The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-01-06
ST. ELIZABETH CHURCH.
(Denver News.0

Father Francis Of st. Elizabeth
Church is arranging to cancel the last
note of $4,000 which stands against
the Church 1t is his desire, prior to
his departure for Germany, to lift the
debt and have the Church consecrated
on the Feast of st. Anthony, June 13.
The pastor makes the following an
nouncemeTt:
"On Aug. 81, 1866, 1 was ordained
priest in the famous city of Fulda,
where st. Boniface, the apostle of Ger
many is buried After a brief period
of nine years service in the fatherland,
1 was, on Aug. 15, 1875, banished from
the old home, under the reign of Bis
marck, and IN obedience to the Wlsnes
of my superior, have been a missionary
in this country ever since. The hrst
six months 1 Travelled, looking for
home for our exiled brethren, when at
last Bishop Wadhams of Ogdensburg
gave us the parish in Croghan, with a
large surrounding territory. There
spent eight and a half years, building
churches, school and monastery, which
were, at the time Of my departure all
paid for. Then [ spent seven and a
half years in the diocese of Newark,
there also building three churches,
school and sisters convent, and like
wise wiped out every cent of debt
thereon; from whence [ was summoned
to the far west, city of Denver, state
of Colorado, where [ found a small
congregation with fifteen children in
school. 1 set to work, bought more
property at a cost of $4,000, built
school and monastery at cost OF $4O,-
600, after which on Aug. Is, 1896, l be-
gan active work on the building of the
new st. Elizabeth Church, though there
was no money in the treasury, and cir
cumatances were severely augmented
by the existing hard times resulting
from the panic. l began by first plac-
ing the affair under the special pro-
lection of great st. Anthony, deter
mined not to hold, or cause to be held,
any picnics, balls or festivals of any
kind.
The result indisputably proves that
L pursued the right course, for today
the beautiful stone church, 69X133 feet,
and its equipments stand as an orna-
ment to the city, at a cost of $4,000,
and all paid for except one note of
$4,000, which it is my purpose to raise
by popular subscription, so that on the
Feast of st. Anthony, June 1S, 1900, 1
may have the church consecTated in
honor of the glorious saint, and as
memorial to my silver jubilee as a mis-.
sionary in America.
This done, with the specified permfs-
sion of my superior, 1 set sail for the
old home in Germany, there to cele-
brate the date of my banishment midst
my old friends and surroundings of
twenty-five years ago. for be it under
stood that in 1884, when Bismarck re-
conciled himself with Rome, ALE our
houses were restored to US, and at the
call of our father general in Rome,
several fathers returned and took pos
session, thereby preserving the tradi-
tons of our province, which numbers
among the Oldest Of provinces Of the
Franciscan order.
Another purpose to this accomplish
ment is, to lend more substantial sup
port to st. Clare's orphanage, harbor-
ing at present 120 children, and with
no other visible means OF support Shan
that given through the parish. Dur
in gthe progress of work on the build
ing not a, day passed but the little ones
prayed fervently for ultimate success,
and the protection Of the laborers from
accident, all of which has been subse-
quently achieved, and now it is but
meet and Just that we continue foster
ing their home also,
In view OF these facts so plainly
given, l ask your support, as the ex-
tent of your means dictates, and by a
previous arrangement with the pro-
vincial. the names of all benefactors
viii be placed in the archives of the
main altar, where they Will be remeR-
bered in all the prayers and daily sac
rif1ceS of the mass, as well as many
additional masses offered up through
out the various houses of our order in
this country and in Europe, under
which jurisdiction we labor, and are
sustained