St. Ludger Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic parish church in Germantown, Henry County, Missouri.
St. Ludger Catholic Church | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Montrose, Missouri |
|---|---|
| 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 |
The earliest parish record is from December 1832, when Dekon Tiof baptized John Freyrik, but the community was not assigned a permanent parish priest until 1840, when Joseph Rosati, the Bishop of St. Louis, named Henry Meinkmann as pastor. In the early days, the parish built a log church. This was replaced with another in 1842, and then 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]
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
edit- ^ 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)
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