St. Mary of the Assumption (Avilla, Indiana)

St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Avilla, Indiana. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. Its current building was dedicated in 1878. It also has its own Catholic school and a small convent for its Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart. St. Mary's was also the site of the first motherhouse in America for the Franciscan sisters.

Parish History

In 1853, the eight Catholic families in Avilla at the time were organized into a congregation known as 'St. Mary of the Assumption'. The original church was built at the site of the current cemetery, which is a quarter mile from the current site.

In 1876, Fr. Dominic Duehmig was assigned to St. Mary's. Soon after he arrived, the church was offered a donation of six and a quarter acres of land a quarter mile south of the then-current church. The congregation took a vote, and it was decided to build on the new site. A new Romanesque church was built, complete with stained glass windows and pews made from the wood from a local field for $8,600. The pipe organ, main altar and two side altars were not acquired until ten years later.

The parish was successful under Fr. Duehmig. While he was there, a new school building, convent and nursing home, as well as a 'commodious parsonage', were constructed. In 1904, Fr. Duehmig commenced construction on a small chapel in the cemetery, which he named the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. He did not, however live to see it completed; he died on 3 June, 1905.

In 1909, the church was redecorated. At this time, Giovanni Gioscio was commissioned to paint a mural on the ceiling, which depicted the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This mural remains to this day.

The three steeples, the main center one and the two separate ones to the side, were damaged in 1921. The north steeple fell and crashed into a stained glass window when it fell. The center one was judged unsafe and removed. As funds became available, the grand steeples were replaced with a copper-domed bell tower and two smaller side steeples. At the same time, brick banisters were installed on either side of the entrance to the church.

The 1960s were a busy time for the parish. In 1963, a grotto modeling the one at Lourdes was built. The first annual Labor Day Festival, now a traditional school fundraiser, was held in 1965. The groundbreaking for the new school building took place at this festival.

The Easter of 1973 ended a period of renovation on the exterior and interior of the church. In 1976, St. Mary's celebrated the centennial of the laying of the cornerstone. The old school building was demolished, and a new convent was built in 1982.

1988 commenced a major remodeling of the church. The church was entirely repainted in order to better match the original decor, the mural by Gioscio was partially restored, and all of the statues were repainted. In 2000, the pipe organ was rebuilt and new carpeting laid.

School history

The school was founded by St. Mary's first resident pastor, Fr. Shaefer, around the time he came to Avilla. It was then known as St. Augustine's.

In 1878, a new two-story building was constructed for the school. At this time, Fr. Duehmig changed the name of the school to St. Mary's. In 1900, the school was enlarged, which gave the Sisters more space. In 1941, restrooms were added to the school, and in 1957, a classroom was converted into a lunchroom for those students who lived too far away to walk home for lunch.

In 1964, a new school was desperately needed. Six classrooms were built, as well as an office and large multipurpose room and kitchen.

A library was added into the school in order to comply with state regulations in 1972. By 1982, a kindergarten was added to the school, and in 1994, a School Board was started.

By 1994, an addition was obviously needed. Several classrooms were divided in half in order to have room for all of the classes, and there was no music classroom. A new library, three classrooms including a specialized kindergarten room and teacher's lounge was added onto the school.

School growth was steady into the new millennium. In 2002, it was decided to reinstate the seventh and eighth grades which were removed in 1968. A set of mobile classrooms were brought in, with the understanding that they would be used by the school for no more than five years. Therefore, another addition was necessary. Four new classrooms were built, as well as a new, much larger library and computer lab. The elementary grades were moved into the newer wing consisting of the 1997 addition and the new classrooms and the middle school grades were moved into the original wing. A preschool was added, with its classroom going into the elementary wing. The music room was also moved into the former library.

Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart

In Germany, Fr. Duehmig's homeland, Fr. Duehmig met with Mother Anastasia, who was the Mother Superior of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, in 1876. Mother Anastasia told Father how the sisters were ordered to either disband or leave the country. Fr. Duehmig offered to take the sisters to America. When Fr. Duehmig found a farm for them to live on in Avilla, the sisters settled there, and their Motherhouse was established. Even after the Motherhouse was moved to Illinois, the sisters maintained a strong presence in the area, with several sisters teaching at the school and working at Sacred Heart Home, a nursing home that the Sisters founded when they came to Avilla. Several sisters continue to live in Avilla to this day.

Pastors

*Rev. Henry Shaefer 1858-1863

*Rev. Francis Deipenbrock 1863-1863

*Rev. John Wemoff 1863-1865

*Rev. A. B. Oechtering, 1865-1876

*Rev. Dominic Duehmig 1876-1905

*Rev. John H. Bathe, 1905-1918

*Rev. E. G. Werling, 1918-1922

*Rev. Lawrence A Eberle, 1922-1930

*Rev. David L. Faurote, 1930-1940

*Rev. Charles F. Keyser, 1940-1951

*Rev. Jesse F. Lothamer, 1951-1857

*Rev. Vernon J. Rosenthal, 1957-1971

*Rev. Dennis W. Dennihan, 1971-1981

*Rev. Bernard J. Galic 1981-1986

*Rev. Phillip A Widmann, 1986-1992

*Rev. James F. Seculoff 1992-1994

*Rev. Daniel Durkin 1994-2006

*Rev. Edward E. Erpelding 2006-present

Sources

*100 Year Booklet, 1976