St. Mary's Catholic Church - A Brief History of our Parish

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ST. MARY'S PARISH

St. Mary's Parish was formed in 1858 as a mission to St. Vincent Parish in Shelby County. Rev. John P. Gillig was our first resident pastor in 1867. The first school was built in 1875, and was staffed by the Franciscan Sisters of Oldenburg. Land for the present cemetery was purchased in 1876.

Rev. George S. Steigerwald came to Greensburg as our seventh pastor in 1883, and built the present church in 1884. The parish roster had 80 families and an average of 60 students enrolled in the school. The cost of the new church was $40,000 and was dedicated on May 17, 1985 under the title of Mary Immaculate of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Rev. Henry Fein and Fr. Francis Bueschle O.F.M. built St. Mary's second school in 1916. An addition to the school was built in 1956 by Fr. George Zeimer at which time there were 342 students enrolled.

Rev. Philip Schneider was our pastor from 1918 to 1942, and improved the life of the parish by organizing different groups to meet the pressing needs of the faith community. The oldest organization in the parish is the Knights of St. John, chartered in 1886.

An extensive renovation was undertaken by Fr. George Zeimer in 1946. Rev. Joseph Laugel formed a Parish Council in 1967 and redecorated the church in 1970 to meet guidelines of Vatican II Liturgical documents. Rev. John Geis was appointed pastor in 1973, and he too renovated the church in 1981. Fr. John also strengthened the Parish Pastoral Council, and led the parish in becoming a self-contained and supportive faith community, as well as taking a more active role in community affairs.

Our first Parish Minister was hired in 1977, along with our first Director of Religious Education (Sr. Ellen Miller and Sr. Sue Ann Valo, both Franciscan Sisters of Oldenburg.) Our first lay principal, Glen Tebbe, was hired in 1976. Youth Ministry leadership was established under Fr. John's Pastorate, as well as establishment of St. Mary's Catholic Board of Education. We celebrated with a Festival of Faith in 1983 and 1984 in recognition of the anniversaries of our parish and church. The remnants of the cornerstone were removed and preserved. A new time capsule was put into the cornerstone to be opened perhaps in another hundredth year celebration.

St. Mary's Parish was a new beginning for Rev. Tom Amsden when he arrived here in 1991. He immediately set out to include certain goals and projects in his role as pastor of our faith community. Central Air and a new P.A. system were installed in the Church and a new entrance was constructed on the south side of the building. A goal of establishing an Education Center was realized in 1993 with the construction of a new building for spiritual and social gatherings, as well as classrooms for preschool and kindergarten. Fr. Tom helped the parish work towards evangelizing and total stewardship, and supporting adult catechetical programs for the parish.

Another chapter began in Jun 1995, with the arrival of Fr. Steve Schaftlein as pastor. He came to St. Mary's filled with enthusiasm and hope for the future. Fr. Steve worked diligently to begin a ministry for the Hispanics of the Community. Because of his efforts, a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe now hangs in our Church. In may of 2003, our parish community was privileged to celebrate Fr. Steve's 25th anniversary to the priesthood. Two major projects were completed with his guidance-replacement of the rectory windows and repairing and replacing the Church's guttering. Through the encouragement and support of Fr. Steve, St. Mary's continues to strengthen and develop the many ministries that make St. Mary's a strong and vibrant community.

Msgr. Harold Knuevan arrived in January of 2004 as our interim pastor. Msgr. Knueven retired from Our Lady of the Greenwood Church in Greenwood last July after 45 years of priesthood, beginning in 1958. It took only a few months before he was right back in, as the Indianapolis Archdiocese experienced a shortage of priests and was able to fill only two of five openings in a 39-county area throughout central and southern Indiana. Msgr. Knueven’s tenure at St. Mary’s, which serves an estimate 5,000 total members, was initially to run on a temporary basis, January through the spring. Last week, he was appointed by Bishop Daniel Buecklein of the Indianapolis Archdiocese to an extended stay at St. Mary’s until at least July of 2005, at which point he’ll consider another extension. Msgr. Knueven would like to initiate a local “Perpetual Adoration” program where people could come 24 hours a day, one hour at a time, to pray before the Lord and Blessed Sacrament.