© Jerry F. Couch
NOTE: Portions of this article were published in the printed edition of the Clinch Valley Times several years ago. We are reprising that article today for those who did not have the opportunity to read it in the printed format.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
NOTE: The following transcription is a portion of an article published in the Lebanon News on June 11, 1986.
The beginnings of the Catholic community in this area can be traced to around the turn of this century [1900] when European immigrants settled here to work, as many of them had in Europe, as coal miners.
To serve thee new employees, a Catholic church was built in Dante by the coal company. The church was served by priests from the Benedictine Order, which was based in Cullman, Alabama. These priests ministered to the area until 1927, the onset of the Great Depression. During the Depression the mines closed, and these immigrants moved elsewhere to search for work. The size of the Catholic community dwindled, as did the number of priests and places of worship.
In December 1945, the Bishop of Wheeling invited the Glenmary Home Missioners, a Catholic missionary organization based in Cincinnati, Ohio, to serve this area. By 1949 the Glenmary Order was in Norton and was becoming established in five Southwest Virginia counties. During this era the nearest regularly held Mass was said in the Lions Club’s meeting hall in St. Paul. Fifteen to twenty people, including the Strouth and Matthews families, attended Mass. Services were held by priests such as Father Jim Kelly, and occasionally these priests would travel to Honaker to say Mass for the Paul Brown family.
Interest grew in establishing a church in St. Paul, and St. Therese Catholic Church was built in 1951. The church was served by priests from Norton until March of 1954 when Reverend Robert Berson became the pastor of the St. Therese parish. Father Berson served the parish until Mary 1955. Father Roland Haut came he area in June 1955, ministering to St Therese as well as the Catholic communities in Lebanon, Dungannon, and Hunter Valley, the latter two becoming part of the Gate City parish in 1956.
ST. THERESE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Sunday, August 12, 1951 was a very special day in St. Paul, Virginia. On that day, St. Therese Catholic Church was formally dedicated and one of the world’s oldest Christian churches became St. Paul’s newest church.
Many St. Paul residents were present for the dedication of St. Therese, irrespective of their own church affiliation. The dedication of the new church was viewed as an important day both for the community and for the church’s members. The following material is transcribed from a copy of the dedication program issued that day, found among the mementoes of a St. Paul resident.
IN APPRECIATION
We thank God for the great privilege of dedicating another church to His greater honor and glory. We express our gratitude to: The Most Reverend John J. Swint, Bishop of Wheeling, for his encouragement, guidance and timely suggestions; The Very Reverend W. H. Bishop, Superior of the Glenmary Missioners, for transmitting the building fund; Mr. Holland Fletcher, Mayor of St. Paul, and the town council for the advance pouring of the Sixth Avenue sidewalk and for others improvements which have been a great help.
A very special word of thanks is due to J. Fred Matthews who directed building operations and used so much of his time, energy, materials, tolls, and machinery in the actual building of the Church.
To our many other friends who have helped us in any way, we - the people and priests of St. Therese’s - thank you all. Praised be Jesus Christ!Frs. Raymond Dehen and Robert Berson
DEDICATORY PROGRAM 10:30 a.m.
Dedication of the church
Pontifical Low Mass
Confirmation following Holy Mass
Most Reverend Thomas J. McDonnell, D. D., Coadjutor of the Wheeling Diocese, Celebrant and Preacher
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
— $15,000 Donation for Building – B. J. Borchers, of Dayton, Ohio.
— Stained Glass Windows – Most reverend John J. Swint, Bishop of Wheeling Diocese.
— Building Lot – Melvin C. Matthews, St. Paul, Va.
— Tabernacle – Ozanam Club, Cincinnati, Ohio.
— Station of the Cross – Catholic Students Mission Crusade of St. Paul, Minn., decorated in oil painting by Mrs. C. W. Barnhart, Moses Lake, Wash.
— Baptismal Font – Mrs. Blanche Hoffman, New York.
— Sanctuary Lamp – Mrs. Herman Santen, Cincinnati, Ohio.
— Draperies – Siena Guild, Cincinnati, Ohio.
— St. Joseph Statue – Molinary Family, St. Paul, Va.
— Our Lady of Perpetual Help Picture – Mrs. Mary Lenzen, Richmond, Calif.
— Substantial Donations: Miss Carolyn Faleiglia, Molinary Family, Melvin C. Matthews, A. J. Strouth, H. V. Kline, H. and Jos. McReynolds, Clinchfield Lumber and Supply Company, St. Paul Builders and Supply Company, St. Paul Coca Cola Bottling Company.
ST. PAUL SPONSORS
Clinchfield Lumber and Supply Company, St. Paul Motor Sales, McReynold’s Hardware, St. Paul Builders and Supply Company, Willis’ Department Store, Joe Supcoe Meat Market, Cavalier Theatre, Piggly Wiggly, Bus Terminal Café, Deen’s Department Store, St. Paul Coca Cola bottling Company, Clinch River Motor Company, Lay’s Hardware and Furniture Company, Jessee’s Food Market, Fuller’s Market, St. Paul Pharmacy, Huff-Cook Funeral Home, Molinary Fountain Service, Lyric Theatre, Johnson’s Five & Ten Cent Store, Palm Beach Corporation, New Hardware and Furniture Company, Strouth Motor Company, Meade’s Department Store, St. Paul National Bank, Clinch Motors Inc., Austin Service Station, Porter Auto Sales, Dr. Anthony DiStefano.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION
St. Therese Catholic Church in St. Paul was so named to honor St. Therese of Lisieux, born Marie Francoise-Therese Martin on January 2, 1873 in Alencon, France, a city famous for its lace-making industry. At the age of fifteen she became a Carmelite nun. She died on September 30, 1897 of complications of tuberculosis.
During her brief lifetime St. Therese created profound and lasting legacy in the form of her writing, which included an autobiography, letters, poems, religious plays, and prayers. As death drew near and she grew too weak to write, her sisters recorded her thoughts for posterity. The following quote describing her personal philosophy comes from her autobiography:
The life of St. Therese was circumscribed. Her intelligence, maturity, pragmatism, and spirituality are readily discernable in her writings but she chose a life of prayer and contemplation. This choice was as deliberate as it was unwavering. She rejected society, politics, and self-advancement to live a life of increasing physical and spiritual simplicity - her “little way.”
In today’s changed world such dedication might be viewed as naïve or an underutilization of talent, particularly those who believe women are entitled to play a larger role in the Catholic Church. It is likely the meaning of her life will always be different to each person who examines it. She was canonized by Pope Pius XI on May 17, 1925 and on October 19, 1997 she was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II.CATHOLICISM IN AMERICA
In 1607 a ship arrived in Tsenacommach with 104 English men and boys on board. What‘s that you say? You’ve never heard of Tsenacommach? Perhaps you know it by its more recent name – – – “VIRGINIA.”
These early English settlers were products of the Protestant Reformation. They brought a strong anti-Catholic bias with them to their new home. The extent to which they acted upon that bias was much influenced by politics and the changing temper of the times.
Though Catholics were initially accepted as members the Virginia Colony, that soon changed. Efforts were made to ensure Catholics would have no political power whatsoever. Then, in 1642, the colony passed a law prohibiting settlement by Catholics. This law helped set the tone for the next 200 years, though Virginia and other states did drop their most overt prohibitions against Catholics following the Revolutionary War.
The Richmond Diocese of the Catholic Church was the first to be organized in Virginia. The first Bishop of Virginia was Father John Kelly who formally assumed his duties in January of 1821. At that time, the Richmond Diocese functioned under the administrative authority of the Diocese of Baltimore.
The 1840’s were a difficult time for Catholics in America. The country was being torn apart by the slavery issue. At the same time, large numbers of Catholic immigrants began arriving from Italy and Ireland. Political opportunists seized their chance to create a diversion by using the newcomers as scapegoats for some of the country’s problems. Catholics were claimed to be a menace to the American way of life. False information of an inflammatory nature was circulated and eagerly devoured by the uninformed and misinformed. Soon, outrages against Catholics began to occur.
Anti-Catholic, anti-immigration feeling coalesced into the “Know-Nothing” movement whose chief characteristic was its irrational opposition to nearly everything. The American Party was the political wing of this movement which was, in effect, the Whigs’ last gasp.
The short-lived American Party fizzled out after its failure to elect President Millard Fillmore in 1856. However, the damage had been done and it served to accomplish exactly what the Know-Nothings claimed to be trying to avoid. Political divisions became broader. They weakened the country, hastening the onset of the American Civil War. Soon the country had far bigger problems to worry about than the trumped-up menace of “Popery.”
In post-Civil War America, Catholicism continued to grow and expand. In the 20th century, long-term divisions which once existed between Catholics and Evangelical Christians have largely disappeared. In fact, as part of Holy Week services several years ago, Rev. John Thompson of the St. Paul Assembly of God conducted a worship service at St. Therese Catholic Church, and Father Charles Ssebalamu conducted a worship service at the St. Paul United Methodist Church. Who says there’s no such thing as progress? It only took 400 years for this to happen
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