STE. GENEVIEVE – Fr. Nemeth will present the History of the Ste. Genevieve Catholic Church at SGMLC
The history of Ste. Genevieve Catholic Church will be the subject of the next speaker presentation on Wednesday, February 8th at the Sainte Genevieve Museum Learning Center. The original program date was postponed due to inclement weather. Father Edward Nemeth, pastor at the church, will be the featured speaker.
Father Nemeth said he’s always been a history buff.
“To be catholic is to have a definite appreciation for history because as we track Western civilizations growth and development, the church is there at every step,” he explained. “As I grew in my faith, my appreciation for history grew overall.”
Father Nemeth said to say the church is rich in history is indeed an understatement.
“If you love history this is the perfect town to live in,” he said. “Everywhere we turn, we’re reminded of our traditions, of our past and looming large over the entire city and countryside is the steeple of the Church of Ste. Genevieve. It’s an impressive reminder to people that it’s the faith of people, not so much the institutional church, but the faith of ordinary people that built this beautiful church, that grew this parish, and really the faith of people that brought them to these shores in the first place to find a good life.”
He said you can’t jump in and start talking about the church as a building or even the parish as an institution without first understanding the westward expansion of the United States west of the Mississippi and the role of the church expansion.
“The westward expansion really goes hand in hand with the faith being spread into the western part of what would become this nation,” he explained. “We have to talk a little bit about what that looked like as the church grew. One thing we’re going to talk about is the large view of the institutional church that many Catholics and non-Catholics may not understand. The idea of what is the diocese, how does this big corporate-looking institution work, and then talk about the westward expansion of Catholicism and how it lined up with pioneers and adventurous spirits that expanded our country.”
He’ll trace the fascinating history of the diocese from Quebec to St. Louis, to Ste. Genevieve and all the way to New Orleans. He’ll also talk about the Church of Ste. Genevieve itself, some of the notable pastors, two of which are buried in the church, and then talk about the explosive growth of the town in the mid 1800’s.
“Our past is who we are.,” said Father Nemeth. “It’s the story of us. Particularly in a community like ours, one of our greatest treasures is our connection to the past and it’s walking a balance between holding on to our traditions and past but also wanting to progress into the future. I’m hoping people will come to the presentation and take something new away. And even if they don’t, to grow in appreciation with the great gift that we have here.”
Fr. Nemeth says he’s used to giving sermons, so this will be a little different and he plans to sprinkle in plenty of humor.
Call the Sainte Genevieve Museum Learning Center for more information -573-883-DINO.