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HomeBulletinsOur School
---- The Buildings ---- The Altars -------- Center Altar --------St. Francis Xavier -------- St. Francis Assisi ---- The Masterpieces ---- Sanctuary Paintings ---- Shrine Areas ---- Communion Rails ---- Windows -----Quilt Pictures ---- The Crypt ---- 1998 Restoration
Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 St. Francis Xavier Parish. All rights reserved. Revised: February 18, 2007 Email us at St. Francis Xavier Parish This site is provided by |
The present structure was built in 1883 and is the third home to our congregation. Its walls are twenty-two inches thick, and they were constructed from rock from a nearby quarry. The brick, which form the exterior were hand made in the community. This church, built in the Romanesque Revival style, cost $9,000 to construct. The bell tower rises 190 feet and houses three bells that were cast in St. Louis by the Henry Stuckstede Foundry. Parishioners whose names are inscribed on the bells donated these. The bells were dedicated in 1893 to the honor of St. John. A thirteen-register pipe organ was added to the church in 1898. It has undergone restoration in 1940 and more recently in 1994. Our history of the church is sketchy, but we know the church was renovated in 1955 at a cost of $72,000 which is eight times the original construction cost. At this time new windows were installed to replace the originals which had deteriorated. The building was again painted and carpeted in 1974. The last major restoration work was completed in 1984. A parish-wide campaign raised $300,000 to do this work as well as several other parish projects. The present restoration has truly been the work of our entire community. The financial campaign, "Our Parish, Our Future" raised nearly $1.5 million for work in our church and our school. The work in the church was guided by three principles: take care of what we have, prepare for the future and do it right. Our parish takes pride in believing that these principles have been fulfilled.
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