The Golden Jubilee — Passionist Fathers in St. Paul, Kansas, 1894-1944
In April of 1944, the Passionists and the people of St. Paul celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the Passionist Fathers' presence in St. Paul. It had been fifty years since Rev. Eugene Bononcini and other seculars transferred the church and other Jesuit-built property to the Passionists. As it happened, it was forty-seven years earlier, in April of 1847, that Father John Schoenmakers and his team of Jesuit missionaries founded the Catholic Osage Mission on the same property. But the Jesuit Fathers, with limited resources, bid farewell to Osage Mission and the disheartened St. Francis parishioners in 1892.
The booklet below was a souvenir of the Golden Jubilee celebration. It contains a lot of historical information about the Mission and the Passionist order. As you flip through the pages, older St. Paul parishioners will see the names and faces of many Passionist priests who served our parish and many of our families.
In April of 1944, the Passionists and the people of St. Paul celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the Passionist Fathers' presence in St. Paul. It had been fifty years since Rev. Eugene Bononcini and other seculars transferred the church and other Jesuit-built property to the Passionists. As it happened, it was forty-seven years earlier, in April of 1847, that Father John Schoenmakers and his team of Jesuit missionaries founded the Catholic Osage Mission on the same property. But the Jesuit Fathers, with limited resources, bid farewell to Osage Mission and the disheartened St. Francis parishioners in 1892.
The booklet below was a souvenir of the Golden Jubilee celebration. It contains a lot of historical information about the Mission and the Passionist order. As you flip through the pages, older St. Paul parishioners will see the names and faces of many Passionist priests who served our parish and many of our families.
The booklet used to produce the PDF file shown below was part of an extensive collection of materials donated to the local museum in 2012 by my cousin, Karen Steinbacher. Karen and her family were well-connected to our local history. Some of those connections were family. Her uncle was historian and author William Whites (W.W.) Graves [2]. Her father, Fielding Hopkins, and other Hopkins relatives worked with Graves on books, publications, and various businesses.
The two-box collection sat under a desk in the museum research room for a couple of years. During a visit, I noticed it was still there, brought it home, and attempted to sort it out, catalog it, and duplicate much of the information using either a scanner or a camera. As I sorted, it became apparent that the boxes amounted to a virtual treasure chest of Osage Mission and St. Paul history. The finished catalog list included about 150 items, including a few notebooks that were too delicate to reproduce but were interesting, nonetheless.
When finished, the entire collection went back to the museum research room, along with the spreadsheet catalog list and a computer file containing the list, and numerous JPG or PDF files of items in the collection. Instead of boxes, the collection now resides in two file drawers labeled "The Graves - Hopkins Collection." I will try to post more items here or on the Catholic Mission Facebook page in the future.
The two-box collection sat under a desk in the museum research room for a couple of years. During a visit, I noticed it was still there, brought it home, and attempted to sort it out, catalog it, and duplicate much of the information using either a scanner or a camera. As I sorted, it became apparent that the boxes amounted to a virtual treasure chest of Osage Mission and St. Paul history. The finished catalog list included about 150 items, including a few notebooks that were too delicate to reproduce but were interesting, nonetheless.
When finished, the entire collection went back to the museum research room, along with the spreadsheet catalog list and a computer file containing the list, and numerous JPG or PDF files of items in the collection. Instead of boxes, the collection now resides in two file drawers labeled "The Graves - Hopkins Collection." I will try to post more items here or on the Catholic Mission Facebook page in the future.
Back to The Booklet.
At the time, I wanted to preserve a copy of the book without damaging it. It was 70 years old, staple-bound, and in delicate condition. To minimize wear and tear, I made one pass over my wide-bed scanner glass and scanned two pages at a time. This process set the book and all pages to landscape orientation. Viewing it might require a few mouse clicks.
Alternatively, click THIS LINK to open the booklet in a new tab or page. It might even appear in portrait orientation, which can be downloaded to your computer. Computers can be a little unpredictable at times.
At the time, I wanted to preserve a copy of the book without damaging it. It was 70 years old, staple-bound, and in delicate condition. To minimize wear and tear, I made one pass over my wide-bed scanner glass and scanned two pages at a time. This process set the book and all pages to landscape orientation. Viewing it might require a few mouse clicks.
- Click on the cover image at the right. It should open in Adobe Acrobat or a browser-based PDF viewer.
- If it shows up sideways, the reader should have a rotate control at the top of the page, or the lower right corner. Click until it is in the proper position
- If the image is too big (or small), click the + - sizing tools and fit it to your screen.
Alternatively, click THIS LINK to open the booklet in a new tab or page. It might even appear in portrait orientation, which can be downloaded to your computer. Computers can be a little unpredictable at times.
Some Reference Information:
1. For more information about the Passionist presence in Osage Mission and St. Paul, follow these links:
1. For more information about the Passionist presence in Osage Mission and St. Paul, follow these links:
- The Passionists enter among promise, doubt and turmoil (1893 - 1896) - A Catholic Mission
- The Passionist Influence is Expanded - A Catholic Mission
