St.Mary Church, Carlyle, Illinois-History

-Fr. Demming donated Stations of the Cross for the Convent chapel.

Dec 18, 1893 - Fr. Demming celebrated his silver jubilee of ordination to the holy priesthood. A large number of the Reverend Clergy participated as well as the entire parish.

1894 - Sacristy was enlarged; a new baptistry built.

Sep 1897 - Fr. Demming blessed the cornerstone for St. Joseph's Hospital, Breese.

1890 - Fr. Demming went to Europe. Parishioners had the Grotto of Lourdes erected north of the church on the occasion of Fr. Demming's 25 years as pastor at St. Mary's. It was built by William Demming, Father's brother. Very Rev. W. Cluse, Vicar General, blessed the grotto on Dee 6, 1900.

Aug 1901 - School and church wired for electric lights. 1903 - Golden Jubilee of the parish.

March 16, 1904 - The zealous priestly labors of Fr. Demming in the Lord's vineyard were ended by death on March 16,1904. The entire community mourned his loss. On the day of his funeral, March 21, all business was at a standstill out of respect and love for a true priest, beloved friend and loyal citizen. The Rt. Rev. Bishop John Janssen, more than 50 priests, dozens of Venerable Sisters and between 1,500 and 2,000 lay people of all creeds were present to tender the dead priest a last mark of worldly respect.

-After the death of Fr. Demming, the affairs of the parish were in the hands of Fr. Dietrich, the assistant pastor, until the appointment of Fr. John Bernard Diepenbrock. He took charge of St. Mary's congregation on May 10, 1904, coming from Cairo, Illinois, where he had previously been stationed. The indebtedness of the parish was still considerable and Fr. Diepenbrock determinedly set to work to wipe it out. With a charitable contribution by Mrs. Julia Sparks, widow of the Honorable Congressman William Andrew Jackson Sparks, who presented him with the sum of $8,000, and the generous offerings on the part of the congregation, Fr. Diepenbrock cleared the parish debt completely. Besides this amount, Mrs. Sparks also contributed $1,000 towards three memorial windows in the sanctuary in memory of Rev. Demming, W.A. Sparks and Mrs. Alexander, her niece.

-St. Anthony's was begun in Bexton, later known as Beckemeyer.

April 28, 1905 - The Cyclone

-The worst calamity in Carlyle's history hit on Friday, between 5 and 6 pm. Two terrific windstorms followed each other in quick succession. The first uprooted trees and caused considerable other damage throughout the city. Then followed a sudden mysterious quiet, lasting, however, only a few minutes, after which followed the cyclone. In less than a minute it had passed but not without having left ruin and destruction in its wake.

-In the path of the destructive cyclone fell St. Mary's beautiful church building. With the exception of the massive steeple and the north wall of the sanctuary, the entire structure was converted into a heap of ruins. Fortunately, the Blessed Sacrament remained in tact, since only the upper part of the main altar was damaged. The Blessed Virgin altar was totally, and the St. Joseph altar partially, demolished.

-In spite of the great loss to the parish by the destruction of the church, the hand of Providence was, nevertheless, in evidence. It was, namely, Friday before Whitsunday, and the children of the Solemn Holy Communion class were preparing for that occasion by making a three-day retreat. Shortly before the advent of the cyclone, the children, together with the Sister who was in charge, had left the church and returned to the school building. Had they remained in church a little while longer they would have been buried beneath the ruins of the crumbling structure. Some of the Venerable Sisters, who were at work decorating the altars at the time, also narrowly escaped death, or at least serious injury, having just left the church momentarily to get some flowers from their home when the cyclone whirled past.

-The serious loss was estimated at $75,000 - the parish had $10,000 worth of insurance. On the following Monday morning, over 100 men of the parish were busy clearing away the debris and preparing the site for the new building. Meanwhile, divine services were held in the hall over the school.

-The rectory and school were also damaged considerably. While repairs were made to the rectory, the pastor and assistant lived in the school basement. Repairs were made at a cost of $3,000.

July 11, 1906 - the Rt. Rev. Bishop John Janssen dedicated the new church, which had a seating capacity of approximately 1,000 and was erected at a cost of about $60,000.

-The new church was strictly Romanesque of architecture, in the shape of a cross, and makes

Continued

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