Old St. Mary's Church
St. Mary's parish was founded in 1834 by Father Martin Kundig to accommodate the spiritual needs of the German speaking Catholics arriving from the small farming community of Neustadt. It is the third oldest parish in the city.
In 1840, Father Kundig was given authority by Bishop Peter Paul LeFevere to solicit funds for the building of St. Mary's Church. His initial effort raised two dollars and fifty cents!
Early in 1841, Antoine and Monica Beaubien sold to Bishop LeFevere, for the sum of one dollar, the land at St. Antoine and Croghan streets (now Monroe) to be used as the site of the new St. Mary's Church.
The cornerstone for the First Church, built on the same site as the present one, was laid on the feast of corpus Christi, June 19, 1841. Its completion fell to Father Otto Skolla, who replaced Father Kundig when he suffered a nervous breakdown. Father Skolla was a Franciscan who had been released from his monastic obligations to minister to the native people. St. Mary's was his first pastorate.
Everyone, who could, joined the effort. Women of the parish carried many of the 96,484 bricks incorporated into the ample building of 60 by 125 feet to the masons during construction.
The solid brick structure which had a steeple topped with a cross that was "visible for a great distance," was consecrated in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on June 29, 1843. The tower's four bells were donated by Antione Beaubien and his wife.
In 1847, the Redemptorist Fathers took over the administration of the parish and shortly thereafter found it necessary to install balconies over the side aisles as well as one in the back to accommodate the many children of the parish. As well, they had the church decorated with oil colors and many religious pictures. The simple high altar was replaced by a handsome carved one.
In 1872, the Franciscan Fathers replaced the Redemptorists. The new pastor, Father Appolinaris Hattler, staged a fair which netted the handsome amount of $4,000 toward the construction of the new church. It wasn't until July 20, 1884, however that the cornerstone was laid.
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