Holy Trinity Church in Bendon, South Dakota

Some peeking into the far corners of the internet has uncovered this Holy Trinity Church in South Dakota:

Bendon, in Brule Co. South Dakota had a Catholic Church (Holy Trinity), which had masses, once a month and a community hall (used for some dances and family gatherings)

This information is care of the Hanson Family Genealogy:
http://iagenweb.org/iowa/bios/family-Hanson-III.htm

Quote from the Hanson’s page:

My parents were devout Roman Catholics and practiced their faith daily. My mother, like most of her family were particularly devout and lived her religion as best she could 17 miles from the nearest church with daily Mass.

We residents of Westminster are lucky to have our church so close to our homes. Imagine the adventure of a mid-winter trip across the prairie to an early morning Mass.

This Holy Trinity was built at the end of the 19th century. The architect/ builder was Fred Shereda. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Another quote from the Hanson’s page:

Bendon was a small village with a Catholic Church (Holy Trinity), rectory, dance hall, general store, saloon, and post office.  The village was named after J.L. Benda after whom the post office was first named.

Holy Trinity Church at Bendon was built 1894 and a rectory was built in 1899 at Bendon in order to attract a Czech priest.  St. Margaret’s Catholic Church, a really grand church for the area in my estimation, was built in Kimball in 1895, 14 miles northeast of Bendon.   St. Margaret’s served several nationalities unlike Holy Trinity that served a Czech congregation for the most part with services in Latin and Bohemian.  The Konechnes were participants in the building of Holy Trinity

Another page describes the congregation, and the Bendon equivalent to coffee and donuts after Mass:

Most of the people who settled in this area were Bohemian and they formed the Bohemian Western Catholic Union. John [Konechne] and his sons helped to build their beloved Holy Trinity Church at the village of Bendon. Fred Shereda was the master carpenter who directed the building. He also directed the building of St. Precopious Church at Red Lake. The church was completed in 1893 and it was here that the family spent Sundays. First Mass, then a potluck dinner, then the ladies to the Benda’s general store, the men to Stan Zingler’s saloon. In the afternoon a ball game in the pasture to the east. Three characteristics dominant in the Bohemian people were their love of music, love of art, and their strong faith.

Brule County is in the Diocese of Rapid City. The church at Bendon doesn’t show up in the diocesan list of parishes. It isn’t affiliated with the Brule County towns of Chamberlain, Kimball, or Pukwana.  It appears that the only Holy Trinity in the Diocese is now in Huron. Holy Trinity in Bendon is just off I-90 near Kimball, and seems to be used now as a museum. The Holy Trinity Cemetery in Bendon seems to be the only active part of the old parish.

Read Full Post »

Holy Trinity in Colorado Springs

It seems that Archbishop Vehr had a fondness for churches named “Holy Trinity”. Under Vehr, Holy Trinity in Westminster started in 1949, and in 1959 another Holy Trinity starting in Colorado Springs. At that time, Colorado Springs was still part of the Archdiocese of Denver.

Here’s more about Holy Trinity in Colorado Springs:

HOLY TRINITY PARISH HISTORY

On August 28, 1959, Archbishop Urban J. Vehr of the Denver Archdiocese established the parish of Holy Trinity in Colorado Springs. Land was acquired from A.V. (Tony) Venetucci, who owned 66 acres of what is now the Venetian Village neighborhood. After selling 5.6 acres to the parish, Venetucci returned half of the purchase price as a donation in memory of his brother Rocco, who had died in a well explosion on the property 15 years before.

Archbishop Vehr named Father John L. Aylward as the founding pastor; he was a young priest from St. Thomas Seminary in Denver who had served as pastor for St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Minturn. When he arrived, Holy Trinity had 450 families, but no buildings, so Father Aylward said Mass in the Crazy Cat Lounge, a bar on North Nevada. Some parishioners described it as a “dump”, but on Sunday mornings it became a church. Volunteers went early to hide the half-full beer mugs and ashtrays, sweep the floors, and push together tables to make an altar. With a few linens and a traveling Mass kit, the bar became a serviceable chapel, the congregation seated on folding chairs on the dance floor.

See more, including their full parish history on their web page:

Holy Trinity Catholic Parish
3122 Poinsetta Dr.
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
http://www.holytrinitycs.com/

Read Full Post »

Holy Trinity in Westminster, Take 2

People have found this blog by Googling “Holy Trinity Westminster”. However, if you search with that phrase, you’ll come up with another Holy Trinity Church in Westminster – Westminster, as in part of London England. London belongs to the Diocese of Westminster. The Diocese of Westminster has a beautify Holy Trinity Church located to the west of Hyde Park and Kensington in a neighborhood called Hammersmith.

Here’s a little history of this parish from their web page:

HISTORY

After the Reformation, the open expression of Catholic faith was forbidden, but slowly Catholic life returned to London. Hammersmith at that time was a semi-rural area on the outskirts of London. Some protection may have been afforded by the presence of a country home in the area owned by the Portuguese ambassador.

From the early 17th century a discreet Catholic life was established here and slowly the faith was built up anew in this area. Around 1680, Frances Bedingfield, a widow, established a convent of teaching sisters here and other institutions followed it. These included the vast generalate, convent and (for a time) children’s home of the Sisters of Nazareth; St Mary’s Training College for Teachers, now at Strawberry Hill; and Sacred Heart Convent School, under the direction of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Next to the site of the church, a Catholic almshouse was opened in 1851, St Joseph’s House, to provide housing for elderly people.

Drawn in part by these institutions, the Catholic presence in Hammersmith grew steadily, and was greatly strengthened by Irish immigration from the mid-19th century. The need for a church grew pressing. The foundation stone of the church was laid by Cardinal Wiseman in 1851 and building work finished in 1852. Building was made possible through the generosity of Helen Tasker, a wealthy local resident. It was designed by William Wardell, who later emigrated to Australia where he became a renowned architect of cathedrals and civil buildings, and is regarded as one of the founding fathers of Australian architecture. The stained glass in the church is mostly the work of John Hardman, a disciple of Pugin. In 1862 a tower was added, designed by Joseph Hansom, the polymath who also designed the eponymous cab.

Here are a few links to explore this Holy Trinity:

• Holy Trinity Parish Web page: http://www.holytrinityw6.org
• Holy Trinity, Brook Green Parish – entry on the Diocese of Westminster web page: http://www.rcdow.org.uk/brookgreen/default.asp
• Westminster Cathedral, the seat of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor: http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk
• Solomon, I Have Surpassed Thee: A blog from Mgr Mark Langham, Administrator of Westminster Cathedral, London (They had snow on their Easter Vigil too!) http://westminstercathedral.blogspot.com/

It’s great to be part of a Universal Church!

Read Full Post »

Trivia: Shakespeare and Holy Trinity

Today’s trivia: William Shakespeare is buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Stratford-upon-Avon.

A review of the Stratford Holy Trinity’s web page (collected 18 March 2008) turns up an amazing coincidence – a remodeling project:

The Friends of Shakespeare’s Church are currently looking for help to raise in excess of £2.5 million for repair and renovation of this ancient and historical church building; specifically the tower and spire, the north nave clerestory windows, the north chancel roof and the pointing of external stonework.

Read Full Post »