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A
Look to the Past, Present and Future
"On a bright Sunday morning,
September 3, 1889, the Eighteenth Sunday after pentecost, a jubilant
procession of horsedrawn buggies clipped down Center Street, Clear Lake,
MN. they carried some eighteen young families to the first Mass in their
new Church. On their way they passed the Clear Lake Hotel, the new town
hall, Henry Goenner's General Store, a butcher shop, creamery, the Varley
Elevator, and John Dingman's blacksmith shop -- all evidence of a thriving
town.
That same year, 1889, the Diocese of St. Cloud was
established, with Most Reverand Otto Zardetti consecrated its first
Bishop.
Two years before, eighteen Catholic Clear Lake and Haven
township farmers and trades people were eager to have their own place of
worship and pastoral care. After enduring for several years great hardship
in their desire to attend Mass and have their children Baptized, they met
and commissioned two spokesmen to petition Most Reverand Rupert
Seidenbusch, Vicar Apostolic of St. Cloud. They sought permission to build
a Church in their town. Joseph Goenner and Anton Stimmler successfully
carried out their asignment, and in June of 1888, permission was granted
to organize a parish. Very Reverand August Stemper, pastor of Cathedral
Church, St. Cloud, provided clerical leadership and assisstance in the
organization of the parish."
The community that was started over
100 years ago has grown to a parish of around 450 families. Obviously some
things have changed in the past 100 years, such as, we use cars now,
instead of buggies, but the foundation laid down by those first eighteen
families has provided a vision that has kept us thriving for the past
hundred years and will launch us into our future.
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