April 29 - article of note

The Sky's the Limit (from the Washington Post)
Urban churches are selling properties and air rights to developers

This is a national trend. A quote from the article:

"After decades of declining membership, many congregations are using their biggest asset -- their property -- to rethink their ministry and presence in U.S. cities."

Apr. 28 - Update on St. Boniface sale information

The rectory is now included in the sale price of St. Boniface church ($650,000). It will be subdivided from the school property in the event of sale according to the real estate agent information:

Same price, more value. The rectory building is now included in the sale price. This exquisite church building on the national historic register, seats 400 people. It has a beautiful sanctuary and large parking lot. The property is being subdivided off from the school. Special agreements for continued use of entire parking lot, ask agent. Rectory building has 10+ rooms, including 3 bedroom suites with baths, and 1 bedroom with full bath, 1/2 bath on the main floor, gorgeous beamed ceilings, window seats and woodwork.

April 28 - St. Peter Chanel

For more information on today's 19th century French saint, see Saint-a-Day.

The mailbag's been full this week, since I sent the latest update about stbonifaceonline.com and this blog.

Msgr. Norb Ernst (STB 1960) at St. Margaret Mary Alacoque invites any St. Boniface parishioners to stop by and see the statues from St. Boniface which are now at St. Margaret Mary. More information on other items is located in the Where is it section of stbonifaceonline.com

Want to be included, drop me a line and I'll gladly add you to this list. Feel free to share any of your news, stories or photos, too. They keep all our memories alive for current and future generations.

Have a great weekend!

April 27 - St. Zita, need genealogy help?

For more on today's saint, see Saint-a-Day.

If you're looking for specifics on your St. Boniface ancestors and need some help, contact Mike Gregory. Mike has already compiled his own database of information on a number of St. Boniface families from various local resources, and he's looking at more. He would be happy to help you research your family history.

Mike was one of the St. Boniface choir members for the last years St. Boniface was open. In addition, Mike was also featured in the Oral History section, talking about his years in the choir and how he came to St. Boniface.

Apr. 26 - Reunions online!

Finally, the long anticipated reunions section is complete at stbonifaceonline.com Thank you Jenni Brandel Owens for suggesting this! (See I do work on your suggestions, even if it takes a little while! :) )

Feel free to check it and the linked Yahoo!Group when planning your next reunion.

April 26 - St. Radbertus

See Saint-a-Day for more information on today's saint.

April 25 - St. Mark the Evangelist

For more information on today's saint, see Saint-a-Day.

April 24 - St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

For more on today's saint, see Saint-a-Day. Here is the St. Fidelis window which was located on the south side (near middle) of St. Boniface Church until it's removal in late 2005.

Still working on the Reunions section. I have set up a Yahoo! Group for anyone interested in posting messages about their reunions, or just chatting about the good old days. Enjoy!

I went to the German churches art show at Maryville University yesterday afternoon. The photographer did not have any pictures of St. Boniface, because he did not print any churches designed by professional architects.

All contents of the show are all black and white photos, and many of the churches photographed were in rural areas of Missouri. My favorite was the photo of Our Lady Help of Christians in Weingarten. This page has more information on that parish, but the picture does not compare to the one I saw, which was quite beautiful.

Apr. 21 -In today's news: German churches exhibit 4/23

From the St. Louis Review today, 4/21/06. I will try to make an appearance to see the collection, since I will be out and about for a time on Sunday.

Professor to show photos of state’s German churches

"John Wickersham first discovered the allure of churches with a German heritage while on a project to photograph the Missouri River basin several years ago.

Wickersham, a member of St. Alban Roe Parish in Wildwood and a philosophy faculty member at Maryville University, went back to photograph many of the German-congregation churches in Missouri between 1992 and 1998.

On Sunday, April 23, at 3:30 p.m., he will offer about 200 original prints of the churches for sale, and will deliver a talk on their architectural, communal and spiritual aspects. The event will be in the University Center at Maryville University, 13550 Conway Road, Town and Country.

For more information about Sunday’s event, call the university’s alumni office, (314) 529-9300."

April 21 - St. Anselm, Reunions update

For more information on today's saint, see Saint-a-Day.

I am currently updating the Reunions section, since I am finding more information daily. Thanks for your patience.

Apr. 20 - Church tour

UPDATE: I spoke to Jan, the coordinator for the Ladies of Charity at St. Vincent de Paul parish, near downtown and here's the information on the church tour from my post earlier today.

Cost is $25 to benefit the homeless and working poor ministry in the parish and includes transportation to the churches on tour.

Doors open at St. Vincent de Paul at 1030AM. Lunch is served at 11AM. The tour starts at NOON and includes visits to the following churches:

• St. Stanislaus Kostka
• Holy Trinity
• St. Teresa/St. Bridget
• St. Joseph Croatian (Soulard)

They expect the tour to be complete by 4PM. St. Vincent de Paul Church has a 430PM Mass if you're interested in attending when you're done.

To reserve, contact her at 314-773-0206.

Apr. 20 - In the news

Is retirement near for the Archbishop of Washington, DC? (from the Washington Post)

Here is McCarrick's quote on who his successor should be....(note the last line).

"The fellow who comes should be a great leader. He should not be afraid of you people," he said, referring to the news media. "He should be a holy man. He should be a great teacher, and he should teach more by example than with words. And he should be funny."

April 20 - St. Agnes of Montepulciano, Review ad

For more information on today's saint, check Saint-a-Day.

I finally got my April 14 issue of the St. Louis Review and found interesting ad on page 15 of the Features section. Note the text in italics.

==============================================
BRING YOUR CAMERA

Tour some beautiful Historic Catholic Churches that you may never see the inside of again.

===============================================

I will be checking this out today for more information.

April 19 - Blessed James Duckett, in the news

See Saint-a-Day for more information on today's saint.

In the news:

Pope's First Year Lacks an Ideological Edge (from the Washington Post)

Another St. Stanislaus Kostka parish in danger of closing (Fell's Point, MD) See their blog, too.

April 18 - Blessed Mary of the Incarnation

For more on this 16th century saint, see Saint-a-Day.

More information has been added to the Genealogy section. The State of Missouri now has many older death and birth records available online. Note: this process in ongoing. Check back if you do not see something you're looking for on a particular day.

April 17 - St. Stephen Harding

For more information on today's saint, see Saint-a-Day.

April 15 - Holy Saturday, article of note

I'm sorry I missed the updates for yesterday. I was busy doing a lot of around the house work to prepare for Easter.

I found this article on tithing in the washingtonpost.com to be fairly interesting. It is a subject I don't think we hear about much in Catholic parishes, outside of the start of the Annual Catholic Appeal.

April 13 - St. Martin I, Holy Thursday, news

For more information on today's saint, see Saint-a-Day.

Today is Holy (Maundy) Thursday. For more information about this day in Holy Week, see this article.

In the news:

Pope Urges Confession during Holy Week (from AP via Washington Post)
Some Jews See Trespass in Church Seders (from the Washington Post)

April 12- St. Joseph Moscati

For more information on this 20th century saint from Naples, see Saint-a-Day.

Busy week this week. I hope to have more done by Easter. Thanks for your patience.

Your suggestions and contributions of content are always welcome, so feel free to check out contact details in the Oral History section (see right sidebar)

Apr. 11 - For whom the bell tolls

In the news:

Want the latest in ringtones for your cellular phone? Austrians now can download ringtones of the diocese of Linz's churches, according to this cnn.com article:

Church bells toll for the ringtone faithful

See the article (German) at the diocese web site here:
http://www.dioezese-linz.at/redaktion/index.php?action_new=Lesen&Article_ID=29381

English translation of this article from Google.

The actual ringtones can be heard here:
http://www.dioezese-linz.at/aktionen/klingeltoene/

April 11- St. Stanislaus

For more information on today's saint, see Saint-a-Day.

April 10 - Blessed Anthony Neyrot, in the news

For more information on today's saint, see Saint-a-Day.

In the news:

Reprieve for St. Augustine's in New Orleans (Washington Post)
New Orleans parish slated for closure is given a reprieve, for now.

For a Greener Palm Sunday (Washington Post)
How parishes can use "green palms"

In Turkey, a Deep Suspicion of Missionaries (Washington Post)
Catholic Priest's death in Turkey unveils the tenuous links between Islam and the secular Turkish government.

Pray for all missionaries today, including former St. Boniface parishioner, Fr. Tom Nelson, CM, currently serving in Nairobi, Kenya.

Thousands show support for immigration reform
Including St. Louis Archbishop Burke - from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Apr.7 - in the news

Here are a few topics I found interesting today online from the Washington Post..

Seeking a ringing endorsement
Can church bells be too loud? This is one of the things from St. Boniface that defined my childhood. As a kid, I never needed a watch because of the steam whistles on the river and the church bells. We always knew what time it was.

Science tries to explain another one...
Floating Ice May Explain How Jesus Walked on Water, Researchers Say

Maybe our former parishioner Laura Weber, scriptural theology PhD. can explain this one. More details if and when she does.
The Gospel of Judas.

April 7 - St. John Baptist de la Salle, happy Friday fish fry!

For more information on this saint, see Saint-a-Day.

More fish fry information today:

Carondelet
Check out the fish fry at the Spanish Society (La Sociedad Espanola) at 7101 Michigan Avenue from 4-7PM today.
map

Maplewood
Check Immaculate Conception's fish fry at the Parish Hall from 4-7PM.
2934 Marshall Ave, Maplewood, MO 63143
map

Apr. 6 - the season of Easter

Since it's Palm Sunday and Holy Week next week, I thought I'd check out what is available online as resources about the Easter season.

The Catholic Encyclopedia has a very interesting article that details many traditions of Easter, including some unusual traditions such as the one below.

Handball

In France handball playing was one of the Easter amusements, found also in Germany (Simrock, op. cit., 575). The ball may represent the sun, which is believed to take three leaps in rising on Easter morning. Bishops, priests, and monks, after the strict discipline of Lent, used to play ball during Easter week (Beleth, Expl. Div. off., 120). This was called libertas Decembrica, because formerly in December, the masters used to play ball with their servants, maids, and shepherds. The ball game was connected with a dance, in which even bishops and abbots took part. At Auxerre, Besancon, etc. the dance was performed in church to the strains of the "Victimae paschali". In England, also, the game of ball was a favourite Easter sport in which the municipal corporation engaged with due parade and dignity. And at Bury St. Edmunds, within recent years, the game was kept up with great spirit by twelve old women. After the game and the dance a banquet was given, during which a homily on the feast was read. All these customs disappeared for obvious reasons (Kirchenlex., IV, 1414).

April 6 - Blessed Notker, in the news

For more information on today's saint, see Saint-a-Day.

In the news:

Cardinal fasts for immigrants

New Bishop for Cleveland diocese

Both articles from the Washington Post.

April 5 - St. Vincent Ferrer, Carondelet news

For more on this 14th century saint, see Saint-a-Day.

More information on the Carondelet central historic district is in today's South Side Journal

April 4 - St. Isidore of Seville

For more on today's internet patron saint, see Saint-a-Day.

The Links page at stbonifaceonline.com is back up and running. Sorry for the delay. Apparently I work better during the day instead of at 2AM.

Apr. 3 - Fish fry page at stbonifaceonline.com

After many requests and after a diligent search, see the link at the side of the blog called Ultimate Fish Fry compendium. This page is over at stbonifaceonline.com here.

You name it, we've got it there. I'll be refining it a little this week, but have at it now! Only two more weeks of Lent left to try out some of your favorite fish fries. Enjoy!

April 3 - St. Richard of Chichester, in the news

For more information on St. Richard, see Saint-a-Day.

In the news

An interesting article from Sunday's Washington Post about foot washing and Lenten traditions and Cardinal Puts Church in Fight for Immigration Rights

Look for more posts later today.

April 1 - St. Hugh of Grenoble, links & tidbits about fish fries

For more on today's eleventh century saint, see Saint-a-Day.

While I was surfing, I found several more St. Boniface parishes online and added them to the links page. I also discovered via the internet that St. Boniface in St. Louis was not the only St. Boniface church in the US closing the weekend of June 24, 2005. St. Boniface Church in Manitowoc, WI, in the Green Bay diocese was also closed that very weekend. I have not tracked down a page for them, though.

No fooling around about fish fries in Cleveland, Ohio. (Now I know why you're so excited about them, Charlie ;->) The Diocese there lists the fish fries for all parishes participating, broken down by area.

[UPDATE: look for a fish fry section soon!]