HR1165 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1165 LRB095 20741 GRL 49224 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate the Franciscan priests and brothers on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of their arrival in Teutopolis; and

WHEREAS, In March of 1858, Bishop Junker, the first Bishop of Chicago, called upon the Provincial of the Holy Cross Province of the Franciscan Fathers for European priests to aid him in his religious domain; responding to the request, three Franciscan priests and six brothers embarked from Bremen for America on August 28, 1858; arriving in Alton on September 21, 1858, the priests learned that their destination was Teutopolis; and

WHEREAS, The Franciscan priests and brothers arrived in Teutopolis on September 28, 1858; the group consisted of Father Damian Hennewig, Father John Capistran Zwinge, Father Servace Altmicks, Brother Irenaeus Drewes, Brother Paschal Kutsche, Brother Marianus Beile, Brother Julius Schmaenck, Tertiary Brother Edmund Wilde, and Tertiary Brother Francis Uphof; and

WHEREAS, After taking control of the rectory from departing pastor Father Bartholomew Bartels, the Franciscan priests and brothers rang the church bells in Teutopolis at four in the morning on September 24, 1858, startling many of the town's residents; many of the residents came to the church out of curiosity, then stayed to pray with the fathers and attend Mass; the day proved to be a momentous day for the people of Teutopolis and the Midwest; and

WHEREAS, The Franciscan priests and brothers were witness to a trying period in the history of Teutopolis; the settlement, with its log and clapboard homes, struggling businesses, and rut-riddled National Road, was resistant to the creation of the Illinois Central Railroad, fearing that the vibrations coming from the train tracks would sterilize the soil; the railroad, thought to be the harbinger of doom, brought about the creation of the settlement of Broughton, which would be re-christened Effingham and become the county seat in the early 1850s; the children and grandchildren of Teutopolis' first settlers moved to this new village; and

WHEREAS, The history of the Franciscan priests' and brothers' arrival in Teutopolis is inextricably bound to the rich history of the village and its inhabitants; their arrival and the subsequent spiritual and charitable services that they have rendered to the people of Teutopolis have been invaluable to them and the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the Franciscan priests and brothers on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of their arrival in Teutopolis and wish them continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Franciscan priests and brothers of Teutopolis as a symbol of our esteem and respect.