Families Are Planning To Visit Every Parish During Next 5 Years

As he makes plans for his future, Jim Schroeder is taking a careful look at the past, specifically the rich history found in the parishes in the Diocese of Evansville.

For the past few months, Jim and his wife, Amy, their five children, and various extended family members and friends have been embarking on a historical tour of the Catholic churches in southwestern Indiana.

The idea came to him as he was paging through the book, “The Catholic Church in Southwestern Indiana: A History of the Diocese,” while he was visiting the home of Deacon Tom Lehman, who happens to be his father-in-law.

“I was struck by the remarkable history and beauty that existed in our diocese.”

That discovery dovetailed with a growing realization of how critical it will be for his young children to “keep our diocese thriving,” and to accept the call to religious vocations.

“I felt that if our family and friends were to experience this history, it could further inspire our children to consider a religious life and inspire us as adults to appreciate the rich tradition of the diocese.”

He sent e-mails to family members and friends inviting them to visit St. Francis Xavier Church in Vincennes, the oldest parish in the diocese.

His invitations were accepted, and in January Schroeder and his family and friends visited the Old Cathedral in downtown Vincennes. While there, they learned that the parish was founded in 1732, and that the foundation of the current church was laid in 1826. In 1970, Pope Paul VI elevated the Old Cathedral to the status of minor basilica, “an honor reserved for only the most historic churches.”

In January they attended Mass together and the pastor, Father John Schipp, gave them a tour which included the crypt which contains the remains of Bishop Simon Bruté, the first bishop of Vincennes. Then they headed to a local diner for lunch.

Since then, the group has visited St. Peter Church in Montgomery, St. Joseph Church in Jasper, St. Simon Church in Washington [now Our Lady of Hope], and St. Ferdinand Church in Ferdinand.

He estimates that if those once a month visits continue, the group will visit every church in the diocese in five years. His own parish, Holy Redeemer in Evansville, was established in 1952 so it will be one of the later visits.

When they began their travels in January, Schroeder was reminded of the “trials and tribulations of those early people hundreds of years ago.”

The group started its visit to Vincennes by walking around the monument dedicated to George Rogers Clark. They learned that the rich Catholic history of Vincennes includes such notables as Father Pierre Gibault and Bishop Bruté.

That day, Schroeder began to think “of the struggles that those early Catholics had embraced to allow me to sit comfortably while the Mass played out before me. I know that although our beloved Church had grown remarkably since those early days, we are faced with our own challenges.”

Visiting St. Peter Church, he said he was reminded of visiting a lighthouse on a hill. “It was a foggy, rainy day, and then we saw a light on a hill. And there was a bright, glowing interior there.”

When the families arrived in the church, they found the rosary was being recited before the pastor, Father James Koressel, celebrated the Mass. “As the service progressed,” Schroeder said, “I felt a gradual warmth and solidarity in an otherwise unfamiliar place.

“The calming aesthetics of the interior put my mind at ease, and I could not help but be drawn upward into the farthest reaches where all seemed to merge at a heavenly point.”

After the homily, he found his eyes wandering to the depictions of the Way of the Cross, and then he reflected on the saint the church was named after, the man who denied Jesus three times.

“I was sitting in the church that bore his name because Jesus would not stop asking magnanimous things from ordinary people.”

The visit to Jasper was made on the eve of the feast day of the patron saint of St. Joseph’s church.

As he sat in the massive church, he realized that “over the past century and beyond, this church had been witness to a melting pot of generations, as the forefathers had come to build a foundation upon which eras of youth would start anew.”

“In a structure that had stood since shortly after the Civil War, it was clear that those early people had given in a way that would only be fulfilled after they were gone. It had been a labor of tremendous sacrifice, of love that only a parent could give their child.”

A month later, at Our Lady of Hope Church in Washington, he felt “drenched by the sounds and invigorated by what I saw.”

The parish was celebrating a Baptism, and Schroeder watched his own children “perched precariously on the kneelers, clamoring for a chance to see the sacramental miracle take place.

“They giggled, and they smiled, and they could not contain their childish enthusiasm as the little boy just baptized took the priest’s hand off his father’s head and replaced it with his own. The church erupted in laughter.”

He noted the “vibrancy and the joy” that existed inside the church that day. “New life in the Church had been born again. I could not help but feel a remarkable surge inside. These children were the hope for our diocese.”

The group traveled to the town of Ferdinand for its next visit, starting in the parish cemetery at St. Ferdinand Church. They noted the words on the white cross in the middle of the cemetery: God so loved the world that he gave his only son . . .

As the faithful parishioners gathered for the celebration of the Mass, the visitors joined them.

Schroeder learned that Mass was first celebrated in Ferdinand in 1840, and by 1848 the community had begun much of the church that still remains today.

Less than 20 years later, four young Benedictine sisters arrived and founded a monastery that “remains today as a beacon of learning and service.”

During the Mass the Prayer of St. Francis “wafted through the church and the plea began that we would become a channel peace.”

That day, the group decided to visit a local Mexican restaurant. “It was Cinco de Mayo, known worldwide as the day most associated with independence for the Spanish people that had come to the Americas.

“Our dinner at the local Mexican restaurant would ironically pay homage to this anniversary, although our children’s reverence had long since dissipated into the night air.”

The travels continue.

In June, they will visit St. Joseph Church in Vanderburgh County, St. Wendel Church in nearby St. Wendel in July, and St. Peter Celestine Church in Celestine in August.

Even though his children are quite young — ranging in age from 5-year-old twins to a newborn — he is confident they will benefit from the monthly trips to the various parishes. “Even very young kids can perceive the passion, the importance of going to places that are important to our faith.”

“It’s been fun,” he says of the trips. “I love history, and tying in our faith and our history with a great group of friends. There is so much amazing tradition.”

After each church visit, Schroeder writes a reflection. To receive those reflections through e-mail, contact him at jimandamyschroeder@gmail.com.