St Mauritius
ST. MAURITIUS CATHOLIC CHURCH
Ashland, PA
At the time of its beginning, St. Maruitius Parish belonged to the Arch-
diocese of Philadelphia. The first Catholics to settle in Ashland came about
1840, German immigrants mostly from Trier and Westphalia. The first Mass was
celebrated by Father Weggeman at the home of Ferdinand Loeper. Masses were
also celebrated in a house owned by Adam Hornung and in the school house
located at Tenth and Walnut Sts. Priests came once a month from St. Clair,
Patterson and Minersville.
St. Mauritius Congregation was organized in September of 1856. I'm not sure
how the name of St. Mauritius was chosen, but a brief description of the
patron saint of the parish follows.
St. Maurice (or St. Mauritius) was an early Christian martyr. Legend says
he commanded the Theban legion, a unit of the army commanded by Maximian.
The heban legion had been recruited in Upper Egypt an was composed entirely of Christians.
This unit was sent to northern Italy to reinforce the army of
Maximian. One story says Maximian wished to use the legion in persecuting the
Christians, but they refused since they themselves were of the same faith.
Another version is that Maximian commanded the men to offer sacrifice to the pagan
gods for the success of their expedition and they refused. Maximian had
the whole legion exterminated in the year 286AD. Actually, it is highly
improbable that a whole legion of about 6600 men were put to death, although
Roman imperial generals were not above wholesale slaughter. But circumstances
of the time and lack of sufficient evidence leave some doubt. Even if the
numbers are exaggerated though, there is historical evidence that St. Maurice
and his companions were martyred at Aguanum in 286AD. St. Maurice is considered
the patron of infantry soldiers, sword smiths, weavers and dyers.
Getting back to St. Mauritius parish, on September 19, 1856, members of a parish
building committee made the first payment of $50.00 for the three lots purhaseed
from John P. Brock which would cost a total of $450.00. These lots were located
between Brock & Pine Sts. east of 8th St. The foundation of the church was laid
in 1856. This was under the supervision of Rev. Mathias J. Meurer who attended St.
Mauritius from Minersville until 1858. Mr. Brock had suggested to the building committe
that the church might be built somewhere near 20th and Spruce in order to encourage building
in the western end of Ashland, but the committee voted for the present site.
The first church was built of stone and was 48 x 50 feet.
The oldest record book of St. Mauritius was used by Father Meurer and contains 54 Baptisms and 7
Marriages. The first baptism that Father Meurer recorded was that of Mathias Dahm, son of Mathias
and Joanna Dahm, born September 17, 1856 and baptized November 10, 1856. This record book also
shows the signature of Bishop Neumann of Philadelphia when he visited the parish on October 14,
1857. Bishop Neumann has been canonized and is no St. John Neumann. He played an important
part in the establishment of many of our area parishes.
In March 1858, Reverend John Baptist Frisch arrived as the second Pastor of St. Mauritius,
but the first to reside here. Construction of the first rectory was started during his
pastorate. Before the next Pastor arrived, three and a half years later, Fr. Frisch
had baptized 198 babies and conducted 21 marriages and 71 funerals.
In 1861 a new Pastor was appointed, Fr. J.B. Bach. He must have been a fairly young priest
as he had been ordained August 10, 1856. In 1862 Fr. Bach enlarged the church to 110 feet
and added the imported German clock and placed the bells in the tower. The first rectory
was also completed during Fr. Bach's term as Pastor, which lasted until 1867. To quote
Munsell's 1881 History of Schuylkill County he was a "zealous and successful Pastor."
In November of 1867 Fr. J. Pape, who had recently been ordained, became Pastor. He
was here until July of 1868. In November of that year Father Meurer returned to care
for the Parish until July of 1873. He passed away March 7, 1894.
Rev. Frederick W. Longinus became Pastor in 1873. He was also a fairly new priest.
Ordained by Bishop Wood on December 23, 1871. During his stay, the Sisters of
St. Francis came to St. Mauritius to teach the children of the parish. At first classes
were held in the church basement. Father Longinus added a new roof for the church,
three new altars and assorted other improvements.
Rev. Anthony Nathe replaced Fr. Longinus as Pastor in February of 1878. Fr. Nathe
would be Pastor for twenty years. During that time he made many improvements to the
church and rectory. Fr. Nathe acquired a gift of land from the Philadelphia and Reading
Coal & Iron Co. to enlarge the parish cemetery. He purchased ground next to the Rectory
where a frame building stood that would be torn down to make room for the new rectory in
1910. Munsell's History states that a lot was presented by Franklin B. Gowen of the
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co. on which Fr. Nathe erected the St. Mauritius Parochial
School building in 1881. The building was of brick and had four classrooms accommodating
200 children. The second floor of the school was used as living quarters for the Sisters.
For a time lessons were taught bilingually to the children, one half day in German
and one half day in English. An article in the Ashland News on May 21, 1898 tells
us that the pupils of St. Mauritius are preparing themselves for an entertainment
in honor of the 25th anniversary of the ordination of Fr. Nathe. They plan to hold
this in the Ashland Opera House on Tuesday evening June 7, 1898. Fr. Nathe,
who was ordained in Muenster on June 7, 1873, was the only one of the early Pastors
to write the parish spiritual and financial records in English.
By the early 1880's the original thirty families of the parish had grown to about three
hundred fifty. But by the late 1880's many families had moved to other areas as they
thought coal mines in the immediate area were worked out and they feared lack of jobs.
So the number of German Catholic families was reduced to two hundred fifty.
Rev. Aloysius Misteli, who was Swiss born, was appointed to St. Mauritius in October,
1898. He was born in 1854, studied at a monastery in Switzerland, emigrated to
America in 1873, finished his studies at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary near Philadelphia
and was ordained in 1878.
By th time Father Misteli came the stone church was deteriorated so badly due to bad
mortar that it was razed and in 1900 a new church erected. The new church was 50 x 125 feet
constructed of brick and cost $28,000.00. Seating capacity was 600. The stained glass
windows were installed toward the end of the year by J.M. Kase of Reading for the sum of
$1,720.63. The three windows in the sanctuary are the "The Crucifixion" donated in the
memory of Peter Quirin, "St. Aloysius" from the school children, and "St. Agnes" from the
Sodality. There are six windows on each side of the church. The names and donors follow:
"The Good Shepherd" donated by Isidore Stabler & Family, "Quees of the Rosary" from the
Mauritius Society, "St. Louis, King of France" from Michael Stief, "St. Peter from
Pter Loeper & Wife, "St. Elizabeth of Hungary" from Nicholas Graeber & Family, and
"St. Catherine of Alexandria" from Ferdinand Loeper and Family. The large window in
the Towere which is hard to see because it is behind the organ is a picture of the
Sacred Heart for which a donor is not mentioned. In 1910 the old rectory was rebuilt at a
cost of over $8,000.00. Father Misteli also purchased a new pipe organ.
In 1916 St. Mauritius parish celebrated its 60th anniversary which was called a
jubilee celebration. At that time both the new church and rectory were fully paid for
as well as a Diocesan assessment of $9,000.00. The 1916 Jubilee souvenir booklet says that
for the first time in the history of the parish it was entirely free of debt.
In 1926 Fr. Misteli must have requested an automobile, for Cardinal Dougherty of
Philadelphia Dioceses wrote to him on October 1, 1926 granting permission to own, for
parish purposes, an automobile at the expense of the parish. June of 1927 saw the
ordination of Rev. Leo A. Klassen in the Cathedral of Philadelphia. This was quite
a special occasion for St. Mauritius as Fr. Klassen was the first of the parish's
own to be ordained a priest. The solemn occasion was marked by Fr. Klassen celebrating
his first Mass from his home parish. A newspaper article of the day describes the
beautiful Mass and ceremony along with the dinner and reception that followed later
that same day.
Due to Fr. Misteli's death, Rev. Henry A. Kuss was appointed Pastor on September
28, 1927. In 1928 Cardinal Dougherty gave permission to erect a garage for the parish
automobile. In August 1929 ground was broken for a new convent for the school
Sisters. The convent was built of brick at a cost of $19,500.00 thanks to many
generous donations from the parishioners. The Sisters were able to move in by
February of 1930. During the summer of 1930 the school was remodeled at a cost of
$12,000.000. The second floor where the Sisters had resided was converted into
an auditorium. During the years 1932 and 1933 a tennis court was built by the men
and young men of the parish who donated their time with the $870.00 needed for
material coming from the Alumni Association of St. Mauritius Parish. The ground
for the tennis court was leased from Reading Anthracite Co. for $15.00 a year.
On May 15, 1932 Mass was said by Fr. Kuss for the first time in Lavelle. Permission
had been granted by Cardinal Dougherty to establish a mission in Lavelle to care for the
spiritual needs of the forty Catholic families living in Lavelle and surrounding
farm sections. At first Mass was celebrated in the home of George Quinton Sr.
and also in Krapf's Hall.
Fr. Kuss remained at St. Mauritius until the Fall of 1934 when Father William
Bruckman took his place as Pastor. The Scheuren Family History tells us that on May
6, 1935 the Archbishop of Philadelphia gave St. Mauritius paster Rev. Bruckman
permission to accept a 60 x 200 foot lot from Elizabeth Scheuren on which to build
a $4,000.00 Chapel but limited her choices to either her patron saint or that of
her late husband, Clement. By July 8, 1935 Rev. Bruckman received plans for the
Chapel from architects of O.H. Grootenboer & Phillip G. Knobloch. The cornerstone
was set near the end of 1935 with more than 300 people attending the ceremony.
The new St. Elizabeth's Chapel was completed in 1936 after Fr. Albert Suter had
become Pastor.
Father Suter was Pastor from 1936 until he died in 1953. Father Suter's hobby
was model trains and he kept a display of trains in the church basement.
Rev. Robert Otterbein took the place of Fr. Suter until 1959 when he was transferred.
Then came Father A. Dietz from 1959 until 1963 when he died of a heart attach
while traveling by car.
Rev. J. Auchter then became Pastor. He remained here until May of 1969.
Msgr. Joseph Marzen arrived at that time, probably the Fall of 1969. During his
pastorate, the inside of the church was renovated. In 1972 the Sisters of St.
Francis ended their 98 year stay at St. Mauritius due to the consolidation of St.
Mauritius School with St. Joseph School to become Immaculate Heart Elementary
School. At the present time Immaculate Heart Elementary School is responsible
for the education of children from St. Mauritius, St. Joseph of Ashland, St.
Vincent, St. Joseph of Girardville, and Our Lady of Good Counsel Parishes and is
taught by the Sisters Servants of Immaculate Heart of Mary along with a very
capable staff of lay teachers. From 1972 until 1979 North Schuylkill School District used some classrooms at St. Mauritius. Msgr. Marzen was transferred to his home parish of St. Joseph in Jim Thorpe in 1974.
Rev. Edwin Schwartz replaced Msgr. Marzen in 1974. Father Schwartz did further remodeling in the church and had the interior of the Chapel painted. Fr. Schwartz was very active along with the other Pastors in the operation of Immaculate Heart Elementary School. Fr. Schwartz remained at St. Mauritius until 1981.
On Inauguration Day, 1981, Rev. Leo Heineman arrived. Fr. Heinenman continued to keep the parish running smoothly. Father Leo encouraged parish meetings to give the members
of St. Mauritius Parish a voice in the operation of the parish. One project was to restore and protect the stained glass windows in the church and chapel. A new electronic computerized organ purchased for St. Elizabeth's Chapel at a cost of
$2,500.00. A major project was refacing the main church building. Imagine Father Leo's surprise on Good Friday, 1987, to discover that one of the weights from the bell tower had fallen through the
ceiling and floor of the foyer of the church causing quite a bit of damage. Fortunately, no one was in the church at the time.
St. Mauritius Parish has its own cemetery, which was begun in the early days of the parish with a plot of ground presented to the parish by John P. Brock. As mentioned earlier, it was extended by a gift of land from the
Reading Co. while Fr. Nathe was Pastor. Before St. Mauritius had its own cemetery, burials were made at Pottsville, St. Clair, Minersville and other places.
There were a number of assistant pastors at St. Mauritius over the years, beginning with Rev. Joseph Ostheimer in 1923. They are too numerous to
mention here, but they have all be instrumental in aiding the Pastors when there were "not enough hours in the day".
Some of the different lay societies which have been connected with St. Mauritius Parish are the St. Mauritius Benevolent Society, German Catholic Knights, Holy Name Society, Happy Death Society, Sacred Heart League, Holy Chidhood Association,
Knights of St. George, the still active Rosary Society and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas.
Over the past one hundred thirty-three years, St. Mauritius, the "German Church on Stormy Hill" has, indeed, had a rich and colorful history.
*****taken from the published work "St. Joseph's, St. Mauritius and St. Elizabeth's 1856-1998" with permission from Father Caesar to this webmaster, 1999.
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