The Catholic bulletin., 1918-03-16
THE HISTORY OF SIS. PETER AND
PAUL'S PARISH, MANkATO
MlNN.

NlIiNiNs
On the banks Of the Missouri, about
twenty miles north Of its union with
the Father CT Waters" and equally
distant from st. Louis, lies the city of
st. Charles. To the members of SIS.
Peter and Pauls parish OF Mankato,
Mimi. this beautiful town will ever be
Of sacred memory; for from it came
forth those sturdy men, who, together
with a small number who had come
from elsewhere, founded this parish.
They were a band of brave, staunch
Catholics to whom religion was dearer
than all else. Men in the prime of
life, full of enthusiasm, and ready not
only to aid a rising community, but
also to prepare q way for the Church
whose work was then only beginning
in a region just opened to settlement
and civilization.
In 1854, the first settlers arrived
from ST. Charles, Mo-, and these were
soon followed by a number of others.
Among the pioneers Of the parish were
the following: David HeidWinkle and
Frank Borgmeier and family, Michael
Humid and family, Philip Hcadapp and
family, Henry Nahle and Leo Lamm.
Upon their arrival in Mankato they
found q small number Of Catholics
who had settled there from 1852 to
the summer of 1854: Jacob Guenther
and Peter FraenzeI, who had come in
1852; Bernard Bruegemann, John
Bruels, Joseph Frohnert, Blase Jobst,
Levi KotLhoff, Clemens KrOn, in 1858;
Michael Kaufman, Adam Fruendl,
Anton Jakoby and Henry Sontag, in
1854. AS soon as they were estab-
lished in their homesteads, plans were
made to secure for themselves as
soon as possible the blessings and ben
eGts OF pastoral care. For this pur-
uose meeting was held on the
last Sunday Of the year 1854, at
Kron's Hotel, a small log house.
It was the first assembly OF Catho-
lies in Mankato, and although its
proceedings were conducted in q
primitive style, without chairman or
a secretary, nevertheless, good results
were achieved The. unanimous reso-
luton was passed, faithfully to CO.
oDerate in the work Of organizing a
parish with a pastor, church and
school After this meeting several
others were held in the spring and
summer of 1855. The subject for dis
cussion was the building Of a church.
The question where it should be erect
ed was finally solved and the present
site of IS. Peter and Paul's Church
was chosen. P. X. Johnson, one of
the first settlers in MankatO, offered
to donate One-half of said property if
the other half were purchased from
him. But how should the money be
raised? To settle this difficulty Mich,
ael Humid kindly offered to pay the
amount, provided that if in years to
come the parish should prosper, the
sum might be paid back to him. The
generous offer of both parties was
gratefully accepted, and thus the par
ish acquired the possession of the
beautifully located property, occupy
ing the square between Mulberry and
Main, and Fifth and Sixth streets
Under the leadership of Michael Hund
the small number of Catholics had or
ganized a parish, and within very
short time had purchased the property
for the note of their church, the cree
tion of which was, however, to be
a much slower process. The new
church was to be stone building
4OX30 Mr.. Ludwig Volz was given the
contract for the masonry, while Gott
fried Robel & Co. were to furnish
the rafters, shingles, etc., which il
those days had to be sawed and cut
by hand Mr.. Humid was appointed tx
superintend the work.
The people rejoiced in the fact tha
they now had pastor, and Willingly
contributed to his support. The con
tribution to the church fund also in
creased and Father Sommeriesen':
first collection which he had opened
with donation of $4,000 amounted
to S1,185.68. This greatly furthereC
the progress of the building, and a
the beginning of the fall of 1856 tn
church was completed with the eX
ception of the roof. Then followet
a mission given by the great mission
airy Father Rev. T. X. Weninger, S. j
from September, the Est to the 29th
1t proved great blessing for the pal
ish, and brought two converts to tn
Church. At the opening of the mis-
sion Rev. Weininger had expressed hi
desire to celebrate the close in tn
new church. 1t was edifying to se
the men after every sermon hastenini
to the church with the implement
they had brought, hammering AM
saving at the roof. The last day o
the mission saw its completion, an,
as the Reverend Missionary had dc
sired. the solemn close took place il
the new church-an event such a
Mankato had never before witnessed
After the service the Te Deum wellet
nm from hearts filed with ferven
thanks to God for the blessings 0
which they were the recipients. Man
kato besides being the center of al
-.