2500 St. Mary's Drive, Lanesville, IN 47136 812.952.2853
Parish History
St. Mary's Catholic Church History
In the year 1817, one year after Indiana became a state, Mr. Edward Pennington recorded the plat of his new community called Lanesville. The town was named for the man who designed it, a government surveyor named Lane.
Three years earlier, a Catholic man of German descent, Mr. John Miller (Muller), staked a government claim nearby and began building his two-story log-house, in which he dedicated one room as a chapel. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered here once a year, and so this log room is known as the first place of Catholic worship in Harrison County.
It would not be until around 1833 that the first Catholic family arrived in Lanesville. Jacob and Maria Anna Yanners were born in Germany, and finally made their way to Lanesville through Louisville, Kentucky.
By 1843, Lanesville had grown, and the Catholics there had a great desire to build a dwelling place for the Lord. Father Charles Opperman a visiting priest to the area, reported, "The Lanesville Catholics are making preparations to build a church, buying four lots for $325.00 in the town." However, it would be many years of having only visiting missionary priests until St. Mary's could claim its own priest.
In 1849, the first frame church was built. In 1852 , St. Mary's Lanesville received its first resident pastor, Father Aegidius Moschall, and immigrant from Alsace, France, who also built the first rectory.
But it was in 1854 when Father Alphonse Munschina arrived as newly appointed pastor to St. Mary's Lanesville that the work began on today's church building. Father Munschina was a well-born immigrant from France, and was ordained on February 18, 1843. Upon arrival in Lanesville, he immediately began a school in which the children could avail themselves of a good education. It opened in September 1854, and the Sisters of Providence, from St. Mary's of the Woods, accepted the challenge of beginning Catholic-based instruction. Father Munschina wasted no time in continuing to inspire his parishioners. In 1856, work began on the building that would become Lanesville's most prominent landmark for generations to come, the Catholic Church on the hill.
The site was an ideal one: a hill overlooking a village. In Germany, many similar villages were watched over by their church on a hill. But it is a remarkable fact indeed that a community of abut 120 families, many still struggling to establish themselves, found the resources to build a relatively large and beautifully decorated parish church.
On April 16, 1859, this article was printed in the Louisville Guardian newspaper: "NEW CHURCH AT LANESVILLE INDIANA- On Sunday the 27th of March, the cornerstone of a new church in Lanesville, Indiana, was solemnly blessed and laid in the foundation by the Rev. Alphonse Munschina."
Over time, the improvements made at St. Mary's were a source of pride for the entire community. The 1906 Atlas and History of Harrison County declared: "The Catholic Church at Lanesville is one of the finest churches in the State."
By the 1920's, parish picnics seemed to be the rage, and St. Mary's Lanesville was no exception. Sunday, August 31, 1924, was the beginning of a tradition which would grow tremendously through the decades. It was the resident pastor at the time, Father Adam Baron, who made it clear that while neighboring pastors ran their picnics, he was not going to run St. Mary's. That job would be dependent upon an overall parish involvement. That tradition continues today.
Easily the saddest and darkest day of St. Mary's history was July 30th, 1948, for on that date, the church building caught fire. Although Father Hunger rushed into the church and was able to rescue the ciboriums filled with the Holy Eucharist, everything else but the four exterior brick walls was completely destroyed. The parishioners decided to rebuild the church inside the old walls, preserving as much of the historic exterior as possible. The total cost was $125,000. While the brick walls themselves were preserved, the tall thrusting steeple was not rebuild. In its place was a much shorter steeple of a much simpler design. Inside the church, the neo-gothic design of the 19th Century was gone; in its place was a simplified interior that reflected the latest design of the 1940's.
St. Mary's Lanesville has continued to grow since that time. Like the original German settlers, its parishioners are just as determined to hold sacred and dear their Catholic Church on the hill which, after 162 years of service to our Lord, continues to be a beacon of His light to the surrounding area and its inhabitants. Since its inception, St. Mary's has produced, from it parishioners, seven ordained Priests, twenty-four Sisters, and one Brother. Most importantly, St Mary's Catholic Church in Lanesville, Indiana, remains a strong and devoted community of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Church.