Photos of Saint Boniface Church, in Germantown, Illinois

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Saint Boniface Church, in Germantown, Illinois. Located in Clinton County, about 43 highway miles east of downtown Saint Louis, Missouri, the church is the Diocese of Belleville.

This was the first Catholic community in Clinton County, dating back to 1829 with settlers from Germany.  At that time, this parish was in the Diocese of Saint Louis, under Bishop Rosati.

The church dates from 1854, and is the oldest in the county.

The present church was designed by the architect Robert S. Mitchell of Saint Louis. He also designed the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church (1862), at 917 Sindey Street in the Soulard neighborhood of Saint Louis (closed in 1965 and now destroyed), worked on a major renovation of the Old Courthouse (1851), the Rock Building at the old Saint Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant, as well as a number of stately homes and the stone Unitarian chapel in Kirkwood.

A mosaic of Saint Boniface (ca. 672 - 754), Benedictine, bishop, evangelist to the Frankish empire, martyr, and patron saint of Germany.  Born in the kingdom of Wessex, in what is now present-day Devonshire, with the birth name Winfrid or Wynfrith (Ƿẏnfrið, using Anglo-Saxon letters).

When he had converted to the Lord a vast number of people among the Frisians and many had come through his instruction to the knowledge of the truth, he then traveled, under the protection of God, to other parts of Germany to preach there and in this way came, with the help of God, to the place already mentioned, called Amanburch. Here the rulers were two twin brothers named Detticand Devrulf, whom he converted from the sacrilegious worship of idols which was practiced under the cloak of Christianity. He turned away also from the superstitions of paganism a great multitude of people by revealing to them the path of right understanding, and induced them to forsake their horrible and erroneous beliefs. When he had gathered together a sufficient number of believers he built a small chapel. Similarly he delivered the people of Hesse, who up to that time had practiced pagan ritual, from the captivity of the devil by preaching the Gospel as far as the borders of Saxony.

— from the Life of St. Boniface by Willibald

The interior of the church.

(My apologies for not providing more photos, for a large number of the faithful were at this time gathering in the back of the church for devotion.)

Stained glass window of Saint George.  There is a Saint George church in nearby New Baden, founded by Catholics who once attended this church.

Station of the Cross in the Saint Boniface cemetery.

May they rest in peace.

Click here for photos of more Catholic churches in Clinton County.

Address:
306 Munster Street
Germantown, Illinois 62245