April 17, 2009
St. John Church in Loogootee marks 150 years in 2009
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
St. John Church in Loogootee is celebrating its 150th birthday in 2009. The Indiana State Uni-versity Concert Choir and the Sycamore Singers will perform a concert on Sunday, April 19, at 4 p.m. — the first of several commemorative events to mark the anniversary year.
The musicians are under the direction of Scott Buchanan, Director of Choral Activities at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2001. Choirs under his direction have performed throughout the United States and Europe and future engagements include an ap-pearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., a return to Carnegie Hall, and a performance the Shenyang Conservatory of Music in Shenyang, China.
At Indiana State, Buchanan conducts the select Concert Choir and Masterworks Chorale and teaches conducting, choral methods and literature at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
The April 19 concert at St. John will include a variety of musical works including religious, modern and jazz. Some of the selections will be “Footprints,” “Hallelujah, Amen,” and “Send in the Clowns.” In the performance of “Trinkle, Trinkle,” Loogootee native Jordan Toy, son of Bob and Penny Toy, will be a soloist.
Parish history
In the 18th century, the “Maryland League” Catholic families settled together in Ken-tucky. The Brewers, Bowlings, Cissells, Meltons, Mattinglys Norrises, Spauldings and others were among them, and as the Catholic population swelled, settlers crossed the Ohio River into Indiana to Daviess and Martin Counties.
The road the settlers followed from Kentucky was a buffalo trace, but prosperity followed a road of steel — the Ohio & Missouri Railroad, built in the main by Irish immigrants, in 1857.
St. John Church in Loogootee was founded as a mission in 1857, and as a parish in 1859. Father John Mougin, a native of Germany, organized the congregation and started building the first church in 1860.
Father L. Gueguen arrived in 1864; he immediately bought land for a cemetery and began planning for the new church. Twenty years after Bishop de St. Palais laid the cornerstone of the first church, Bishop Silas Chatard laid the cornerstone for the new church.
Finishing touches were added to the church by Father Gustav Michael Girinsz who became pastor in 1885. Father Ginnsz also built a two-story brick schoolhouse, which had a large meeting hall up-stairs.
Father T. O’Donaghue served as pastor from 1890 to 1910; he was followed by Father Joseph Gerdon, who added to the church and built a convent and a rectory.
Father Ralph Doyle, assistant pastor in 1935, was named pastor in 1941; he oversaw the building of the high school. Sisters of Providence from St. Mary of the Woods taught at the parish school.
Succeeding pastors include Father Eugene Heerdink, Msgr. Roman Vollmer, Father Carl A. Roos, Father James Lex, Father Leo Kiesel and Father James Koressel.
Father Joseph F. Erbacher was named pastor of the Catholic Churches of Martin County on June 9, 2004. The churches include St. John, Loogootee; St. Joseph, Bramble; St. Martin, Whitfield, and St. Mary, Shoals.
Details about the April 19 concert were provided in an article by Charlotte Winkler in The Loogootee Tribune.