A Catholic Mission
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    • About
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  • Our Story
    • 1. The Stage is Set
    • 2. The Osages Enter Kansas.
    • 3. Earliest Commerce
    • 4. Earliest Protestant Missions
    • 5. The Catholic Osage Mission >
      • 5A. The Mission Complex
      • 5B. The Osage Manual Labor Schools
      • 5C. A Beacon on The Plains ...
    • 6. Progress and Tragedy
    • 7. The Missionary Trails >
      • 7A. Missions, Stations, Churches
    • 8. A Dangerous Balance - The Civil War >
      • 8A. Confederate Officers Massacred
    • 9. The Osage Leave Kansas >
      • 9A. The Missionaries Did Not Abuse the Osage.
      • 9B. Fr. Schoenmakers Speech
    • 10. A Very Unique Community is Born >
      • 10A. A Church Raising
    • 11. Regional Boarding Schools >
      • 11A. St. Francis Institution for Boys
      • 11B. St. Ann's Academy for Girls
    • 12. Transitions
    • 13. The Passionists Era Begins
    • 14. Citizen Lawmen - The A.H.T.A. >
      • A.H.T.A. Chanute - October 1914
    • 15. The Passionist Influence is Expanded
    • 16. The Schools Today >
      • 16..1 Champions & Records
  • Characters
    • The Osages
    • The Missionaries >
      • Father John Schoenmakers >
        • Father Schoenmakers' Windows
      • Fr. John Bax >
        • Father John Bax II
      • Mother Bridget Hayden
      • Fr. Paul Ponziglione >
        • Father Paul's Memoir >
          • Index - Father Paul's Memoir >
            • Dedication & Introduction
            • IX. Construction & Acceptance of Mission Buildings.
            • X. Fr. Schoenmakers Arrives at Osage Mission
            • XI. Miss Lucille St. Pierre Came to the Neosho
            • XII. Progress of the Schools
            • XIII. Origin and Development of the Roman Catholic Church in Kansas
            • XXVII - Winds of War
            • XXVIII — Fr. Schoenmakers Return
            • Chapter XLII - Farming Issues, Death Of Father Colleton
            • Chapter XLIX - Includes The Death of Fr. Schoenmakers
            • Chapter L — Dedication of the New Church
            • Conclusion
            • Appendix I — Copy of a letter to Sister M. Coaina Mongrain about the coming of the Sisters of Loretto at Osage Mission
            • Appendix 6 — A Sketch of my Biography
            • Appendix 7 - Letter to W. W. Graves
      • Father Philip Colleton
      • Brother John Sheehan
    • W. W. Graves
    • 17 Sisters
    • 17 Sisters II - Fr. Fox's Sermon
    • Who's Behind the Window >
      • Who We Were 120 Years Ago
      • 1. The Thomas Carroll Window
      • 2. The W.W. O'Bryan Window
      • 3. The Jas. Owens & Family Window
      • 4. The C.P & C.J. Hentzen Windows
      • 5. The Dr. McNamara & Family Window
      • 6. The Fitzsimmons & Family Window
      • 7. The Parents of T.K. Joyce Window
      • 8. J.E. Sevart & Family Window
      • 9. The Rev. John Schoenmakers S.J. Window
      • 10. The Patrick Diskin and L&M George Window
      • 11. The J.A. Johnston & Family Window
      • 12. The Peter & Jacob Bonifas Windows
      • 13. The Mr & Mrs. Patrick Keeting Window
      • 14. The John Butler Window
      • 15. The Mr. & Mrs. Gutting Window
      • 16. Rosette Window Above Doors
      • 17. The Michael A. Barnes Window
      • 18. The Henry M. O'Bryan Window
      • 19. The John and Bridget McCarthy Window
      • The Sodality Windows
    • The Church Women's Bonfire (Graves)
    • Beechwood
    • John and Margaret Naudier
    • Fr. Tom McKernan - The Poet Priest of Kansas
    • The Dimond Family and Estate Sale
    • Dear Sister >
      • Friend Gertrude
    • A Year and a Day — Passionist Memories.
    • Mary Elizabeth Lease
    • K of C Council 760 - The Early Days
    • Our Hometown Boys
    • SPHS Class of 1956
  • Places
    • The Great American Desert
    • St. Francis Catholic Church
    • St. Francis de Heironymo Catholic Church Grounds
    • St. Paul - 135 Years Ago
    • St. Paul - 1890's as a Scale Model.
    • St. Paul - The Booming 60's
    • Osage Mission as a Statewide History Finalist
    • St. Francis Cemetery
    • Hope Cemetery
    • The Basement Chapel
    • World War I Museum Display
    • St. Paul Middle School >
      • Some Great Folks!
    • Ladore
    • St. Boniface, Scipio KS
    • Road Trip - Father Emil Kapaun
    • Exchange State Bank Robbery!
  • Thoughts ...
  • Links
  • Link Page
12. The Peter and Jacob Bonifas Gift Windows.
The Bonifas window is similar to the Hentzen window at position 4 in that the left and right panels record different donor names from the same family.  The window is 70 inches wide and 18 feet tall and is located next to the altar-shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  In this position it is the farthest window southwest in the regular Nave of the church.

Peter & Jacob, Children of European Immigrants.​
Peter (1850-1926), and Jacob Bonifas (1868-1917), who settled in Osage Mission were two of the 12 children of Peter Bonifas, Sr., and Margaret Jung Bonifas, of Delphos, Seneca County, Ohio.  Pete Bonifas, Sr. was born in Luxembourg and Margret was born in Germany. They were married in Seneca County Ohio in 1849. When they arrived in American has yet to be found.
Picture
Photo and Banner Photo - R. Brogan
PicturePeter & Susan Thines Bonifas. Shared by Iahmb
The majority of the Bonifas family remained in Ohio where they practiced the Catholic Faith.  While Peter Bonifas and Susan Thines were both in Ohio in 1870, soon thereafter they were married in Kansas City.  Peter's obituary indicates he came to Kansas in 1872.  In 1880, Peter and Susan were farming in Grant Township, Crawford County, Kansas, where they remained on their farm until at least 1886.  At some point later they settled on a farm just east of Osage Mission and he later engaged in an Osage Mission business partnering with Frank Menton.

In June of 1893 Rosa Catherine Bonifas, Peter and Susan's daughter, Rosa, graduated from Saint Ann's Academy.  Among her classmates were:
  • Lizzie Brogan,
  • Nellie Brogan,
  • Annie Brogan,
  • Maggie Hayden,
  • Fidelia McCall,
  • Olive Mudd,
  • Mamie Ryan,
  • Mary Slaughter,
  • Maude Tinker
  • Teresa Venneman,
  • Edith Wimsatt, 
Sadly in six years, Rosa passed away and is interred in St. Francis Cemetery, St. Paul.  By 1903 Peter and Susan were engaged in a restaurant business in Chanute but eventually returned to St. Paul to operate a bake shop.  Susan passed away in 1922 and Peter passed four years later.  They and children Rosa and Peter Alexander and Frank L. who are buried in St. Francis Cemetery.  Six remaining children are buried in Washington, Texas, Oklahoma and Frankford, Kansas.

Peter's younger brother, Jacob, is a bit of a mystery.  in 1880 he was 13 years old and still living with his parents in Jennings, Van Wert County, Ohio.  By 1887 he ventured to Kansas City were he was employed as a cooper. [1]  Eventually, Jacob, 32 years old, joined Peter's family in Mission Township in 1900.  Jacob seems to fade from most records but family members indicate his passing in 1917.   But he also had a church window named after him shortly after arriving at Mission Township.

PictureSister Lucy Bonifas (https://owensborodiocese.org/2016/03/09/sister-lucy-bonifas-osf/)
A Religious Family.
As previously noted, the family of Peter Sr. and Margaret Bonifas were deeply religious and of the Roman Catholic faith.  The family produced a priest, Fr. Roger D. Bonifas (1920 to 2013) and Sister Lucy Bonifas.  Sister Lucy became a novice in 1955 and only recently retired in 2016.  She has led an interesting life as a seamstress, nurse, hospital worker and administrator.  

The information shown here about, the Bonifas family and Sister Lucy, is distilled from an chapter in Randy Dunavan's book Who's Behind the Window. [2]  There is much more in the book.​


  • Return to Who's Behind the Window?
  • Go to Position 13 - The Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Keeting Window.

Some Reference Information:
1.  Cooper - A person who makes and repairs wooden kegs and barrels.

2. Randy's book, Who's Behind the Window?, details a progression of Catholicism with much focus on the migration of families from Maryland, through central Kentucky and into southeast Kansas.  The book provides a great deal of detail on seventeen families and a priest who have named windows in St. Francis Catholic Church in St. Paul, Kansas.  The priest, Father John Schoenmakers, was the founder of the Osage Mission, the St. Francis de Heironymo Parish and the town of Osage Mission, now St. Paul.  The information shown in these brief articles about the window is only a sample of the names, photos and other information in the book.  We should not forget that the families named on the windows are the people who put us here in St. Paul.
Picture
The Peter & Jacob Bonifas stained glass window # 12 is crowned with the Precious Triad. Cross ~ Anchor ~ Heart. This symbolizes the theological virtues of Faith-Hope-Love. (Photo - R. Brogan)
Picture
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acatholicmission.org is a privately hosted website.  We hope that our site will educate and entertain those who are interested in the fascinating Osage Mission - St.  Paul - Neosho County Kansas story.  Ours is a regional story that crosses state lines, ethnic groups, faiths and a variety of frontier and post-frontier interests.  Enjoy.

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  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • Our Story
    • 1. The Stage is Set
    • 2. The Osages Enter Kansas.
    • 3. Earliest Commerce
    • 4. Earliest Protestant Missions
    • 5. The Catholic Osage Mission >
      • 5A. The Mission Complex
      • 5B. The Osage Manual Labor Schools
      • 5C. A Beacon on The Plains ...
    • 6. Progress and Tragedy
    • 7. The Missionary Trails >
      • 7A. Missions, Stations, Churches
    • 8. A Dangerous Balance - The Civil War >
      • 8A. Confederate Officers Massacred
    • 9. The Osage Leave Kansas >
      • 9A. The Missionaries Did Not Abuse the Osage.
      • 9B. Fr. Schoenmakers Speech
    • 10. A Very Unique Community is Born >
      • 10A. A Church Raising
    • 11. Regional Boarding Schools >
      • 11A. St. Francis Institution for Boys
      • 11B. St. Ann's Academy for Girls
    • 12. Transitions
    • 13. The Passionists Era Begins
    • 14. Citizen Lawmen - The A.H.T.A. >
      • A.H.T.A. Chanute - October 1914
    • 15. The Passionist Influence is Expanded
    • 16. The Schools Today >
      • 16..1 Champions & Records
  • Characters
    • The Osages
    • The Missionaries >
      • Father John Schoenmakers >
        • Father Schoenmakers' Windows
      • Fr. John Bax >
        • Father John Bax II
      • Mother Bridget Hayden
      • Fr. Paul Ponziglione >
        • Father Paul's Memoir >
          • Index - Father Paul's Memoir >
            • Dedication & Introduction
            • IX. Construction & Acceptance of Mission Buildings.
            • X. Fr. Schoenmakers Arrives at Osage Mission
            • XI. Miss Lucille St. Pierre Came to the Neosho
            • XII. Progress of the Schools
            • XIII. Origin and Development of the Roman Catholic Church in Kansas
            • XXVII - Winds of War
            • XXVIII — Fr. Schoenmakers Return
            • Chapter XLII - Farming Issues, Death Of Father Colleton
            • Chapter XLIX - Includes The Death of Fr. Schoenmakers
            • Chapter L — Dedication of the New Church
            • Conclusion
            • Appendix I — Copy of a letter to Sister M. Coaina Mongrain about the coming of the Sisters of Loretto at Osage Mission
            • Appendix 6 — A Sketch of my Biography
            • Appendix 7 - Letter to W. W. Graves
      • Father Philip Colleton
      • Brother John Sheehan
    • W. W. Graves
    • 17 Sisters
    • 17 Sisters II - Fr. Fox's Sermon
    • Who's Behind the Window >
      • Who We Were 120 Years Ago
      • 1. The Thomas Carroll Window
      • 2. The W.W. O'Bryan Window
      • 3. The Jas. Owens & Family Window
      • 4. The C.P & C.J. Hentzen Windows
      • 5. The Dr. McNamara & Family Window
      • 6. The Fitzsimmons & Family Window
      • 7. The Parents of T.K. Joyce Window
      • 8. J.E. Sevart & Family Window
      • 9. The Rev. John Schoenmakers S.J. Window
      • 10. The Patrick Diskin and L&M George Window
      • 11. The J.A. Johnston & Family Window
      • 12. The Peter & Jacob Bonifas Windows
      • 13. The Mr & Mrs. Patrick Keeting Window
      • 14. The John Butler Window
      • 15. The Mr. & Mrs. Gutting Window
      • 16. Rosette Window Above Doors
      • 17. The Michael A. Barnes Window
      • 18. The Henry M. O'Bryan Window
      • 19. The John and Bridget McCarthy Window
      • The Sodality Windows
    • The Church Women's Bonfire (Graves)
    • Beechwood
    • John and Margaret Naudier
    • Fr. Tom McKernan - The Poet Priest of Kansas
    • The Dimond Family and Estate Sale
    • Dear Sister >
      • Friend Gertrude
    • A Year and a Day — Passionist Memories.
    • Mary Elizabeth Lease
    • K of C Council 760 - The Early Days
    • Our Hometown Boys
    • SPHS Class of 1956
  • Places
    • The Great American Desert
    • St. Francis Catholic Church
    • St. Francis de Heironymo Catholic Church Grounds
    • St. Paul - 135 Years Ago
    • St. Paul - 1890's as a Scale Model.
    • St. Paul - The Booming 60's
    • Osage Mission as a Statewide History Finalist
    • St. Francis Cemetery
    • Hope Cemetery
    • The Basement Chapel
    • World War I Museum Display
    • St. Paul Middle School >
      • Some Great Folks!
    • Ladore
    • St. Boniface, Scipio KS
    • Road Trip - Father Emil Kapaun
    • Exchange State Bank Robbery!
  • Thoughts ...
  • Links
  • Link Page