St. Ludger Catholic Church
St. Ludger Catholic Church | |
Nearest city | Montrose, Missouri |
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Coordinates | 38°17′26″N 94°1′13″W / 38.29056°N 94.02028°W |
Area | 2.6 acres (1.1 ha) |
Built | 1926 | -1927, 1942
Architect | Henry Brinkman; August Meier |
Architectural style | Romanesque |
NRHP reference No. | 98000365[1] |
Added to NRHP | April 13, 1998 |
St. Ludger Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic parish church located at Germantown, Henry County, Missouri.
The earliest parish record is from Dec. 1832, when a Dekon Tiof baptized John Freyrik, but the community was not assigned a permanent parish priest until 1840, when Joseph Rosati, Bishop of St. Louis named Fr. Henry Meinkmann as pastor. In the early days, the parish built a log church, replaced with another in 1842, and that by a permanent church in 1858. The church was named for Saint Ludger, first Bishop of Münster, as many families who settled in the area originated in Westphalia.[2] The growth of Germantown stalled after 1871, however, when the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad built tracks to nearby Montrose instead.
In August 1874, a Rocky Mountain locust plague struck large swathes of the Midwest, destroying the wheat, oats, and corn sown in May. According to Germantown and St. Ludger’s, 1833-2002, a history by Donna (Koch) Talbott, nearby farmers rushed to the church and “made a solemn promise before the Blessed Sacrament to keep May 1 holy if they would be averted from this plague.” The grasshoppers departed after the prayer service, and for the next 115 years, the parish held a public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on May 1.[2]
The current variegated red brick Romanesque Revival-style church building was completed in 1927. It sits on a concrete foundation and has a 60 foot tall bell tower. Also on the property is the contributing brick rectory constructed in 1942.[3]: 5 It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.[1]
In 1990, the parish was suppressed and became a mission church of Immaculate Conception Parish in Montrose. The May 1 celebration was changed to an evening Mass, now held on the closest Saturday to May 1 and followed by a procession around the church and blessing of crops and farmlands with holy water.[2]
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c McLaughlin, Carol; Denzer, Marty (June 8, 2018), "May Day celebration at St. Ludger's Chapel", The Catholic Key, Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph
- ^ Arlene Schussler (October 1997). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: St. Ludger Catholic Church" (PDF). Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2017-01-01. (includes photographs)
- Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph
- Romanesque Revival church buildings in Missouri
- Churches completed in 1927
- Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri
- Buildings and structures in Henry County, Missouri
- National Register of Historic Places in Henry County, Missouri
- Religious organizations established in 1833
- 1990 disestablishments in Missouri
- Kansas City, Missouri region Registered Historic Place stubs
- Missouri church stubs