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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate the Franciscan
4 priests and brothers on the occasion of the 150th anniversary
5 of their arrival in Teutopolis; and
 
6     WHEREAS, In March of 1858, Bishop Junker, the first Bishop
7 of Chicago, called upon the Provincial of the Holy Cross
8 Province of the Franciscan Fathers for European priests to aid
9 him in his religious domain; responding to the request, three
10 Franciscan priests and six brothers embarked from Bremen for
11 America on August 28, 1858; arriving in Alton on September 21,
12 1858, the priests learned that their destination was
13 Teutopolis; and
 
14     WHEREAS, The Franciscan priests and brothers arrived in
15 Teutopolis on September 28, 1858; the group consisted of Father
16 Damian Hennewig, Father John Capistran Zwinge, Father Servace
17 Altmicks, Brother Irenaeus Drewes, Brother Paschal Kutsche,
18 Brother Marianus Beile, Brother Julius Schmaenck, Tertiary
19 Brother Edmund Wilde, and Tertiary Brother Francis Uphof; and
 
20     WHEREAS, After taking control of the rectory from departing
21 pastor Father Bartholomew Bartels, the Franciscan priests and
22 brothers rang the church bells in Teutopolis at four in the

 

 

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1 morning on September 24, 1858, startling many of the town's
2 residents; many of the residents came to the church out of
3 curiosity, then stayed to pray with the fathers and attend
4 Mass; the day proved to be a momentous day for the people of
5 Teutopolis and the Midwest; and
 
6     WHEREAS, The Franciscan priests and brothers were witness
7 to a trying period in the history of Teutopolis; the
8 settlement, with its log and clapboard homes, struggling
9 businesses, and rut-riddled National Road, was resistant to the
10 creation of the Illinois Central Railroad, fearing that the
11 vibrations coming from the train tracks would sterilize the
12 soil; the railroad, thought to be the harbinger of doom,
13 brought about the creation of the settlement of Broughton,
14 which would be re-christened Effingham and become the county
15 seat in the early 1850s; the children and grandchildren of
16 Teutopolis' first settlers moved to this new village; and
 
17     WHEREAS, The history of the Franciscan priests' and
18 brothers' arrival in Teutopolis is inextricably bound to the
19 rich history of the village and its inhabitants; their arrival
20 and the subsequent spiritual and charitable services that they
21 have rendered to the people of Teutopolis have been invaluable
22 to them and the State of Illinois; therefore, be it
 
23     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE

 

 

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1 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
2 congratulate the Franciscan priests and brothers on the
3 occasion of the 150th anniversary of their arrival in
4 Teutopolis and wish them continued success and happiness in the
5 future; and be it further
 
6     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
7 presented to the Franciscan priests and brothers of Teutopolis
8 as a symbol of our esteem and respect.