Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1912-07-24
Catholic Church at Petersburg, Iowa.

E for the growing membership ant
at once Atarted a movement for 1
new chu-ch. His German follow
ers were very Jealous In the new
project and responded heartily both
In a financial and labor giving wa,
and it was only q matter OF q yer,
short time when all the money wal
raised and work was started upon
the handsome edifice that Is the
pride Of the community. Il.
s The church was started in 1904
but was not completed until 1905,
and on October "a OF that year
the conservation services were held,
This was one OF the most historic
services NJ this kind ever held In
Iowa, for the Petersburg church is
the only one in Iowa bearing this
marked distinction. Over q 1hundred
church notables were present, in.
Guiding Archbishop Keane Of Du.
buque and many others Of equal
distinction. The program Of the
services included whole day and
all OF the parish were present az
well sas many OF the faith from over
the county and surrounding coun-
ties
The church lis a handsome piece
Of architecture and was designed by
Martin Hser of Dubuque. The three
spires reaching up into the heavens
and the beautiful Gothic windows
take one back to- the days OF oul
yoeman church builders. The con-
struction il Of massive rock and cut
stone and the Gothic design that
is so popular in church and ca
thedral construction is carried
throughout Il m
The exterior is beautiful in de
tail, but the interior is still more
beautiful and wonderful. AS one
looks down the center aisle he OBJ
serves The magnificent grand a.
tar that cost q small fortune, al
either side on the walls the statues
depicting the life Of the Master,
the huge stained glass windows,
each with its separate scene Of b.
Bile history or holy writ, such as
the Sacrifice OF Abraham" pictur
ing vivi " the religious zeal. and
sacrifice OF the de- otees Of the
faith. The arches contain oil paint
ings OF the life of Christ, such as
Christ blessing the children" and
many others. The frescoe is Of q
light shade and of the Gothic
style. Everything is the best that
money could buy and the beauty
of the remarkable edifice are her
aided abroad over the realms Of
Catholicism and many Of the faith
journey miles to see this wonder
full building, .ts# s2S
The estimated cost OF the church
was over 1s5,000.00. All the haul
ing and much OF the work was done
by the members OF the parish and
so the exact cost cannot be deter
mined, but It was probably over
800. 10000.
The church is located on plot
Of ground comprising several acres
and contains. besides the above
edihce. q beautiful brick home oc-
cupiedi BY Rev. sassen. two
story school building, with
an ATTENDANCE OF consid erably
over 100. and 8 home occupied by
the Sisters that teach in the school.
The grounds are carpeted with rich
grass and shaded by massive trees.
Beautiful shrubbery and hedges
give an air CT natural beauty to that
OF the works Of man.
The home Of the Sisters forms
q haven OF rest to the tired and
weary Sisters Of the city. who come
in summer to rest amid this fra
grant atmosphere of quiet simpli-
city.
The congregation is very large
land Sabbath morning finds the
faithful coming many miles to at
tend services.
The remarkable feature in the
building Of the church was the
response shown by the members of
the congregation and the size Of
some Of the donations shows the
wealth al the community. Many
liberality Of the community. A list Of
some Of the larger donors is given
below: u. {.
Rev. SasDon -.......................$10 10000
Geo. HuSebrandt. sE.,........ 100000 9
n - - X :