St. Mary (Diocese of Little Rock, Altus)

From Saintapedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search


St. Mary
Dedication: St. Mary
Type/Classification: Territorial Parish
Non-Parochial: No
Operated By: Diocesan clergy
Venerated Saints: None specified
Diocese: Diocese of Little Rock
Deanery:
Address: 5118 St Mary’s Ln., Altus, Arkansas 72821
City: Altus, AR
Subdivision: Arkansas
Country: United States
County: Franklin County
Website: Website
Founded:
School: No
Email: None specified
AI Confidence: 8/10
Review Level: 0/5


St. Mary Catholic Church is a territorial parish of the Diocese of Little Rock, situated on a hilltop overlooking the Arkansas River Valley just north of Altus in Franklin County. Dedicated to Saint Mary, the parish church is also historically known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architecture and its association with the Swiss-German Catholic settlement of the Arkansas River Valley.

The parish traces its origins to 1879, when German- and Swiss-speaking Catholic immigrants—many of whom had fled the Franco-Prussian War and the Kulturkampf religious persecution in Europe—settled the Altus area and organized a congregation under the direction of a missionary priest sent by the Diocese of Little Rock. The present Romanesque Revival church building, noted for its ornate gold-leaf interior and Sistine Chapel-style ceiling paintings, was dedicated in 1902.

Since the early twentieth century, the parish has been served by the Benedictine monks of Subiaco Abbey, who administer several of the historic Swiss-German parishes of the Arkansas River Valley on behalf of the diocese.

History

According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, St. Mary's parish was formally organized at Altus on November 21, 1879, when Rev. Beatus Maria Ziswyler—a Swiss-born missionary priest who had previously worked among German-speaking Catholics in Indiana and Missouri—performed the marriage of August Reimann and Magdalena Huber in the fledgling community.[1] Father Ziswyler had been sent to Franklin County by the second Bishop of Little Rock, Edward Fitzgerald, to minister to the growing number of German- and Swiss-speaking Catholics settling in the area.[2]

Many of the founding families had emigrated from Germany and Switzerland in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 and the Kulturkampf, the state campaign against the Catholic Church in the newly unified German Empire during the 1870s. A number of these immigrants first worked in the coal mines of the Arkansas River Valley, and the vineyards and wineries that remain characteristic of the Altus area today trace directly to this Swiss and German settlement.[3]

The congregation's first church, a frame building with an onion-shaped belfry, was constructed in 1881 at a reported cost of $1,000.[4] As the parish grew, the cornerstone for the present Romanesque Revival church was laid on May 24, 1901, and the completed building was dedicated on September 2, 1902.[5] Following Father Ziswyler's death, Bishop Fitzgerald placed St. Mary's parish under the pastoral care of the German-speaking Benedictine monks of St. Benedict's Priory, which was raised to the status of Subiaco Abbey in 1891; monks of Subiaco Abbey have continued to serve the parish since that time.[6]

The church building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 3, 1976 (NRHP reference no. 76000406), recognized both for its Romanesque Revival architecture and for its association with the history of Swiss and German Catholic immigration to the Arkansas River Valley.[7] The parish's mailing address, 5118 St. Mary's Lane in Altus, is confirmed by the Diocese of Little Rock's own parish directory.[8]

Special features

  • Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (added May 3, 1976; reference no. 76000406)
  • Also historically known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church
  • Ornate gold-leaf gilded interior and Sistine Chapel-style ceiling paintings
  • Pipe organ and bell tower reported to be more than a century old
  • Served by the Benedictine monks of Subiaco Abbey

Relics

According to established Catholic tradition, the main altar of a dedicated church customarily contains relics of the saints. No specific information about relics housed at St. Mary Church has been documented in publicly available sources.

Architecture and Art

Exterior features

  • The present church, with its cornerstone laid in 1901 and dedication in 1902, is built of brown stone blocks in the Romanesque Revival style, described by local sources as "grand Roman Basilical architecture."[9]
  • The building stands on a hilltop north of Altus overlooking the Arkansas River Valley, a prominent site chosen by the original Swiss and German settlers.
  • The church retains a bell tower reported by local sources to be more than one hundred years old.[10]

Interior features

  • The interior walls are lined with ornate gold-leaf gilding, restored and maintained through decorative painting conservation work.[11]
  • The church is noted for ceiling paintings compared by local sources to the Sistine Chapel.[12]
  • A pipe organ reported to be more than a century old remains in use in the church.[13]

Stained Glass Windows

Specific details on the church's stained glass windows are not publicly documented in available sources.

Statues and Sculptures

Specific details on statuary at St. Mary Church are not publicly documented in available sources.

Other Artwork

  • Conrad Schmitt Studios has undertaken decorative interior restoration at the church, including conservation of murals, the Stations of the Cross, and gold-leaf wall gilding.[14]

Image gallery

`

No gallery has been created yet. Type "Gallery" into the input box to create the page, save the page with the loaded template, and then use the Form tab to start adding photos. No gallery subpage has been created. Please use the input box above to create it.

Media

No media found for this saint.

Related parishes

Template:OtherSaintParishes

External links

Social media

Official Social Media

References

  1. ↑ "St. Mary's Church (Altus)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/st-marys-church-altus-3684/. 
  2. ↑ "St. Mary's Church (Altus)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/st-marys-church-altus-3684/. 
  3. ↑ "St. Mary's Church (Altus)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/st-marys-church-altus-3684/. 
  4. ↑ "St. Mary's Church (Altus)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/st-marys-church-altus-3684/. 
  5. ↑ "Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (Altus, Arkansas)". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Perpetual_Help_Church_(Altus,_Arkansas). 
  6. ↑ "St. Mary's Church (Altus)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/st-marys-church-altus-3684/. 
  7. ↑ "Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (Altus, Arkansas)". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Perpetual_Help_Church_(Altus,_Arkansas). 
  8. ↑ "St. Mary Church - Altus". Diocese of Little Rock. https://www.dolr.org/parishes/st-mary-church-altus. 
  9. ↑ "Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (Altus, Arkansas)". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Perpetual_Help_Church_(Altus,_Arkansas). 
  10. ↑ "Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (Altus, Arkansas)". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Perpetual_Help_Church_(Altus,_Arkansas). 
  11. ↑ "St. Mary's Catholic Church – Altus, Arkansas". Conrad Schmitt Studios. https://conradschmitt.com/project/st-marys-catholic-church-altus/. 
  12. ↑ "Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (Altus, Arkansas)". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Perpetual_Help_Church_(Altus,_Arkansas). 
  13. ↑ "Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (Altus, Arkansas)". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Perpetual_Help_Church_(Altus,_Arkansas). 
  14. ↑ "St. Mary's Catholic Church – Altus, Arkansas". Conrad Schmitt Studios. https://conradschmitt.com/project/st-marys-catholic-church-altus/. 
Retrieved from "https://dev.saintapedia.org/w/index.php?title=St._Mary_(Diocese_of_Little_Rock,_Altus)&oldid=57927"