.
C., who was appointed in 1900, resided at St. Hedwig's for three
years. The basement of the church served as dining-room, and at
times as bed-room for the pastor. In 1903, a commodious pastoral
residence was built
on the north side of the church.
Although the accommodations in the basement of
the church were not what they should be, yet a parochial school was
conducted there, until 1905. It was in this year that the present
roomy school-house was erected. At present St. Stanislaus' Church
has 282 families, numbering 1543 souls. The school is conducted
by Sisters of the Holy Cross, with an attendance of 277 children.
The societies are: St. Joseph's, St. Stanislaus' and the Holy
Rosary, for married men, with 341 member; the Apostleship of Prayer,
for married women, 154 members; St. Stanislaus', for single men,
twenty-eight members; Holy Rosary, for single women, forty members;
Children of Mary and Holy Angels', for children, seventy-two members;
and St. Cecilia's Choir, with twenty members. The debt on the
church property is $23,900.
It was about 1860, that priests began to
visit Fairmount, as a station. The first of these priests was
Rev. John
Ryan, who attended from Lagro, four times a year. After him came
Rev.
Bernard Kroeger, from Peru; Rev. John Kelly, Kokomo; Rev. B. T. Borg,
Peru;
Rev. C. Mougin, Rev. A. J. Strueder, Rev. F. C. Wiechmann, Rev. John
Grogan;
the latter four from Marion. When visiting Fairmount, they would
celebrate Mass at the homes of various families. The number of
souls in the vicinity of Fairmount, at that time, was about 100, mostly
Irish. Rev. Frederick Wiechmann visited Fairmount, as a station,
from Gas City, from April 1894 till August 1898. During the
pastorate of Rev. Joachim Baker, who attended Fairmount from
Alexandria, from August 1898 till September 1900, the first church was
built, being ready for occupancy on September 15, 1899. The
building was erected at a cost of about $3,000. At this time, the
number
of souls was about 350. The two lots that compose the church
grounds,
75X150 feet each, were purchased by Father Baker, for $300. St.
Cecilia's
Church is a frame structure, with Gothic features, and is neatly
furnished,
having stained glass windows. The seating capacity of the church
is
about 350.
The priest's house was built in 1902 by Rev.
Henry C. Kappel, who was the pastor from July 14, 1901 to June 30,
1905.
It is a frame building containing seven rooms, and cost probably
$1,400. Owing to the general depreciation of value on real estate
in Fairmount,
the church property, at present, would command no more than
$3,000.
St. Cecilia's Church has three societies: The Rosary Society, for
the
Married People; the St. Aloysius' Society, for Young Men and Boys, and
the
Children of Mary for the Young Women and Girls of the parish. The
number
of souls, at the present time, is ninety-four, constituting twenty
families. Fairmount, since it became a mission, has had these
pastors: Rev. Joachim Baker, from August 1898 to September 1900,
from Alexandria Rev. L. R. Paquet, from September 2, 1900 till January
1, 1901, residing at Fairmount; Father Baker, again, from January 1,
1901 till July 14, 1901, from Alexandria; Rev. Henry C. Kappel, from
July 14, 1901 to June 30, 1905, residing at Fairmount; Father Baker, a
third time, from June 30, 1905 till December 7, 1905; Rev. Thomas
Travers, residing at Fairmount, since December 7, 1905.
GRANT County:
MADISON County:
In the year 1896, Father Czyzewski,
anticipating the needs of Polish Catholics in the south-western part of
South Bend, bought the four lots of ground on West Dunham and Webster
streets. On September 11, 1898, Rev. Anthony Zubowicz, C. S. C.,
at the time assistant to Father Czyzewski and the director of St.
Hedwig's School, was appointed the pastor of the new St. Casimir's
Congregation. He began at once the erection of a building, which
was to serve the purposes both of church and school. It is a
two-story brick building, 65X125 feet, the first story containing six
school-rooms and the second story having seating capacity of 749,
costing $25,000. Whilst this building was being erected Father
Zubowicz resided at St. Hedwig's. On March 4, 1899, the new
structure was dedicated by
the Very Rev. John Guendling, Administrator of the diocese of Fort
Wayne.
On April 11, 1899, Father Zubowicz resigned
and was succeeded by Rev. Eligius Raczynski, C. S. C. During his
pastorate many improvements were made: a beautiful organ was
secured for $1,300, together with some statuary, and especially the new
parochial residence of brick, 35X44 feet, which cost over $3,000.
Quite suddenly, Father Raczynski in the prime of life expired, on June
11, 1902. Two days later, Father Zubowicz again took charge of
St. Casimir's Church. Up to this time the school had been taught
by lay men and women, but now it was placed in the charge of the
Sisters of Nazareth, who, six in number, live in a rented house one
block from the church, and teach 543 children. Five boys of
the parish have entered the seminary, and eighteen girls the
convent. The census of St. Casimir's Congregation shows a record
of 480 families, with
a total of 2595 souls.
The societies of the parish are: St.
Casimir's, for men, since 1898, with 250 members; the Sacred Heart of
Jesus Confraternity, since 1899, with 112 members; St. Stanislaus
Kostka's Society, with 200 members; St. Valentine's Society, since
1902, with twenty-five members; St. Hedwig's Society, with eighty
members; St. Cecilia's Society, since 1901, with thirty members; St.
Casimir's Literary Society, since 1899, with forty-three members; the
Boys' Altar Society, since 1903, with 75 members; the Ladies' Rosary
Sodality
with 295 members; the Young Ladies' Sodality, since 1901, with
seventy-two members; the Children of Mary, since 1903, with forty-seven
members.
Rev. Casimir Olszewski was assistant at St.
Casimir's Church.
St. Casimir's Church has money in the
treasury.
Until their parish was organized, the Hungarians of
South Bend attended St. Patrick's Church, and also St. Mary's Church,
because many of them spoke German. During this time, Rev. Charles
Boehm, of Cleveland, and Rev. Robert Paulovits, of Toledo, Ohio, paid
their country-men in South Bend repeated visits, and ministered to them.
Rev. Michael J. Biro, C. S. C., shortly after his
ordination in February, 1900, was appointed pastor of the Hungarian
Catholics, and within a short time organized the St. Stephen's
Congregation. A Methodist chapel,
known as the Milburn Memorial Chapel, was for sale, and Father Biro
negotiated
its purchase, on July 3, 1900. The architectural style of this
church
is the Cross-Gothic-Romanesque, of the fifth century. The
building
was in good condition but had to be altered considerably to serve the
purpose
of a Catholic church. Three altars were secured, with statues of
the
Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph and St. Anthony. A choir loft was
built
and the stations of the Cross were erected. The entire church
property
was inclosed with an ornamental iron fence. All this was done at
a
cost of $1,450. The original cost paid for the property was
$14,800.
Father Biro erected the parochial school in 1900.
The building is 45x45 feet, has four class-rooms, each of which
can accommodate fifty children. Three thousand dollars was spent
on this building. The
school is in charge of three secular teachers, one male and two
females,
who teach six grades. The attendance at the present time is 171.
The
priest's house was part of the first purchase, but Father Biro has
spent
on it $500 in repairs and improvements. The debt on the church
property
is $7,900.
When Father Biro took charge in 1900 he found about
sixty Hungarian families. At the present time there are 321
families,
numbering 2166 souls. The seating capacity of the church is only
350,
and the necessity of building a more commodious church is evident.
St.
Stephen's Congregation has the following societies: The Knights
of
St. Stephen, twenty members; the Holy Rosary, sixty members; the
Children
of Mary, fifty-six members. The Aid Societies are: St.
Stephen's
forty-five; St. Joseph's, 325; St. Peter's, 108; Holy Trinity, eighty;
St.
Anthony's, 125; Blessed Virgin Mary's, eighty-seven; St. Elizabeth's,
ninety;
Catholic Young Men, fifty-six; County Szechemyi's, 240 members.
2003 update:
In his 1941 book, The Diocese of
Fort Wayne: Fragments of History, Bishop Noll relates that in
1907, Father
Biro retired. Upon his retirement, the Congregation of the Holy
Cross
turned over the church to the care of secular priests. The first
of
these to serve as pastor was Rev. John Froehlich. He was
responsible for the building of a new church in 1910, at a cost of
$30,000.00.
Bishop Noll writes: "Unfortunately this
parish was divided by an independent movement sponsored by the Rev.
Victor Kubinyi and Father Froehlich resigned from the parish in 1911.
His successor was the Rev. Louis Kovacs who remained less than
one year because of the difficulties
in the parish. On May 1, 1912, the Rev. Alex Vallacky was
appointed
pasotr, and remained until 1915. He restored a great deal of order and
engaged
Dominican Sisters to teach in the school."
Rev. Lawrence Horvath served as pastor from 1916 to
1922. In 1916, Our Lady of Hungary church was established to
serve
a portion of the people of St. Stephen's. In 1922, Father HOrvath was
succeeded
by Rev. Count Frederick Wenckheim. Father Wenckheim was
responsible
for the building of new classrooms and an auditorium, in 1925, in
addition
to substituting the Sisters of Divine Charity ofr the Dominican Nuns.
During the second half of the 1920s, Bishop Noll turned the
parish over to the care of the Franciscan Fathers. The first of
Franciscan Father to pastor St. Stephen's was Rev. Lawrence Biro, O. F.
M., who was later trnasferred to the Cleveland Diocese. He was
succeeded by Rev. Tarzicius Kukla, O. F. M. who served until 1939, when
the Bishop returned the church back to
the care of diocesan priests. From 1939 through 1941, the pastor
was
Rev. Curt A. Suelzer, assisted by Rev. Joseph Horvath. Priests
who
have served at St. Stephen's more recently include: Rev. Thomas
F.
Lemos, C. S. C. (pastor, 1998), Rev. John Steele, C. S. C. (associate
pastor,
1998), Rev. David J. Porterfield, C.S.C. (pastor, 2003) and Rev.
Christopher W. Cox, C.S.C. (associate pastor, 2003).
St. Joseph County is presently encompassed
within the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
St. Stephen (est. 1900)
1102 W. Thomas Street - South Bend, IN 46601 Phone: (260) 287-7681.
The Diocese of Fort Wayne, 1857--September 22--1907, A Book of
Historical Reference, 1669-1907. By the Rt. Rev. H. J.
Alerding. Fort Wayne: The Archer Printing Co. 1907.
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+ TABLE
OF CONTENTS +
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1 Alerding, Rt. Rev. H. J.
The Diocese of Fort Wayne, 1857-September 22-1907, A book of
Historical Reference, 1669-1907.
1907. Fort Wayne: The Archer Printing Co.
2 Alerding, H. J. A
History of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Vincennes.
Indianapolis:
Carlon and Hollenbeck. 1883.
3 Blanchard, Col.
Charles. History of the Catholic Church in Indiana. Vols.
1-2. Logansport, Ind. :
A. W. Bowen & Co., 1898.
4 Noll, John F, Most Rev. The Diocese of Fort Wayne: Fragments of History. 1941.
Copyright 1998-2003 by Ann Mensch.