g S S ACj E
CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF EVANSVILLE
VOLUME 23
NUMBER 51
August27,1993
St. Thomas parish to observe 150 years
p Gettelfinger will
Mass Sept. 5
Knox County church
By PAUL R. LEINGANG
Message editor
Father John Shaughnessy
probably up there smiling
us," said Mary Kay Broth-
remembering how much
former pastor wanted to
celebrate the one-hun-
anniversary of
t. Thomas Church, Knox
Father Shaughnessy died in
1990, but he is still
"in spirit," Brothers
"He keeps us going."
Books, clippings and pic-
from the late priest's
provided much
for a parish history.
Shaughnessy served as
from 1955 until his re-
in 1978, and as pas-
until his death.
Father Francis Allega, the
pastor of the pic-
parish south of Vin-
said he hopes people
have present or past con-
:ions with the parish will
to the celebration, and
1at any division within the
may be healed.
Father Allega said it was
rtant to acknowledge
much of a blessing it
to have a church in the
where Mass could be
ed and God's bless-
could be received.
Acknowledging the limits
his own health, Father A1-
praised the organizers of
anniversary celebration.
;ommittee members have
over all of the work, he
A picture of the church has
imprinted on mugs, or-
and refrigerator mag-
-- all available as sou-
of the anniversary. A
repared history of the
is also available.
An "Old Fashioned Barn
next Saturday night
a noon Mass on Sunday
the main events of the
celebration.
The Barn Dance will be
from 7 to 11 p.m., Satur-
Lay, Sept. 4, at the parish
bavilion on the picnic
:rounds near the church.
,awrence Hock, from
IOonville, will be the caller.
ap Gerald A. Gettelfin-
be the main celebrant
Mass, at noon, Sunday,
)t. 5, in the church. Elsie
the oldest parish-
at age 98 -- will take
Part in the presentation of
at the offertory, if she is
With her will be a
Dennis Williams,
a lreat grandson, Jon
Planning to concelebrate
Mass are Father Allega
parish native Father Hi-
lary Vieck, pastor of St. Peter
Church, Linton, and pastoral
moderator of Holy Name
Church, Bloomfield.
Lunch in the pavilion will
follow the Mass, for parish
members, families and
friends. Games are planned
for the children, "so the
grown-ups can visit," said
Marilyn Vieck, one of the or-
ganizers of festivities. She
and Adaline Carie began
working toward the anniver-
sary celebration almost two
years ago. Among the other
parishioners involved in the
planning are Mary Kay Broth-
ers, Anna Marie Yochum,
Karen Laue, and Mary Mar-
garet Rusch.
"Everyone's related here,"
said Mrs. Brothers, a niece of
both Marilyn Vieck and Ada-
line Carie. There are direct
and indirect connections
among the organizers and
their spouses and families,
and some current members of
the parish trace their connec-
tions to the early part of the
nineteenth century and the
establishment of the parish.
Mrs. Brothers is a member
of the Carie family. That
name is a derivative of the
original, "Queret" -- as in
Queret's Prairie, where a log
church under the patronage
of St. Thomas the Apostle
was built in 1844.
Even earlier, as far back as
1833, Mass was celebrated in
the home of Antoine Queret.
Today, members of St.
Thomas Church include
eighth-generation family
members, 26-year old James
Brothers and 16-year old
Melissa Brothers. They are
the son and daughter of Mary
Kay and Kenneth Brothers,
and the grandchildren of
Francis "Bud" Carlo and
Pauline Vieck Carlo.
The original church has
been re-constructed and re-
modeled and modernized.
The tower was added in
1917.
A rectory, built in 1896,
was replaced in 1992.
Benedictine Sisters from
Ferdinand came to teach at
the combination school-con-
vent building in 1900. A new
school, built in 1918, served
the parish -- at times as a
public school -- until 1973. It
now provides religious edu-
cation classrooms and a base-
ment social hall.
Organizers of the anniver-
sary celebration are encourag-
ing parishioners to hold class
reunions (luring the weekend
anniversary celebration.
ST. THOMAS CHURCH, ST. THOMAS
Historic faith and order gathering
included Roman Catholic delegation
SANTIAGO DE COM-
POSTELA, Spain (CNS)
The most diverse and com-
prehensive gathering in the
history of Christianity's Faith
and Order movement ended
Aug. 14 with a renewed com-
mitment to moving toward
Christian unity at all levels.
"'We say to the churches:
There is no turning back,"
said the concluding message
of the Fifth World Conference
of Faith and Order.
The churches cannot turn
back, it added, "'either from
the goal of visible unity or
from the single ecumenical
movement that unites con-
cern for the unity of the
church and concern for en-
gagement in the struggles of
the world."
The conference was the
first of its kind in 30 veers
and the first ever to include
an official Roman Catholic
delegation. It was held Aug.
3-14 at the ancient Catholic
pilgrimage site of Santiago de
Compostela in northwestern
Spain, where St. James the
Apostle is believed to be
buried.
The theme of the meeting,
sponsored by the World
Council of Churches, was
"'Toward Koinonia in Faith,
Life and Witness."
"'Koinonia," a Greek word
found frequently in the New
Testament. is usually trans-
lated as "'communion," but
also in some contexts as fel-
lowship, community or unity.
Since Faith and Order;s
fourth world conference in
Montreal in 1963, the final
statement said. "'far more of
us come from Asia. Africa.
Latin America. the Caribbean
and the Pacific region. There
are more women participants
than ever before .... There is a
significant presence of Pente-
costal Christians."
Roman Catholics, whose
participation in Faith and
Order conferences was pro-
hibited by Rome during; the
first half of the century and
who were represented only
by a group of observers in
1963, formed the fourth-
largest delegation at Santiago
de Compostela with a group
of 26 members appointed by
the Vatican.
Cardinal Edward I. Cassidy,
president of the Vatican's
Pontifical Council for Pro-
moting Christian Unity, ad-
dressed the conference Aug,
10.
He delivered a supportive
message from Pope tohn Paul
II and declared the Catholic
See. HISTORIC page 12
