Happy 101st Anniversary!

101st Anniversary of the Dedication of the Church

 The present church building of St. Francis de Sales was completed and dedicated in a solemn ceremony on Novermber 26, 1908. This photo of the church appeared in the Golden Jubilee Souvenir Book published  in 1917.  (The first church building was erected in 1867, and destroyed by a tornado in May, 1896.)

The following message to the parishioners of St. Francis de Sales was recorded in the Jubilee book:

We congratulate you to-day for the harmony and unexcelled co-operation that you have in the years gone by ever shown in the interest of your church.  May this grand spirit that to-day finds a place in the heart of every parishioner, continue in the years to come. May we in the future work together as we have done in the past, so that the next Jubilee of St. Francis de Sales church may find, if possible, even greater reasons for rejoicing than the past fifty years have offered.  Our parish to-day, on the day of its fiftieth anniversary, stands pre-eminent among the parishes of our diocese. The spirit of religion, the frequency with which our parishioners approach the Sacraments, your devotedness to your church, your sacrifices in her behalf, your real, genuine Catholic Faith stands as a shining example to all who have occasion to know the inner life of our parish. This it is, after all, which carries greatest weight before the Eternal Judge. Our good wishes to you to-day are that these grand and noble conditions may continue in our parish, and that each succeeding year may find you more worthy of the name you bear. That you continue walking in the footsteps of those noble men and women, who, by their sojourn in St. Francis de Sales parish, have merited the “Crown of Glory.”

— From Tradition for Tomorrow.