Alphonsus Church Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Alphonsus Church - Research Paper Example The historical back ground of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church dates back to 1861 when Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick made an invitation to the Redemptorists to construct a permanent home in St. Louis. Following the invitation, the Redemptorists bought three and one-half acres of land at Grand and Cook Avenues, and Father Francis Xavier Seelos paid a visit to the construction site of the future of St. Alphonsus â€Å"Rock† Church who was still in St. Louis in a parish mission preaching. On May 1st 1867, ground was broken for the church and on November 3rd the same year the cornerstone was put up in and blessed by the Rev. Joseph Melchers who was then the vicar general of the archdiocese. In 1887 the 22nd date of November, Rev. Augustus Tolton – the first African-American Roman Catholic priest – visited the St. Alphonsus â€Å"Rock† Church and met the Redemptorist Community then offered a mass which was meant for the School of Sisters on Notre Dame in their convent chapel within the church compound. Between the years 1887 to 2006 several invents that included the expansion of the activities of the church and alteration of the priests, clergy, deacons and pastors occurred. On 16th of August 2007, lightning struck the roof of the church resulting into a five alarm fire forcing the parish to celebrate their mass in the gym thereafter. This same year ( 2007) it was recommended that the church be closed to the fear of its structural deficiencies that in other words risked the lives of those who worshiped in it. This move was due to the concerns of human rights and need for worshippers safety that were considered as very important. Since then, worries have on people as if the church could be restored. Among the individuals who crucially expressed their concerns were the former parishioners of the church such as Terry Pittman, veteran harbor pilot and the current chairperson of the Sydney Ports Corporation who also had a better understanding of the historical building materials that had been used in the construction of the church.