The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-11-07
The Priests Victory.

Rev. c. s. Lacroix celebrated the first
high mass in the new Church OF Our
Lady Of the Mountains. at North Con-
! way, n. H, a week ago last Sunday.
This marked the formal establishment
Of Catholicity in this village, whose
residents placed every obstacle that
bigotry could devise in the path of the
energetic missionary priest in the hope
| of preventing him from building.
! we do not want Catholic church
I here. said the spokesman of the Prot
estant villagers to Father Lacroix when
/ he first made his appearance in North
/ Conway about a year ago.
/ And why not?" he asked.
Well" said the Protestant. I'VE
1 have churches enough here now and
! find ii hard work to fill them and 10
support the pastors, and one more viii
! be just one too MANY"
But you won't have TO support me. Z"
said Father LacroiX; my own poor
people viii look out for that, and as for
them, they have as much right to have
d church of their own as you have and
as this is free country we propose 20
have one"
Then Father Lacroix tried to buV
what ne thought suitable site. but he
found that none Of the property owners
would sell 70 him. Then he ascertained
that one of the finer lots in the village,
on the main street and opposite the
famous Kearsage hotel, was owned by
a liberal-minded Bostonian. from whom
he succeeded in purchasing it for $500.
Later he sold portion that he did not
need to such advantage that the site for
the church cost him nothing.
The next step was to begin building,
and in order to superintend the work
Father LacroiX took up his permanent
1a,t Ill
his headquarters. But he found that
the opposition to him was still alive.
When he applied to one Of the we'll
known hotels for hoard and lodging the
proprietor said he didn't want Cath
Ole priest in his house, but that he
would try to accommodate him for $50
a week. The highest price this house
charges is half what Father LacroiX
was asked, and as it was a prohibitive
figure to the priest. he had to find
quarters elsewhere. Then he could find
none Of the Protestant builders who
would undertake the erection OF the
church except at an eXorbitant figure,
thinking that in this way they would
prevent the parish from proceeding
with the work. But he surmounted
this difficulty and found a man who
was above the local prejudices and who
accepted the contract. His men were
hampered and annoyed In numberleSS
ways, even the threat of boycott be-
ing resorted to.
Father Lacroix only laughted at
them. He kept his temper and had
only a CHEEKY word in response to their
taunts, but he continued the work of
building and labored as hard as any
of his workmen, nothing about the
building being too mental for him to
do. Now. he has the prettiest church
in the village, in a prominent locality,
and recently the first high mass was
by. such large congregation
of the Catholic summer boarders that I
chairs had to be placed in the aisles.
A feature of the mass was the music, |
which was impressively rendered in
chant by Father. Lacroix's /
choir of Abenaki Indians These In |
lians come from Pierreville, Quebec, !
the headquarters of the tribe. which is !
Catholic. and whose pastor, /
Rev. Joseph de Gonzagne, is full /
FLOODED Abenaki Indian. This little |
church is in the heart of the White |
Mountains and Father Lacroix's near I
est brother priest is forty-three miles |
away, which shows the extent of his !
Review.