Evansville East Deanery will be a
By PAUL It. LEINGANG
Message editor
Following is the seventh report
in a series, reporting the propos-
als of a task force on the parishes
in the Evansville East Deanery.
Statistics and staff names are
taken from the 1996 Diocesan
Yearbook and Directory.
Recap
By the year 2005, 44 priests
will be available to serve the
parishes of the Catholic Diocese
of Evansville, according to a pro-
jection used by members of the
Future Parish Staffing Task
Force.
To deal with that projected re-
ality, the task force made several
recommendations: 1) link two
parishes, to be served by one
priest- pastor and one pastoral
life coordinator; 2) group three or
more parishes under the guid-
ance of shared pastoral staff, and
3) convert some churches into or-
atories where Mass would be cel-
ebrated only occasionally.
Current parishioners whose
church became an oratory would
travel to another church for Sun-
day Mass and the sacraments.
They would however, continue to
support the oratory, to maintain
the building in good condition.
And if the parish had established
a cemetery, the obligation for
perpetual care would have to be
met.
Evansville East Deanery
There are II parishes in the
Evansville East Deanery. The
task force recommends moving
St. Theresa Church from the
Evansville West Deanery into
the Evansville East Deanery.
Currently, there are 12 dioce-
san priests and two Benedictine
priests serving the 12 parishes
which would be part of the new
structure. In 2005, the task force
expects only six diocesan priest
and one Benedictine priest to be
available. Four Pastoral Life Co-
ordinators should be hired to pro-
vide parish leadership, according
to the proposal, and Holy Trinity
Church should become an ora-
tory.
Other needs for Catholic pres-
ence and sacramental ministry
in the deanery include Memorial
High School, six parish elemen-
tary schools, campus ministry at
the University of Evansville, and
chaplains at St. Mary Medical
Center.
All of the parishes in the dean-
ery are in Evansville, with the
exception of St. John Church,
Daylight.
Daylight: St. John
It's not rare for a pastor to
move from parish to parish. It is
very unusual, however, for a
parish to move to a new location,
as did St. John Church, formerly
of Elberfeld in Warrick County
and now at Daylight in Vender-
burgh County.
The move was made to make
way for surface coal mining.
What was established in 1868
was changed forever in 1985.
"Bittersweet memories were
put aside when the church build-
ings were cold and later demol-
ished," wrote Joanne Bohrer and
Father James Brune, describing
the situation for a parish publi-
cation. "The spirit of a true fam-
ily of God. came forth, surfacing
stronger than ever in the real-
ization that FAITH is not
founded in structure, but comes
from within each individual."
German Catholics and the
pastor of St. Wendel, Father
Charles Exel, established the
parish in 1868. A two-room log
building was bought and used as
a school.
From 1871 to 1875, priests from
St. Mary Church, Evansville, trav-
eled to Elberfeld. Father Alexan-
der Koesters was the first resident
pastor, in 1875.
A new brick church was dedi-
cated in 1895. A new rectory, con-
vent and school were built in the
1920s.
Parish growth continued at E1-
berfeld in the new Diocese of
Evansville, established in 1944.
Father Raymond Reising, now
a retired priest of the diocese,
was pastor of the parish in 1954.
A new school was built in 1955,
and enrollment topped 200.
In 1965, the parish had an as-
sistant pastor, Father Charles
Pfeiffer. For two years -- and
only two years in its entire his-
tory- the parish had two
priests.
As the coal mines closed in,
however, everything changed. In
1976, with enrollment less than
50, the school was closed.
Msgr. Clarence Schlachter
began negotiations with AMAX
Coal Company to sell the prop-
erty. Father James Brune, ap-
pointed pastor in 1984, concluded
negotiations a year later. For the
next 20 months, church services
and CCD classes were conducted
at the McCutchenville United
Methodist Church.
The new St. John Church in
Daylight was dedicated in 1987
by Bishop Francis R. Shea. The
new facilities are located in a po-
tential population growth area,
on the northern portion of Green
River Road, near 1-164 and along
Indiana Highway 57.
Father Robert Deig, who cele-
brated his seventy-first birthday
on July 28, is the current pastor.
He was appointed in 1995. The
parish staff includes Bob
Vollmer, pastoral as-
sociate, music minis-
ter, DRE, and Ce- .
celia Jarboe, parish
secretary.
Weekend Masses
are celebrated Satur-
days at 5:30 p.m. and
Sundays, 7:30 and 10
a.m. -
The recommendation for the fu-
ture is for a PLC to handle day-to-
day needs of the parish. The corn'
munity is to be linked with Good
Shepherd Church, Evansville,
where a priest-pastor 'is recom-
mended.
Evansville:
Good Shepherd
One of the churches named in
honor of titles given to Jesus
Christ, Good Shepherd Church
was established in "Father
Hangman's Bean Patch" in 1955.
The first gymnasium-style
church is now used as a gymna-
sium, and the growing parish
worships in a new church, com-
pleted in 1991.
Sisters of Providence taught in
the school when it opened in
1958 with 217 students. 1995-96
enrollment was 253. Benedictine
Church. Later, a mobile home
served as his rectory.
Today, there are 667 families
in the parish (1,904 persons.) The
parish is in an area where the
population is expected to in-
crease.
According to the task force pro-
posal for the future, a priest-pas-
. tor will continue to reside at
Good Shepherd, while also pro-
dding sacramental ministry for
the community at Daylight.
Father Ted Tempel, 59, is the
pastor. He was appointed in
1993, succeeding Father Ken-
neth Herr, who is now in a full-
time position at Memorial High
School.
Good Shepherd parish staffin-
cludes Deacon Ed Wilkerson,
pastoral Associate and DRE;
Cyril Will, Deacon; Kristin
Gilles, music minister; Kathy
Wilkerson, bookkeeper, and
LaDonna Nalin, parish secre-
tary.
Weekend Masses are cele-
brated at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays;
Sundays at 7:30 and 10:30 a.m.
Evansville: Holy Spirit
The first church building was
a renovated riding stable; the
first rectory was a converted
garage, at Holy Spirit, estab-
lished on what was once the site
of the Grey Mount Riding Sta-
bles in 1952.
In 1961, Father James Hill,
with the blessing of Bishop
Henry Grimmelsman, set out
with an army of 115 workers, to
go door-to-door in a fund-raising
campaign for a new church.
Their goal was to raise $150,000
in six days. They made it, with
$2,100 to spare, in commitments
from the Catholic families in the
parish.
The new church was dedicated
in October 1962.
The school, staffed by Sisters
of St. Benedict, had opened in
1956. By the time the church
building was completed, the
school enrollment had hit 458.
The parish today numbers
n 2005, the task force
expects only six diocesan
priest and one Benedictine
priest to be available.
/
some 629 families (1,511 per-
sons). Donna Halverson is new
principal of the school, which has
12 teachers and 186 pupils.
Father Thomas Kessler, 46, is
the pastor.
Parish staff includes Benedic-
tine Sister Joan Scheller, pas-
toral associate; Emily White-
head, music minister, "and Pat
Rennie, parish secretary.
Weekend Masses are cele-
brated Saturdays at 4 p.m. and
Sundays at 8 and 10:30 a.m.
The future parish staffing task
force recommends that a priest-
pastor continue to reside at Holy
Spirit, with additional responsi-
bilities for the neighboring
parish, Nativity, where a PLC is
recommended.
Evansville: Nativity
The youngest parish in the city
of Evansville, Nativity Church,
Sister Mary Celestin Maurer is was established in 1962. Con-
the principal, with 15 lay teach- struction of the school and audi-
ers in the K-8 school, torium-style church was begun
In the early years, Father with groundbreaking ceremonies
Hannigan, lived at Holy Rosary in October 1962. Benedictine Sis-
St. Joseph -- PLC
St. Theresa -- Pastor
St. Mary Pastor
St. John PLC
* Holy Trinity -- Oratory
Present
12 Diocesan Priests
2 Order Priests
ters from Ferdinand, along with
three lay teachers, welcomed the
first students to the school in
September 1963. (The school was
closed at the end of the 1970-71
school year.)
Father Walden Schiffer was
the first pastor.
Today, Father Henry Kuyk-
endall, 56, is pastor of Nativity
Church; he was appointed to this
first pastorate in 1990.
Parish staff includes Francis-
can Sister Jane McConnell, pas-
toral associate and DRE; Judy
Mills, music minister; Janet
Jenkins, parish resource man-
ager, and Dottie Schnapf, evan-
gelization director.
There are 283 fam-
ilies in the parish
(681 persons).
The religious edu-
cation program serves
119, 18 pre-school, 88
elementary, and 13
high school pupils.
Weekend Masses
are celebrated Saturdays at 5
p.m. and Sundays, 8:30 and 11
a.m.
Inthe future, a PLC will be as-
signed to Nativity, according to
the proposals of the future parish
staffing task force. The parish
will be linked with a neighboring
parish, Holy Spirit, where a
priest-pastor is recommended.
Evansville: St. Mary
Father John Ferdinand
Viefhaus was the first pastor of
the German-speaking commu-
nity at St. Mary, Evansville, in
1866. The school was built first,
with construction getting under-
way in 1866. The church was
dedicated in late 1867, and first
used on January 1, 1968.
The closing of nearby As-
sumption Cathedral in 1964
brought 150 new families to St.
Mary. After Assumption was
razed to make way for downtown
development, St. Mary became
the oldest standing Catholic
Church building in Evansville.
Church restoration was com.
pleted in the late 1980s,
parish celebrated
a new ministry center
mer school building earlier
year.
Father Stephen P.
48, is pastor of St.
The parish staff includes a
ter for Christian
Darlene Boyd, and
Sister Mary
sociates; Deacon Jim
Bob Temme,
liturgical coordinatOr;
Boettcher, parish
fonso Tenreiro, music
and Sally Duncan, parish
tary and bookkeeper.
There are 606 families
persons) in the parish.
The religious
gram serves 58 pupils :
mentary and 7 high
dents.
Weekend MasseS are 4
Saturdays; Sundays at lO
and 4 p.m.
The future parish
force envisions a
three parishes St.
John and Holy
force recommends that
pastor be assi
Church, a PLC to
that Holy Trinity be
an oratory.
Evansville: St. john
In the 1930s,
in the Evansville
Mass in the school
Assumption Church.
dianapolis
sent Father Herman
start the parish.
St. John Church was
in 1941. It was name
of the patron saint o
}I
Fendrich, the cigar.
owner who contributed
toward con
church. A later gift
made possible the
parish facilities.
The school, which
in 1955, later
tion of Marian Day
special education
