USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > South Bend > An illustrated history of St. Joseph's Church, South Bend, Indiana > Part 2
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AN EXODUS.
In the year 1859 the Catholic population of South Bend had largely increased, and the people living in the western part of town considered themselves numerous enough to have a church of their own.
Father Sorin's generosity knew no bounds, whenever the honor and glory of God and the cause of religion were at stake, and with his own characteristic promptness he at once encouraged the enterprise and sent a priest to take the matter in hand.
This priest was Father Thomas Carroll, then newly or- dained and incharge of St. Joseph's congregation in St. Alexis' chapel. Whatever his financial abilities may have been, or
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however limited his experience, he found a ready ear when he went among the people who were then arriving or passing here and persuaded them to settle permanently in South Bend. Whatever money these poor people then had, they had it, like the Early Christians, in common, at least as far as the building of a church was concerned. With the unanimous good will of the people and the material assistance of Father Sorin, the young priest organ- ized St. Patrick's congregation and built the old St. Patrick's church on what is now known as Division street, one block west of Taylor.
While engaged in this work Father Carroll would teach Catechism daily for all the children of South Bend in St Alexis' school and say mass there every morning. All sick-calls and all other demands on the pastor were sent to the Sisters of the school who, as a rule, knew where the Rev. Father could be reached. Father Thomas Carroll may, therefore, be said to have been the first priest to whom Father Sorin had entrusted the full charge of South Bend.
When the old St. Patrick's church was built, Father Carroll continued to attend to the whole of South Bend on week days. but would give all his time to the new St. Patrick's church on Sundays. For Sunday services St. Joseph's congregation then again depended on Notre Dame, and the records show that Fathers A. Granger, W. Corby, C. Exel, J. Bourget, J. C. Carrier, L. Neyron, P. Hartlang, A. Lemonnier, S. Daugherty, L. J. L'Etourncau and Julius Frerc of Notre Dame conducted services on Sundays. They all came by order of Father Sorin, and Father Sorin must still be considered the actual pastor of St. Joseph's church. It would appear from this that St. Joseph's church may be rightly called the mother of St. Patrick's church, the grand-mother of St. Hedwige's and St. Mary's, and the great-grand mother of St. Casimir's, St. Stanislaus', St. Steph- an's and the Sacred Heart churches, of South Bend.
REV. FATHER WILLIAM CORBY.
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THE FIRST SCHOOL FOR BOYS EXCLUSIVELY.
In the year 1862 Father Sorin erected a frame building, 18x26 fcet on the Lowell Hights, on the place which is now known as the north-west corner of South Bend Avenue and Notre Dame street, to serve as a school for larger boys. Here Brothers Raymond, Daniel, Romuald and Philip surnamed the "Presbyter- ian" (because he was a lineal descendent of John Knox), wielded the rod several years, and the large boys whom they made good still speak, at this late day, with the fondest recollections, of the school masterly abilities and the eccentric methods of these early masters.
The poor Brothers had to walk back and forth to Notre Dame for their board and lodging, and in winter they would carry the wood for fuel on their shoulders from Notre Dame or chop it aloug the road on their way to school. No wonder that some of the lads who attended school there appreciated the op- portunities thus offered to them, and are now prominent business men of South Bend.
On the 13th day of September, 1869, Father Frere, then pastor of the new church on the original church property, had this school house moved from the hill into the middle of the parish, to the very site of the present parochial residence, at a cost of $75.36, and Brother Raymond taught the boys here until March 3, 1871, when Father Demers, a succeeding pastor, sold "la petite ecole a Cottrell" for $100, and when the larger boys were returned to the Sisters in St. Alexis' school, which had in the meanwhile been called "The Assumption Academy." La petite ecole is now a neat little residence. It stands on East Madison street and may be recognized by the name of Martin Hoban which this lad engraved on a door post while attending school on the hill.
THE SECOND CHURCH.
In 1866 the original St. Alexis' church was found to be too
small for the congregation, in spite of the comparatively recent exodus of the people who now formed St. Patrick's church.
Catholic families then seeking a home were naturally attrac- ted to South Bend, and Father Paul Gillen, C. S. C., was even commissioned by Father Sorin to go abroad and invite Catholic people to settle in the neighborhood of Notre Dame or in South Bend, where spiritual opportunities had been prepared for them that could not be found any where else at that time. And would to God that similar opportunities had been found every- where by Catholic families who then came to this country in search of a home, in search of shelter from oppression and in search of the liberty of the children of God! Would to God that a thousand Sorins and a million of Holy Cross men had pre- ceded these people and had founded Notre Dames throughout the land-then the Catholic population of the United States of America would be many times what it is today-then we would not daily come across names which in Europe are household words of Catholicity and the holders of which, even if they have not changed them, now call themselves members of all kinds of denominations, the doors of whose houses of worship they never darken, the very tenets of which, -nay-the very names of which they are uot able to account for. The fact is that a fallen off or apostatized Catholic will never make a faithful attendent of any other denomination. This is the only way in which we can account for the overwhelming number of infidel immigrants-and all but the Indians must call themselves immigrants-that are found now in this country.
It is precisely those that needed most encouragement in the practice of their religion that took no account of the presence of a Catholic church when selecting a place where to settle, -and it is these fallen-off or apostatized Catholics that formed the back- bone of knownothingism of blessed memory and of the late A. P. A., in whatever manner these three letters, in their time, may have been translated in good United States English,
E. R. Vanderhoof,
PRESCRIPTION DRUGGIST
VANDERHOOF'S HONEY TAR FOR COLDS.
COR. COURT AND WASHINGTON STS., SOUTH BEND, IND.
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The first church and the first school Father Sorin had put up at his own expense and on his own properties. It was but a few years ago that Notre Dame was apprised of the fact, that the north-west corner of the intersection of Notre Dame street and South Bend avenue was owned by Father Sorin and that the taxes for many years were due on it. It is the place on which the first boys' school stood. The second church, however, was to be erected on the diocesan property and at the expense of the congregation. Therefore
FATHER LOUIS J. L'ETOURNEAU
who succeeded Father Neyron, in Sept 1867, started a subscrip- tion for the new church. How he succeeded in this sweet task can only be surmised by the fact that, by the first day of January, 1870, two years and four months after the subscription had been started, the sum of $748.83 had been paid on the church con- tract.
The contract for building the church was given by Father Sorin to Mr. Hodson, for $1385.76. It was a frame building, 40x60 feet, and was erected on lot 133, the south-east corner of Water and Hill streets, on the very site of the present St. Joseph's church. The church was completed in September of 1868, by which time Father L'Etourneau had been succeeded by
FATHER JULIUS FRERE.
Father Frere was a musician, not without honor, except in his own country. When he worked in the early missions of Michigan his voice was beautiful, but now it was considerably benefited by a powerful musical instrument, and an organ melo- dium was bought at the cost of $125.00 and paid for by a eash collection made by Mrs. Sherland.
Father Frere, in spite of his old age and of his impaired health was a great worker Besides many other improvements, he added to the rear of the church a sacristy and one room to serve as a pastor's residence. This work was completed on the
1st day of July, 1869, when Father Frere became the first resi- dent priest of St. Joseph's congregation. The cost of the addi- tion was . $100, which sum was realized by a musical concert which Father Frere had one Miss Smith to give in Good's opera house.
THE FIRST PEW RENT.
Father Frere also stands god-father for the first pew rent. The very day on which he entered into his new residence he rented the pews at public auction for the space of one year. It was, however, not destined to be long-lived. It yielded in July, $79.50; in August, $2 00; iu September, 75 cents; in October, $5 00; in November, $2.00; in December. $2.00; and in January of the following year it died a natural death. The Sunday collections in those day amounted to an average of 37 cents per Sunday. If the priests of that time were spendthrifts, one thing is sure, they did not squander much.
THE CHURCH RECORDS.
Our sineerest thanks are due to the memory of Father Frere for the minute church accounts which he commeneed and which have been continued since. Records of baptisms, marriages and funerals date back to the opening of the St. Alexis ehureh, but no mention is made of any financial matters. Father Frere commenced these, and it is edifying indeed to see how serupu- lously these early missionaries kept not only the church accounts, but even their own, day after day. Personal receipts contain under given dates, such accounts as $0 25, $0.50 or $0 00 for a baptism, $1.00, $3 00 aud even $5.00 for a marriage, $2.00, 83.00 and $5.00 for a funeral, etc Under persoual expenses we read: To Sisters, for board, $10.00; to Mrs, Logan, for room, $4 00; and then after the residence was built, For a broom. $0.15; for a brush, $0.10; for tobacco. $0.05: for a shoe string, $0.02, ete. Church receipts in seventeen months, from the 1st of September 1868, to the 1st of February, 1870, show a total itemized receipt
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CAPITAL .... ... .$105,000.00 SURPLUS & PROFITS. . 64,775.00
Comparative Statement of Deposits
Safety Deposit Vaults
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Foreign Exchange Issued at Lowest TRates.
Feb. 6, 1896,
$230,443.18
Feb. 6, 1897, 303,781.34
Feb. 5, 1898, 408,863.36
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Feb. 6, 1901, 656,459.70
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of $242.90, with an itemized expenditure for church purposes of $231.84. The balance of $11.06 must have been the priest's salary for that length of time.
Among the above church receipts we must count the balance of Father L'Etourneau's subscription list which Father Frere collected of such persons as J. Naddeau, Smith and Lacosse, P. Bergeron, Ovid Crepeau, Mrs. A. D. Taylor, Mr. Tansy, Mrs. Luther, Mr. Bodoin, John McCafferty, P. Roach, Mrs. Talbot, Mr. Schroeder, J. L. Archambeault and Mrs. Sherland.
THE CENSUS.
A very precious relic of Father Frere's labors is the neat census of the parish, which he took up in 1868. It records 47 families with a total of 210 souls. Among these there appear such names as Etier, Louis, now called Hickey, then 38 years old; Lompre, Alex., now called Humphrey, then 20 years old; Hull, Louis, then 24 years old; Archambault, Jos., then 32 years old; Lamirand, Jos., then 20 years old; Archambault, J. L., then 30 years old, etc.
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES
are also remembered in Father Frerc's records. These were at the time:
1. THE LADIES OF NAZARETH which society had been founded in 1860 and which exists in the church up to the present day. Their original object was to see to the washing and mending of church liuens, to the decorating of altars and to the sweeping of the church. In 1890 they added a more distinctly religious object to their rules and became, at the same time, members of the Apostleship of Prayer, of the Living Rosary Sodality and of the Archconfraternity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the Conversion of Sinners. Besides faithfully sup- plying all the needful things which their constitution requires, they have also lent a ready hand in all other church enterprises
since the day of their organization. The officers of the society, unless removed by death, have been practically the same for the last 30 years, and they are now: President, Mrs. T. E. Howard ; vice-president, Mrs. Joseph E. Robert and secretary, Mrs. Hugh Tansy.
2. THE CHILDREN OF MARY, which society was founded in 1862 and has ever since been the boast of the parish. It com- prizes all the young ladies of the parish from the time when they are confirmed until they are married. Their number fluctuates between a hundred and a hundred and fifty. The rules of their society are but few, but these few are faithfully observed. On entering the society, the young ladies pledge themselves to keep away from all public dances or other public entertainments the character of which is, to say the least, doubtful. They promise to avoid anything which, even by the most fastidious might be interpreted as unladylike, and these promises they make to Almighty God and put them for safe-keeping into the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary, their patron. And may they continue in the future, as they have done iu the past, to take the Blessed Virgin Mary for their model and their guide, and to call regularly, as they have done in the past, upon the grace of God in the Sacraments of the church to strengthen the good resolu- tions which they have taken on entering the society. The materiai assistance which they have been to the church is too great to be estimated here in a transitory notice. It may be referred to later on, and even if it is not, it is fresh within the memory of all. "She is a Child of Mary" is the highest recom- mendation that can be given to any young lady of St. Joseph's parish.
3. ST. JOSEPH'S SOCIETY for men, founded in 1868 This society was, in its day, the strongest Catholic organization in South Bend. In the seventies and in the early eighties it was in a most flourishing condition. But the axiom "In Union there is Strength" was lost sight of by the members. They formed
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besides, a St. Jean Baptist society and an Ancient Order of Hibernians. Some of them became Catholic Knights and others even turned Maccabees, and others again Modern Wood Men of the Forests, and other again aspired to the "Higher forms of Catholicity" which were to follow later on. The society also had an insurance platform connected with it, too much insurance for a church society and not enough of it for business purposes. They disbanded consequently, in 1896, and gave the balance of their treasury in the boys' library. The dismemberment of this society has ever since been looked upon as a great loss. Apart from their material assistance to the church, the very idea of a St. Joseph's society in a St. Joseph's church on the very banks of the St. Joseph river and in the very county of St. Joseph,-when all these names were given by the very earliest of Catholic missionaries and settlers-makes the loss to be felt so much the more keenly. Nothing short of dire necessity can excuse this loss, nothing more than shere thoughtlessness or negligence can be blamed for it. And the reason for both of these is to be sought in the division of forces. The fable of Babrios which represents to us an old farmer who gave his twelve sons a bundle of twelve rods to break, a task which none of them could accomplish, but a single rod of which bundle each one of them separately could break without the least difficulty may not be a Gospel truth, but it is just as true. "In Union there is Strength." But if once the members of a society or, for that matter, of a church, divide their forces between several societies or several churches they can not fail to meet the fate of the proverbial Frenchman who tried to sit between the two chairs.
4. THE SOCIETY OF ST. ALOYSIUS for boys, founded in 1868. This society has been rcorganized time and again and even under different names. It is now called The Catholic Knights cadets and bids fair this time, to contradict Father Oechtering's adage which is to the effect that any priest may organize societies
for boys, but that even the Grace of God cannot keep them up. In the fall of 1870, Father Frere was succeeded by
FATHER WILLIAM DEMERS.
The latter was less accurate in his accounts but much more active in doing business. By a musical concert given by Miss Smith, by monthly collections ($253.27 in 30 months), by the sale of the school house, by a publie entertainment given in the church, by donations and private collections and perquisits he paid the debt of the church, had its tower whitewashed and made several other improvements. Father Demers collected monies from Jew and Gentile. His principal stand bys were the St. Joseph's society, the Ladies of Nazareth and the Children of Mary, and then there are on record for donations such names as Mesdames Sherland, Wagner, Roy, Campcau, Hooper and Matthew,
Then also the parish commenced to contribute for diocesan purposes. It sent to the Bishop $9.58, to the Holy Father, $15.00, to the orphans, $15.00, to the seminaries, $7.00, but paid to Pastor's salary, $0.00. The latter's personal wants were but few and were not taken into consideration. He would rather break up chairs and pews to use as fuel in his residence then ask the poor people for fuel.
Many are the interesting stories and anecdotes related about Father Demers, but they are not ancient history, they are known by all and will be handed down to generations to come.
THE FIRE.
On the 26th day of December, 1872, at high noon, the church, from some unknown source, took fire and burnt to the ground. The unknown source, however, became known in late years when an unfortunate man, a remnant of knownothingism or an advance sheet of Apaism thought he could not die without confessing his crime to those who surrounded his death-bed in
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LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES PURCHASED AND LOANED UPON. (POLICIES MUST BE OLD LINE.)
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