Bentleyville St. Luke Church
| Bentleyville St. Luke Church | |
|---|---|
Vaizdas:Bažnyčia Abc 2000.jpg Abc bažnyčia 2000 m. | |
| Įkurta | 1903 m. 1994 m. sujungta su St. Clement, Ellsworth ir St. Joseph, Cokeburg įkuriant naują Ave Maria parapiją. |
| Adresas | <> |
Pradžia
St. Luke was founded in 1903. The origin of the parish can be traced to the influx of Slovaks, Poles and Lithuanians to the area to work in the local coal mines. In 1903, a priest was sent by the bishop to organize a parish. Initially, Mass was celebrated in rented store building. In 1904, work began on a frame church. Before the church could be completed, high winds blew the structure over. The parish then began work on a second frame church. A fire destroyed this church before it could be completed. Undaunted, the congregation began work on a third building, this time a brick church. The cornerstone of the church was laid in 1908 and the completed building was dedicated on February 15, 1909.
In 1913, the Slovaks left to form their own parish. Until 1935, the gospel and sermon were delivered in Polish, Lithuanian and English. Although the church was remodeled over the years, the same building remained the parish church.
As the rise of population at the beginning of the century led to the parish's creation, the loss of population as the century progressed led to its suppression. In 1994, St. Luke was merged with St. Clement, Ellsworth and St. Joseph, Cokeburg to create the new Ave Maria parish. The St. Luke Church remains open and serves the new parish
http://www.liturgicalcenter.org/en/parish-595
In the southern sphere of Pittsburgh one finds these twin-towns where Lithuanians settlers took their place among the various immigrants. Milukas says that about 1902 there was a Lithuanian-Slav church here. When he means Polish, he regularly so identifies a parish. His use of the adjective 11slaviska11 perhaps means Slovak. A single early newspaper notice in 1911 mentions the K~stutis Society with its own quarters, library, and band. (VL, Oct. 11, 1911.) This multiethnic makeup is reflected in the St. Luke Parish of Bentleyville, organized in 1903, which a Lithuanian almanac of 1916 describes as derived "from various nationalities." Until 1935, worshipers could hear sermons in Polish, English, as well as Lithuanian. Fr. Jonas Vaisnoras (aka as Wojszner and Woshner) first headed the tenuously mixed congregation from April 19, 1903 to March 7, 1904. He originally offered Mass on the second floor above the office of the Ellsworth Coal Company where, no doubt, some of the parishioners worked. The same company donated money and a parcel of land for a church. In September of 1903, the pastor received permission to borrow $8,000 to start construction. A coal miners' strike that soon broke out, nevertheless, prevented immediate construction, forcing the pastor to quit the project. On February 2, 1904, Vaisnoras became pastor at Lucyville, with Ellsworth and Fayette City as missions. After a six-month pastoral vacancy at St. Luke, Fr. Ignatius Abromaitis took office from August 4, 1904 to January 9, 1906. He attempted to erect a wooden shrine on the donated land, but a severe wind storm felled the incomplete construction. Fr. Jonas Sutkaitis then sold a new site in Bentleyville to the diocese for a frame church. Meanwhile, the fragile fledgling of a parish suffered a setback with Abromaitis' exit. The wandering Fr. Juozas Halaburda was the next to try his luck. He lasted only from January 10, 1906 to February 14, 1907. One source credits him in his one year with building a wooden church and completing a rectory in Bentleyville. A Polish priest, Fr. Andrew J. Garstka, assumed the pastorate, February 15, 1907, until May of 1913. In his first year, he suffered the loss of the church by fire on December 2, 1907. For months he struggled with a hastily improvised wooden chapel, and succeeded in rallying the parishioners to erect a brick church in 1908, with dedication on February 15, 1909, by Bishop Regis Canevin himself. Garstka made notable improvements to the property and parish cemetery. "Nevertheless, the Lithuanians did not like him because he was unable to speak Lithuanian." Even though St. Luke was a territorial parish belonging to no one ethnic group, the predominant Lithuanians "felt cheated, since they were accustomed to Lithuanian clergy, and considered St. Luke as their church." During the tenure of the Polish pastor, some among the estimated 500 Lithuanians protested vigorously, but then quickly grew lukewarm and fell away from the parish. (Metrastis, 1916, p. 327.) Most of the Lithuanians came from Suvalkai, with a minority from Kaunas and Vilnius. Those from Vilnius arrived, heavily Polish-oriented with little Lithuanian ethnic sense, though they did speak their native language. Gartska encouraged such Polish-orientation, while supposedly showing little interest in Lithuanians' ethnic identity. Instead he was "totally dedicated to Poles and Slovaks." He allegedly wooed the 200 known Slovak families to help diminish the parish debt. His tactics succeeded at first. But then the Slovaks grew in sufficient numbers so they could tell Gartska: "To wsystko jest nase" [Everything is ours], i.e., they could get along with neither Poles nor Lithuanians. Thus a rift opened up between the pastor and the Slovaks who then left the parish. Unwilling to remain with just Poles and Lithuanians, Gartska handed over the parish keys to the Lithuanians and left on May 8, 1913. In a show of emotion, they snatched the occasion to "lock the church, barricade the rectory and refuse entry to another Polish priest." To the editor of the 1916 clergy almanac, "the Lithuanians displayed not a little courage and perseverance" (p. 328). Fr. Gabriel Scheer filled in for two months, August 8 to September 11 when the bishop assigned Fr. John Misius as pastor. From this time on, the Slovaks seceded, building a St. Clement chapel in Ellsworth, attended by the pastor from Monessen. Meanwhile, the Lithuanians and Poles got along "quite well" [pusetinai]. Misius reigned at length until June.12, 1935. He then stepped down to an assistant's position for another quarter century at St. Casimir in Pittsburgh. Non-Lithuanian priests followed: Fr. James L. Stewart, June 13, 1935 to June 12, 1936; Fr. Francis Mccarter, July 16, 1936 to October 29, 1941 ; Fr. Mark Flanagan, November 2, 1941 to February 15, 1948; Fr. Louis P. Yunker, February 29, 1948 to 1953; Fr. Thomas J. Walsh, December 17, 1953 to 1960; Fr. Thomas M. Nee, June 6, 1960 to 1966; Fr. Harry F. Petrie, May, 1966 to 1970; Fr. John A. Palko, c. June 1970 to 1983; Fr John J. Charnoki, 1983 to close of the parish by the early 1990s.
Reflecting justifiable pride of the incumbent pastor, the eightieth anniversary brochure was filled with details about the church furnishings and the extant parochial organizations, illustrated with numerous photos. Like so many other communities, St. Luke had its own cemetery, though no data of origin is given in the eightieth jubilee history.
Nuorodos, šaltiniai
Leidiniai apie bažnyčia:
Kiti šaltiniai:
- Amerikos lietuvių istorija. Redagavo dr. Antanas Kučas. - Išleido Juozas Kapočius, Boston, 1971. - 640 p.
- Lithuanian Religious Life in Amerika: A Compendium of 150 Roman Catholic Parishes and Institutions. William Wolkovich-Valkavičius. Volume 1. Eastern United States. - Publisher: Lithuanian Religious Life in Amerika c/o 36 St. George Avenue, Norwood, Massachusetts 02062, 1991. - 630 p. /Volume 2. Pennsylvania. - Publisher: Lithuanian Religious Life in Amerika c/o 36 St. George Avenue, Norwood, Massachusetts 02062, 1996. - 552 p. /Volume 3. The Midwest and Beyond. - Publisher: Lithuanian Religious Life in Amerika c/o 36 St. George Avenue, Norwood, Massachusetts 02062, 1998. - 416 p.
- Lithuanian Pioneer Priest of New England, Rev. William Wolkovich-Valkevicius, Franciscan Press, Brooklyn, N Y, 1980
- The American Cacholic Tradition. The Other Catholics, Dyrud, Novak, Vecoli, Amo Press, New York, 1978.
- Vladas Būtėnas. Pensylvanijos angliakasių Lietuva. Amerikos Lietuvių Bibliotekos, Inc. (Lithuanian library Press, Inc.) leidžiamos Amerikos lietuvių etnines foto enciklopedijos knyga. Spaudė M. Morkūno spaustuvė Čikagoje. Nuotraukos Algimantas Kezys, S.J. PORTFOLIO: Elena Bradūnaitė, Jurgis Bradūnas. Patarejų komisija: Jonas Puzinas, Juozas Prunskis, Juozas Vaišnys, S. J. Dailininkai: Vincas Lukas, Petras Aleksa. Dailininkų asistentė: Vita Polikaitytė. Čikaga. 1977. Psl. 350.