Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/511

 HISTORY OP SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 451 the priesthood, and he was educated in St. Patrick's school, in St. Louis, and was later sent to St. ilary's Seminary, at Perryville. He was graduated from St. Vincent's Col- lege at Cape Girardeau in July, 1862, and was ordained to the priesthood. He spent the first years of his ministry in north Mis- souri, but from about 1881 he was active in a number of counties in Southeast Missouri. The great growth of Catholicism during this period is due in part to the' earnest efforts of Father Walsh. The German Catholic church of Perryville, known as St. Boniface, was established in 1870, and the present In-ick building was erected shortly after that time. The church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, at Pilot Knob, was established about the be- ginning of the war. There had been a settle- ment at Pilot Knob since the transfer to the United States, and beginning in 1846, Fa- ther Tucker, the parish priest at Frederick- town, had held occasional services in the homes of members at Pilot Knob. In 1861 Mrs. Catherine Immer began the work of raising funds for a church building. The first contributor to this fund was Archbishop Kenrick, of St. Louis. The church was com- pleted early in the year 1864, and in that same year was injured by an explosion dur- ing the battle of Pilot Knob. Some of the early priests were Father Hennessey, after- wards Bishop of Wichita, Kansas, and L. C. Weinert. Father Weinert remained with the church for many years and was esteemed one of the ablest and most devoted pastors the church had. In 1881 a parochial school was established in connection with the church, and at this time a great-granddaughter of Joseph Pratte is a teacher in this school. It was to Joseph Pratte that the land on which the town now stands was originally granted by the Spanish government, which grant was afterwards confirmed by the United States in 1834. In 1882 the church purchased land and established a cemetery. It celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the church June 5, 1912. A number of for- mer priests took part in this celebration. Besides the churches already mentioned, there are the following Catholic churches in Southeast Missouri: St. Joseph's, at Union- town; St. Joseph's Chapel, at Arcadia; St. Philomena's, at Bloomsdale, in Ste. Gene- vieve county; the Church of the Nativity, in Bois Brule Bottom ; the Church of Our Lady, in Claryville; the Church of St. Lawrence, in Ste. Genevieve county; Ste. Anne's, at French Village, in St. Francois county; St. Joseph's, at Zell, in Ste. Genevieve county; St. Mary's, in Ste. Genevieve county; Sacred Heart, at Poplar Bluff ; the Immaculate Con- ception, Jackson; St. Mary's at Charleston; St. Francois de Sales, in Mississippi county; the Immaculate Conception, at New Madrid. Besides these there are organizations at Doni- phan, JIalden, Caruthersville, Glennonville, Bismarck, Bloomfield, De Soto, Dexter, East Prairie, Festus, Caruthersville, Greenville, Irondale, Iron Mountain, Maxville, the oldest church in Jefferson countj% organized in 1850; Kimmswick, Old Mines, the oldest church in Washington county, Potosi, and Richwoods. Not only was the Catholic church the first in the territory of Southeast Missouri, it has always been one of the most powerful. Its compact organization, its wealth, and the zeal and devotion of its priesthood have given it a place among the people of this part of the state. This is especially true in the French settlements like Ste. Genevieve, New Madrid, and Cape Girardeau. Some of the German settlements as well are strongly Catholic.