St. Ludger Catholic Church

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St. Ludger Catholic Church
St. Ludger Catholic Church is located in Missouri
St. Ludger Catholic Church
Nearest cityMontrose, Missouri
Coordinates38°17′26″N 94°1′13″W / 38.29056°N 94.02028°W / 38.29056; -94.02028Coordinates: 38°17′26″N 94°1′13″W / 38.29056°N 94.02028°W / 38.29056; -94.02028
Area2.6 acres (1.1 ha)
Built1926 (1926)-1927, 1942
ArchitectHenry Brinkman; August Meier
Architectural styleRomanesque
NRHP reference No.98000365[1]
Added to NRHPApril 13, 1998

St. Ludger Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic parish church located at Germantown, Henry County, Missouri.

The earliest parish record is from Dec. 1832, when a Dekon Tiof baptized John Freyrik, but the community was not assigned a permanent parish priest until 1840, when Joseph Rosati, Bishop of St. Louis named Fr. Henry Meinkmann as pastor. In the early days, the parish built a log church, replaced with another in 1842, and that 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] The growth of Germantown stalled after 1871, however, when the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad built tracks to nearby Montrose instead.

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[]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ 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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