Holy Childhood of Jesus Catholic Church

We have reprinted "Celebrating Our Faith", a 220 page history of Holy Childhood Parish,

 and now have plenty of copies available for sale at $10.00 per book.

 To attain your copy, please call the rectory at 618-566-2958.

Arrangements can be made to mail your copy for $3.00 postage.

Celebrating Our Faith:

The Story of the Catholic Family of Holy Childhood of Jesus Parish, Mascoutah, Illinois 

                  Many of you have been wondering about the publication and distribution of the book which was developed as a culmination of our Sesquicentennial Celebration.

                  The book, which begins when the  prairie land on the shores of Silver Creek was unpopulated except for nomadic Indian tribes, sketches the growth of the settlement of Mascoutah, and with it the Catholic families who came to settle here.

                  It brings forth the names and faces of the zealous priests who came to this outlying area to labor for souls in the service of God. 

                It describes the growth of the core of people who came to form Holy Childhood parish, traveling the countryside to gather funds and pledges to gather enough money to buy a plot of ground and build a small church.

                It tells of the dedication of the pastors to educate the children and build a school; to bring nuns to teach the children; and to build a convent to house them.

                Follow the story  through the decades when the church became too small and the parish decided to build the beautiful brick church in which we worship today.

                The book continues with vignettes of life here in our parish as described in the literature of that era.  There were times of poverty and times of trouble, but there were highlights of glory as well. 

                Some people, who may be interested in family history, will find the names of parishioners who were buried in the first cemetery and names of members who paid pew rent for the year 1910.   There is also a list of those who were members in 1932 when the parish celebrated its “Double Jubilee” —50 years as a parish and 25 years for our church.

                There are names of all the nuns from each different order who came to teach at Holy Childhood School, as well as the young women from Holy Childhood who aspired to join the convent and become one of those Sisters.

                Another section tells the stories of those young men from Holy Childhood who answered the call to a religious life.

                The historical section is followed by a look at some of the activities and ministries of our parish today and a section which highlights the activities of the 2007 Sesquicentennial Year. Names of all those registered as members at the end of  2007 were also included.

In 2007 the parish commemorated our 150 year history, 

as we celebrated these special events throughout the sesquicentennial year.

May  2008                    A DVD celebrating the Sesquicentennial was produced and made available

                                                to each parish family.  If you have not yet picked up your DVD, you may

                                                do so at the rectory.

      
        Last modified: 03/04/10