The Early Years of St
The History of St. Charles Borromeo Church
St. Charles Church actually was conceived in the minds of the people of this area when, in October 1902, residents assembled a parish-petition of seventy-five signatures and collected over $100 to be given to whatever priest might come to head their parish.
With help and advice from Fr. Muhlenbeck of St. Ann’s Church and Fr. Cheveraux of Immaculate Conception Church, the people sent the petition for a new parish to Bishop Ignatius F. Horstmann of the Diocese of Cleveland. In November 1902, Bishop Horstmann instructed Fr. John Charles Herr, pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Crestline, Ohio, to come to Toledo and make a report on the petition. Fr. Herr found both great need for a parish in this vicinity and genuine enthusiasm among the people.
On January 18, 1903, three months after the petition was presented to Bishop Horstmann, St. Charles was established by the bishop as the 16th parish in the city and the 122nd parish in what was later to be the Diocese of Toledo. All Catholics west of the Michigan Central Railroad and south of Nebraska Avenue comprised the new parish.
Immediately following his arrival in Toledo, Fr. Herr began looking for a site for the new church. The people in this area had been attending Mass at SS. Peter & Paul’s, St. Patrick’s, Immaculate Conception or St. Joseph’s Maumee. Getting to church was very often a difficult task in winter, even for horses. Many times the people traveled to church on foot.
On December 19, 1902, Fr. Herr purchased property at the corner of Detroit and Wayne from P.J. Keefe and Clarence Brown for $3,400, $200 of which Mr. Keefe donated to the new church.
Temporarily, George Snyder offered, gratis, the use of his blacksmith shop at the corner of Lake Shore and Wayne, just one block from the future site of the new building. The $100 collected at the time of the petition was given to a carpenter to transform the smithy into a church.
As news spread concerning the temporary arrangements, help arrived. Hillebrand Brothers donated a stove. The Catherine Metzger family donated a small organ and Fathers Muhlenbeck and Cheveraux loaned chairs and an altar.
On January 18, 1903, when Fr. Herr officially was appointed pastor and celebrated his first Mass, the little church was filled to capacity with approximately one hundred and fifty people.
It is said that when Fr. Herr arrived, the people of Irish extraction were happy to have one of their own as pastor; however, the people of German extraction gave Fr. Herr’s name a decidedly German pronunciation and happily accepted him as one of their own. Fr. Herr’s ability to read the Gospels in faultless German did nothing to dispel the illusion.
March 9, 1903, ground was broken for the combination St. Charles Church and School buildings on Wayne Street at the corner of Detroit Avenue. The Architect was William R. Dowling; contractors were Kesting and Comte. Excavation was done by parish members, thereby saving nearly $2,000 in costs. Just four months later the building was ready for the cornerstone.
As gaily dressed bands and members of surrounding parishes paraded from their various churches, Bishop Horstmann blessed the cornerstone of St. Charles Church and School on July 19. 1903. Thirty-eight priests and more than one thousand men, women and children were in attendance. The day was a civic celebration, too, since Wayne Street had been paved and installed with a streetcar line that extended from Whiting Avenue to Hanover Street. Civic leaders officially opened the street the same day.
Mass was offered for the first time in St. Charles Church on Christmas day, 1903. Although the church in the basement was completed (with eighty pews, seven seats each), construction continued in the upper part of the building. Two parishioners, William Skelly and Joseph Von Sick, were so eager to have the church bell rung for the first Mass that they climbed all the way to the belfry and rang the bell by hand!
On April 18, 1904, two school rooms were opened at St. Charles under the direction of the Ursuline Sisters. Sixty pupils were enrolled in eight grades; grades one through four were in one room, five through eight in the other room. Bishop Horstmann officiated at the dedication of St. Charles Church and School on October 16, 1904. Following Mass, the bishop administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to eighty-two boys and girls.
The unofficial estimate of the cost of the combined church and school was $25,000.
In the early days of the parish, two of the councilmen took monthly collections in church. One councilman carried the basket, the other carried a ledger. As each parishioner placed this contribution into the basket, a councilman would enter the person’s name and the amount into the ledger. Prevailing contributions were $.50, $1.00, and a few for $2.00.
In March 1911, the Toledo Times conducted a contest offering prizes to groups for saving labels from various products. St. Charles parish waged an intensive campaign and won first prize of $1,000. Leon Gedert brought the greatest number of labels to school and won a new suit of clothes!
The first son of the parish, Fr. Alfred Metzger, celebrated his first solemn Mass on Saturday, August 16, 1914. After being appointed at St. John’s Church in Delphos, Fr. Metzger arranged baseball games, with Fr. Herr, between St. Charles’ altar boys and St. John’s High School. Fr. Herr furnished St. Charles’ team with uniforms and equipment at his own expense. Since there were no ball fields in this area, parishioner Joseph Beach made one for the team in a vacant area between Somerset and Mayberry streets.
St. Charles lost many families to St. James parish in 1913 and to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in 1918. Nevertheless, the parish continued to grow until, in 1921, it was in need of an assistant priest. Fr. Gerald F. Connolly was appointed first assistant on October 3, 1921.
The victim of a long illness, Fr. Herr died at age 57 on July 20, 1928. He was succeeded by Fr. Charles A. Renck, a native of Cleveland.
In 1929, Fr. Renck increased the length of St. Charles’ original property on Wayne Street by purchasing two properties from Dr. D. E. Bowman. Under his supervision the St. Vincent de Paul Society was organized in 1930 to assist the needy of the parish.
Fr. Richard A. Roach was appointed third pastor of St. Charles Church in 1934 when Fr. Renck became pastor of St. Michael’s Church in Findlay. During the ten years of his pastorate, Fr. Roach eradicated a $54,000 debt and accumulated a considerable amount of money for a new church building fund. Through the generosity of parishioners, he replaced the frosted glass windows of the church with fifteen stained glass windows symbolic of the Mysteries of the Rosary.
Successfully combining seriousness and humor, Fr. Roach was always close to his parishioners. It is said that his whimsical commentaries on current events and his anecdotes about clerical life in the Diocese of Toledo and Cleveland brought much merriment to his fellow priests.
On January 11, 1944, Fr. Roach died in Mercy Hospital following a long illness. He was 57.
Fr. James A. Horrigan became St. Charles’ fourth pastor on September 18. 1944. The parish was growing steadily and with it the number of children attending St. Charles School. Therefore, Fr. Horrigan added to the school an outside fire escape from the second floor, a wooden portable building that housed a classroom, and later, a stone block addition to the portable building to provide yet another classroom. In 1946 the Parent-Teacher Organization was begun with more than one hundred parents attending the first meeting.
Fr. Horrigan increased the length of the church property in 1951 with the purchase of the Moore property at 1847 Dunham Street.
In 1955 when St. Jude parish was founded, and then in 1956 with the formation of St. Patrick of Heatherdowns parish, St. Charles’ western boundaries were changed to what would remain until July of 2005. Then the boundaries consisted of the territory from the Terminal Railroad and Nebraska Avenue, South to New York Central Railroad, West to Byrne Road and South to Glendale Avenue. The loss of many St. Charles parishioners was felt, but past and present were linked by the fact that St. Jude’s first pastor, Fr. Cyril Lauer, was a nephew of St. Charles’ first pastor, Fr. Herr.
On December 27, 1960, Fr. Horrigan, age 64, died in St. Vincent’s Hospital. He had been afflicted for years with a severe case of diabetes.
Fr. Joseph D. Shenk was appointed fifth pastor of St. Charles Church on February 17, 1961. Fr. Shenk’s first large undertaking was a complete census of the parish. Results determined that there were at the time 1100 families residing in the parish.
As Fr. Shenk began plans for a new church and school, many problems arose: lack of room for construction, determining adequate parking space, and especially the peculiar wedge shape of the church property. Therefore, five additional properties on Dunham Street and S. Detroit were purchased by St. Charles parish between October 1961 and March 1962.
Plans for the proposed church and school buildings were drawn by the firm of Britsch, Macelwane and Associates, Toledo architects. Contracts totaling $735,000 were awarded to Comte Construction, general contractors; Robert T. Farley, Inc., plumbing and hating; and C.A. Harlan Electric Company, electrical. Ground was broken on April 2, 1963, with Fr. Shenk and Sr. Gertrude, then principal of the school, turning over the first and second shovels full of earth.
In December 1963, the new school building was ready for use. Bishop Rehring officiated at the ceremony of the blessing and laying of the cornerstone for the new church in August 1964, and the first Mass was celebrated April 2, 1965, exactly two years after ground was broken for the new construction. Formal dedication of the new St. Charles Church was conducted by Bishop Rehring on August 19, 1965.
Fr. Shenk hired the first parish secretary in August 1967, Mrs. Rita Busdieker. He also hired one of the first lay principals of a Catholic Diocesan elementary school, Mr. Gary Sparks.
When Fr. Shenk was appointed pastor of Holy Angels Church in Sandusky, Fr. Edward O. Hug came to St. Charles as the sixth pastor on July 8, 1970.
Faced with a parish debt of $365,000, Fr. Hug initiated an “Immediate Action Program” in February 1972 with the assistance of John B. McCarthy Associates. The purpose of the program was to raise a large amount of money within a short period of time. Parishioners were asked to pledge monetary assistance over a two-year-period. $190,000 was collected through the “Immediate Action Program” thereby greatly reducing the parish debt.
Fr. Hug then organized a Stewardship Program to increase the amount of the weekly collection in order to have a steady, adequate income with which to operate the church. With the success of the “Immediate Action Program” and the large amounts of money obtained through the Wednesday night bingo, Fr. Hug was able to reduce the parish debt to $34,000 by 1978.
In the spring of 1972, St. Charles parish received from the estate of Miss Mary Catherine Keefe, approximately $65,000. This gift was used to demolish the original church and school building, landscape the lot where the building had stood, erect the monument displaying the original bell from the first church, remodel the rectory and construct the service building/garage behind the rectory.
Reconciliation rooms were built in the church in the spring of 1977 to accommodate the full implementation of the new Rite of Reconciliation. The rooms were erected at minimal cost through the generosity of parishioners.
In August of 1975, Sister Theresa Tusek, OSF, was appointed by Fr. Hug as St. Charles’ first pastoral associate. Her work and presence among the parish was evidence of the expanding role of Pastoral Ministry in the parishes today.
On September 25, 1979 Fr. Joseph O’Brien succeeded Fr. Hug to become the 9th pastor of St. Charles. For four years Fr. O’Brien guided the parish.
Fr. William Richter became pastor July 1, 1982. Fr. Richter was the 10th pastor and continued the great traditions of the parish. He always had a smile, a sense of humor and really enjoyed being with the people. He had many phrases that were associated with him, most noted was the phrase, “That is marvelous, simply marvelous.” The Annual parish Festival, held in late August, grew through the 80's and many in the neighborhood looked forward to the yearly event. Bingo is mentioned more than once in the old bulletins of the early 80's.
The youth group was active as was the parish. There was a summer parish picnic held at the former Holy Spirit Seminary located at Airport Hwy and Reynolds Rd. For some time the bulletin had advice from Lucy the cat who always had one sentence that provided some wisdom. Christ Renews His Parish also marked the times of the 80's. There was a flourishing bible study group and a study group of the Catholic faith.
On May 3, 1984 Bishop-Elect Robert W. Donnelly was installed as the 2nd Auxiliary Bishop of Toledo. The Bishop served St. Charles Parish as an Associate Pastor from 1965 to 1967.
The Parish festival flourished in the 80's becoming a tradition of parish life. This same time also found many pints of blood being donated through very successful donor days. In July of 1985 Sr. Angelita, USO, was hired as the pastoral associate. There were many parish organizations meeting, including CCD, Altar Rosary, RCIA, school board, parish council, property/finance council, bingo, Bible study, Mother’s club, liturgy committee, servers, lectors, ushers, Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, the choir, the Charismatic prayer group, a pre-school Sunday school, the Bereavement support group, festival committee, baptism instruction, St. Vincent de Paul, Athletic Council, Fish Fries (Early 80's in the fall and beginning in 1989, in Lent) , Spaghetti Dinners and Paper Drives, Community Concerns Committee, Girl scouts, and Youth Group, the St. Charles Mixed Bowling League, collecting food items for Feed Your Neighbor, to name those in print from the past bulletins.
The school began the “Latch-Key” program providing supervision and organized activities for students before and after school at the beginning of the 1987-88 School year. This program still continues today. The school enrollment in October 1987 was 158 students.
Note: January 10, 1988, opportunity to buy the lot where the “playground area” is now located for $11,000. It is the house where Agnes McGovern lived. In January 17, 1988 Bids to paint church ranged from $21,000 to $48,000. An updated bid was done in September 1989 that indicated the new cost to be $29,400. The increase from $21,000 to $29,400 was due to increase in labor cost. The painting began January 8th, 1990 and was expected to take 3 weeks. The parishioners moved the pews to save cost.
The Diocesan Synod began in 1988 and Concluded November 12, 1989. Fr. Richter began requesting parishioners to represent the parish in January 1988. Donna Rodriguez and Ruth Wittenmeyer agreed to organize the Synod Adult Education Committee. Out of this the folks volunteered to chair the following Diocesan Synod Committees, Parish Life and Ministry, Terry Schroeder; Christian Formation, Donna Magrum; Ecumenism, Judith Dalton; Evangelization, Dorothy Best; Social Concerns, Dolores LaVrar; Stewardship and Planning; Raymond Czerniakowski; Worship, Mel Geithmann. Along with the Synod came the Diocesan Parish census. Katie Erhart volunteered to represent the parish on the Diocesan Synod Committee.
On March 23, 1988 parish Bingo came to an end after twenty-five years. This was due to the declining the numbers of players and the lack of workers. The School saw the establishment of the School Endowment Fund in the Spring of 1989. The parish went from 1173 households (or 3312 people) to 685 households (or 2540 people) from the years 1982 to July 1989. In the same time frame Mass attendance went from 1143 to 749.
In March, 1990, the pastor began a wish list that included a new room on the rectory for $9,000, a new stencil cutting machine for $2,500, Parish Office renovations for insulation and new carpet for $3,700, and paving the new parking lot area for $7,500. By August 5, 1990 the money was collected to pay off the expense of the rectory roof (which included the removal of the old asbestos shingles). On August 12, the goal for the new stencil maker was achieved. In October of 1990 the monies had been raised to complete the office renovations, just in time to install insulation to keep out the winter cold. In 1990 the interior of the church was painted; the rectory, garage and school entrance roofs were replaced and the house on the church property was demolished for a future parking lot.
The 1990's continued the tradition of the parish festivals, Lenten Fish fries and the blood drives. The operating expenses continued to exceed the weekend collections and finances had to be taken out of savings to cover costs.
There were several large changes in the parish staff that took place July 1, 1992. Fr. Richter said his good-byes and Fr. David Henning was welcomed as the 11th pastor. Additionally Sr. Angelita, the pastoral associate, resigned from St. Charles due to increasing health problems. Bernie Fletcher who was responsible for the bookkeeping retired due to health reasons. Sharon Ezackovich was hired as the next secretary and remained working until she passed away from cancer in 1993.
In August 1992, the school needed to expand due to the increasing enrollment. This is when the fist double-wide, two classroom modular unit was purchased and set into place in late October, 1992. On September 1, 1992 Diane Levering was hired to be the pastoral assistant. Maud Walsh was hired December 13, 1993 to lessen the pastor’s daily business burdens.
More changes came to the staff of St. Charles in the Spring of 1994. Sr Diane Hay, principal for many years, resigned and Ms. Margaret Breidenbach was named principal. The enrollment her first year was 230 strong. August of 1994 found a new face ministering to the ill and shut-in’s, Sr. Marciana Halbisen, SND. Her title was Adult Formation and Pastoral Care. Fr. Bruce Farmer became a resident in the rectory at the same time while working in various ministries in the Diocese.
The Lenten Fish Fries continued and the need for workers was the same. Sunday pancake breakfasts began in the early 90's. The Altar Society remained strong. The Parish Festival also continued as a main event of the parish life. The Parish Choir under the direction of Mr. Brian Foos began raising funds for a Choir pilgrimage to Rome to take place in November 1996. The choir didn’t go alone. The combined Choirs of St. Charles, Christ the King and St. Joan of Arc came together to form a larger choir called Una Voce.
Fr. David Henning resigned as pastor effective January 22, 1996. In his letter to the parish Fr. Henning states that, “Fifteen years of ordained service and public life have taken their toll on my health, and at this point it is impossible to determine when I would be able to resume my pastoral responsibilities.” Given this, Bishop Hoffman appointed Fr. David Tscherne as Administrator of St. Charles until a permanent pastor could be named. May 6, 1996 brought great sadness to the St. Charles School. The current principal, Miss Margaret Breidenbach was buried after her struggle with kidney disease.
Fr. Thomas Extejt was appointed the pastor in July 1996. At the same time Sr. Therese Martin, OSF/S became the new principal after the death of Ms. Margaret Breidenbach. The School Athletic Club held their first Reverse Raffle in Spring of 1997. While this helped raise necessary funds for the operation of the school, the school continued having financial difficulties that could have resulted in the school running out of money by March 31, 1998. Bishop Hoffman provided a diocesan loan that prevented this from happening.
For the Third Millennium, Bishop Hoffman selected the Renew 2000 program in order to help the Diocese spiritually prepare for the year 2000. At that time, Pope John Paul II asked the Catholics of the World to pray and confront the spiritual hunger of the Church. St. Charles held yearly missions which lasted a week at a time. Some presenters at these missions were Fr. Mike Madden, Fr. John Graden and Mrs. Renee Marizon.
While an exact date does not exist for the collection of aluminum cans as a fund-raiser for the operating cost of the parish, references are made in the bulletin as early as 1996. This program has become affectionately called “The Can Man” weekend collection. This monthly collection begun by Tom Urban continues today.
The first weekend of the month continues to be the customary collection for the St. Vincent de Paul Society. The 1997 November Church bulletin indicates that the school children collected canned food items for the poor. A tradition that developed into creating Thanksgiving Day food boxes for families in need, by the Confirmation Class of 1998. These students went on a “scavenger hunt” in their neighborhoods and assembled the food baskets for the needy in November 1997. They were able to put together 18 baskets. This tradition continues today as we prepare over 50 food boxes every Thanksgiving.
In January 1999, a plea began to address the church pipe organ. For several years proposed major maintenance was put off. There was concern that if repairs were not made there was a significant risk in damaging the organ that would make it unplayable. Hence the organ repair fund was started and restoration work was begun on the organ as monies were available.
The Spring of 1999 began the long-range pastoral planning process. At this time each deanery needed to come up with a plan for the bishop that would address how to handle providing for the sacramental needs of the deanery with 2 or 3 fewer priests then were currently assigned to the deanery. At this time St. Charles was part of the Toledo Southwest Deanery and was scheduled to begin their planning process.
The Icon located in the baptismal font area, Christ Blessing the Children, was installed and then blessed on June 26, 1999. It was donated by a parishioner who wished to remain anonymous. The icon was crafted at Light of Christ Monastery, an Eastern Orthodox community in the southern California desert.
In keeping with the Biblical notion of the Jubilee Year, Bishop Hoffman forgave the St. Charles Parish $68,512.00 which brought the debt from $149,040 to $80,515. This translated to a 65% reduction in the parish debt. This spurred the Finance Committee to make the decision to tithe 2% of the weekend collection. This lead to the beginning of a Capital Campaign Centennial Fund in the Spring of 2000.
Fr. Tom Extejt announced to the parish that he would not be renewing the principal, Sr. Therese Martin’s contract for the next academic school year, 2000-2001. Fr. Tom pointed out in is bulletin article that it was a difficult decision that was arrived at with consultation with the superintendent of Catholic Schools, Sr. Janet Doyle. A search committee was formed and Mrs. Patti Irons was hired. Patti was no stranger to St. Charles. For several years prior to being named principal, she was the Director of Religious Education for the Parish.
Brian Dobbelaere, the parish Liturgy and music director for the (then) past four years took another position at a parish in Naperville, Illinois. A search committee was formed and Mr. Eric Hite was hired to succeed Brian. Additionally, Mr. Jerry Mocek was hired to succeed Patti Irons as the Director of Religions Education for the parish, and was asked to start a Youth Group again, which continues to be very strong to this day.
As early as September of 2000 the parish began to gear up for the celebration of the Parish Centennial. The Spring of 2002 would begin the 100th year of the parish founding. A kick off Mass was celebrated on the Feast Day of St. Charles, November 4, 2001. The parish’s actual 99th birthday was January 18, 1903 when Fr. Charles Herr celebrated the first mass in a converted blacksmith shop on the corner of Airport and Lakeshore. Masses were Celebrated on January 18th and 19th, 2003 acknowledging the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the parish. On November 2, 2003 Bishop Donnelly celebrated a Mass marking the closing of the Parish Centennial. There was a great celebration with a large dinner and several hundred former and present students, parishioners and pastors, including the Bishop, attended.
In December of 2001, an anonymous donor gave the icon mounted on the railing of the choir loft as a gift in memory of the 100th First Communion Class of St. Charles. The icon shows Mary pointing at Christ Jesus. Mary is an image of what the Church is called to be; a community that points out Jesus to the world, a community that evangelizes. The image of Mary is mounted over the rear door so that she is the last image we see as we leave the church, reminding us that our mission is to point out Christ through our words and actions.
The liturgy Music Director, Eric Hite, resigned and took another position in 2002. Another search committee was formed and Anthony Zsigray was offered and accepted the position of organist and choir director. Mr. Zsigray began his ministry on July 1, 2002.
July 2002 also brought about St. Charles becoming part of the Central City Ministries of Toledo. By being a CCMT parish, St. Charles became a part of several parishes to share the mission of Church. Dialogue began in the Spring of 2004 to petition the Diocese to move the parish of St. Charles into the CCMT Deanery. Bishop Blair gave his blessing to this request in May of 2004. A couple of weeks later Fr. Tom Extejt was given a new assignment as the associate pastor of St. Rose in Perrysburg. Fr. Gregory Peatee was appointed the new pastor effective July 1, 2004.
March of 2004 brought a change to the weekday Mass schedule. While they were scheduled, Mass attendance was zero. Hence, Fr. Tom dropped the Friday morning mass when school Mass would not be held.
April 18, 2004 marked the 100th anniversary of the opening of St. Charles Borromeo School. No historical record shows why classes began in April instead of being postponed until September. Since the parish held its first celebration of First Holy Communion on June 26, 1904, it seems likely that much of the class time was spent on sacramental preparation of the (of the 60 children, 39 received First Communion). The following fall, when 135 children were enrolled, 82 were confirmed by Bishop Horstmann of Cleveland on October 16, 2004
One feature of school life that was decidedly different was that for a time the first pastor, Father Herr, used the west half of the school’s first floor as his home. He soon moved to a house that stood where our parking lot is now (that house has since been moved top 120 Dunham Street). The parish hall, on the west end of the school’s second floor, was made into two classrooms, as were the pastor’s living quarters. The third floor attic was the clubroom for the youth group, known as the Borromeo Club. Because of safety regulations, the third floor was soon closed to public gatherings and thereafter used only for storage.
In the fall of 2004 the parish raised the necessary funds to replace the flat roof on the Church with a rubber roof. This was necessary to stop a roof leek that began on the north side. After the work began there was a disaster due to a major leak from the work being done. Before it was over half of the entire pipe organ was damaged by water. The estimate for repairs would be $60,000.
The fall also brought about talks of reconfiguring the deanery. In spring the Diocese would announce the closing of several parishes including St. Anthony, St. James, St. Jude, and St. Stanislaus. The St. Charles parish boundaries would expand to include most of the parish boundaries of St. James. Additionally, while keeping their separate identities, St. Charles and the neighboring parish St. Hyacinth, would be realigned to share the same pastor. The deanery reconfiguration took place in November of 2005 and St. Charles officially became part of the newly formed deanery, Blessed Theresa of Calcutta.
On May 21, 2005 the parish had a spruce up day and parishioners gathered in full force with over 75 volunteers and washed and cleaned pews and sacristy as well as moved 50 cubic yards of mulch around the grounds.
July 1, 2005 was the official day St. Charles and St. Hyacinth began sharing the same pastor. The mass times were changed and weekday morning Masses began to be held at St. Hyacinth because of the lack of attendance at St. Charles. The parish offices began sharing the same space with the office location being moved to the St. Hyacinth campus. With the Sisters of Notre Dame living at the Convent at St. Hyacinth, the St. Charles rectory became the priest residence to allow a presence on both campuses each night.
After many decades of celebrations, July 2005 saw the last Parish Festival to be scheduled. Rising cost and poor net gain led the festival committee to the conclusion that an alternative way needed to be found to raise parish funds. October of 2005 would begin the parish celebration of Oktoberfest as one alternative.
The closing of St. James and St. Stanislaus enabled the parish to utilize some of their furnishings. A couple of brass vases, a censer and boat, four brass sanctuary candlesticks and the sanctuary cross were given to St. Charles. The sanctuary candlesticks and cross are currently used in the sanctuary at St. Charles. St. Stanislaus gave two kneelers, several sanctuary cares, some altar linens, credence table and a large floor fan.
Fr. Bill Richter’s estate left some monies to be used for capital improvements. For 10 years the parish dreamed about repairing or resurfacing the parking lot. It finally happened in September 2005. There was enough funding so that the handicap spots were expanded to include 10 additional spaces. A “new to us” used modular classroom was moved from Blessed Sacrament School to St. Charles in May of 2006. The 7th and 8th grades took up residence and their old space in the older modular became the art room and school library.
The facilities were also enhanced in June of 2006 when a generous benefactor came forward to have the church air conditioned. After some inquiries and several engineers later it was determined the electrical supply to the church was adequate to handle the new units. Additionally the flat roof needed to be reinforced to support the weight of the units. There was a second small flood after the roof was opened up to install the curb stops upon which the new air conditioning units would set. Sunday July 9th, 2006 marked the first time the Sunday Mass was air conditioned. Another blessing bestowed upon the parish.
For over 100 years St. Charles Borromeo Church has continued to serve the people of its parish. While the buildings have gone through physical changes, the parish numbers have grown, declined and grown again, the one constant has been the serving of God’s Kingdom and the handing on of the Gospel Values. May the next 100 years be as blessed as the first 100 years.
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