Schnellville Case Study

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Sitting on a hill overlooking the community of Schnellville, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church stands in the middle of the rural and unique township of Schnellville, Indiana. Most often referred as Sacred Heart, the church is the most visible and prominent building in Schnellville. Many Catholic churches located in Dubois County boast standing more than 100 years including the following: St. Anthony Church in St. Anthony, St. Ferdinand Church in Ferdinand, St. Mary Church in Ireland, St. Joseph Church in Jasper, and St. Henry Church in St. Henry. Since Schnellville received its first parish in 1874, Sacred Heart Catholic Church has endured and grown through two fires in 1898 and 2003, a complete renovation in 1914, numerous priests, and …show more content…

Anthony or St. Celestine. Because of the great distance to travel, the people of Schnellville wanted their own church. (“2 Schnellville” 12) Marvin Welp, an elderly member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, states, “There were a lot of businesses. They wanted their own church and did not want to travel too far” (Welp 1). Bishop de St. Palais came to Dubois County in November of 1873 to celebrate Confirmation in Ferdinand; in order to receive a parish in Schnellville, a committee of men went to Ferdinand to petition Bishop de St. Palais. Taking the longest and most rugged of the three possible routes, the committee brought Bishop St. de Palais to Schnellville. As they had hoped, the bad roads influenced Bishop de St. Palais, and he felt sorry for the little town. (Striegel 11; “3 Schnellville” 11) More so, in order to build a church in Schnellville, Father Broening--pastor of St. Celestine--had to give his consent to start a church in Schnellville; Father Broening agreed by writing a letter and hope for a parish began in Schnellville. (“1 Schnellville” 13) Finally, Bishop de St. Palais gave his permission for the creation of Sacred Heart Catholic Church on November 10, 1873 (“2 Schnellville” 12). After only one year of planning, a journey to build Sacred Heart …show more content…

Immediately after Moll retired, Reverend Francis Mellen served as pastor from 1952 to 1953. (“3 Schnellville” 17-18) Sacred Heart acquired a new interior by redecorating in 1955 (“1 Schnellville” 14). Monsignor Othmar Schroeder served as pastor from 1975 to 1988. Then, from 1988 to 1998, Reverend Firmus Dick took over Schnellville. (“1 Schnellville” 18) From 1998 to 2005, Father Ralph Schipp served as the pastor of Sacred Heart (Striegel 18).
In 2003, Sacred Heart had its second fire. A couple of kids playing with matches had generated the fire by lighting pieces of paper. Luckily, it did not create an actual fire; however, the flames did produce an immense amount of smoke damaged behind the back altar. (Striegel 15) The only documented loss of property in the fire included several altar cloths, but the church had no use for them anymore (Welp 1). In 2005, after Schipp retired, Father Timothy Tenbarge, served as the pastor for both churches. On December 5, 2013, Reverend Michael Madden served as Sacred Heart and St. Anthony churches. (Striegel

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