Tuesday, August 30th, 2022
175 Years Young
Parish marks milestone with a special Mass
By Leslie Gartrell
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrates its 175th anniversary in Cassella.
CASSELLA - The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary has survived much in its 175 years - including a fire, a structural collapse and a cholera plague that ravaged nearby villages.
The small parish of about 110 families will honor the parish's 175th anniversary with a celebratory Mass at 2 p.m. Sept. 11 at the church, led by Archbishop Dennis Schnurr.
The parish's humble beginnings started in 1847 when a small log chapel called Maria-Kapelle was built, according to Tess Mescher, religious co-education coordinator for the parish.
The early German immigrants and Roman Catholics had attended St. Rose Parish, and as the parish grew, the settlers two miles west of St. Rose decided to form their own parish that was closer, according to information provided by Mescher.
Maria-Kapelle - the German name for church, parish and town - was built directly west of the present Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary church across what is now Cassella-Montezuma Road, according to Mescher.
During the first 10 years, many priests attended to the needs of the parishioners. Since there was no parsonage, the priests resided at the Gatehouse near the Convent in Maria Stein and after 1848 at the Gruenenwald Convent less than a mile south of the log church.
In 1849, a cholera plague spread through the villages of Minster, Maria Stein and St. Rose, Mescher said.
The people of Maria-Kapelle allegedly went to the log church and prayed to St. Sebastian, the parish patron of the sick, to protect them from cholera. No members of the church died from the plague, according to Mescher's information.
Soon the church's congregation grew and a new church had to be built. A new brick church was constructed across the street in 1858 where the church currently stands. The Rev. Haberthuer was the first pastor of the new church.
By 1860, the town of Marysville was laid out along the intersection of what is now Cassella-Montezuma Road and State Route 119.
Maria-Kappella, the original name of the Cassella, reportedly became Cassella when a state official mis-translated the German name "Kappella" to English on the Post Office application, Mescher said.
The church has been faced with numerous challenges. After surviving the cholera plague in 1849, a fire in June 1888 destroyed all but four brick walls of the church.
A story passed down through the church is a hand-painted picture by Rev. Paulinus Trost of the Madonna and Child miraculously survived the fire.
Trost also painted the Assumption of Mary on the Nativity ceiling in 1911. Trost was the rector at St. Charles from 1904-1917 and had studied art in Munich, according to Mescher's information. His work can be seen in local churches and the Maria Stein Shrine.
The picture was eventually relocated to the new church, which was opened on March 17, 1889, and blessed by Archbishop Elder, according to Mescher's information.
Stained glass windows were installed in the late 1880s and depicted the Joyful Mysteries and Virgin Mary and infant Jesus appearing to St. Dominic, according to Mescher's information.
Another expansion project at the church began in 1914, with the goal of digging a basement to the south and erecting a sacristy above it.
However, tragedy struck again when the entire back wall of the church collapsed. While digging, too much dirt was removed from the foundation, and heavy rains the night before caused the wall to cave in, according to Mescher.
Unfortunately the painting by Rev. Trost that had survived the fire was destroyed, she said.
All construction was completed in 1914. In 1915, the fire-scarred walls of the 1858 church were covered in stucco, which is the exterior seen today.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary stands on the grounds of The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary in Cassella.
While the church is rich in history, it's also rich in faith, family and fellowship, Mescher said.
"Our church is not just a building, it's a family," she said. "When we walk into that church, it's our faith, our heritage. There's a sense of community and family, and a sense of deep Catholic faith."
Mescher said the church has adapted over the years, perhaps most notably by being one of the first churches in the Marion Catholic cluster of parishes to share priests.
"When you want your parish to stay open, you do what needs to be done," she said. "A lot of other parishes have had to adapt too. We're always trying to find ways to improve whatever it is we do (and) making Mass a welcoming environment."
Mescher also praised the church's Confraternity of Christian Doctrine program. Commonly referred to as Catechism classes or simply CCD, Mescher said the church's program is second to none and often boasts a 100% graduation rate for students.
"We try to keep tradition alive as much as we can. Our Catholic faith is deeply woven in us," she said. "The church, the parish is part of our identity."
The church has Mass at 7:15 a.m. on Thursdays and 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays, with a rotating weekend mass schedule with St. Rose and St. Sebastian churches, according to information provided by Mescher.
After the celebratory Mass on Sept. 11, a wedding-style meal will follow for those who purchased pre-sale tickets at the Knights of St. John Hall.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrates its 175th anniversary on September 11. The church's appearance has seen many changes over the decades, most recently with the stucco exterior added in 1915.
