SCHERERVILLE – One hundred and fifty years to the day that Bishop Joseph G. Dwenger blessed the community’s first church building and dedicated it to St. Michael the Archangel, Diocese of Gary Bishop Robert J. McClory joined diocesan and parish leaders and hundreds of parishioners to celebrate the history, growth and continued prominence of the faith community at an outdoor Mass.
“Over these many years, St. Michael the Archangel has been a beacon of hope to countless individuals and families,” said the bishop in his letter of congratulations. “Your beautiful church stands as a symbol of significance since the first church was blessed … on the feast of St. Michael.
“From the early days of the original 80 families establishing a close-knit community of faith, to the challenges and triumphs faced over the decades, your parish has been a living witness to history,” the bishop stated. “The St. Michael Catholic community of today remains a faith-filled, family-centered and educationally enriched parish.”
Father Martin Dobrzynski, pastor of St. Michael community since 2002, said his hope is that the faith community not only remembers the past, but looks toward “rejuvenating the future and moving us further along the road.”
Toward that destiny, the parish is in the midst of a capital campaign that has received pledges of more than $4 million toward a $5 million goal to building a new administrative center and air condition the thriving parish school, established in 1900 with 42 students after a portion of a public school building was purchased and moved north of the parish cemetery.
Following a full year of anniversary events that included a Feast Day 5K Run, a Valentine’s Day Dinner-Dance and a Pastor’s Anniversary Celebration, the anniversary weekend began on Sept. 27 with Father Dominic Bertino, senior priest and diocesan historian, presenting a program on the history of the parish.
He concentrated on the 10 pastors who have served St. Michael, beginning with Father Henry Meissner, who was charged with establishing the seventh Lake County parish in the growing Schererville community in 1874 by Bishop Dwenger of the Diocese of Fort Wayne, which governed all of northern Indiana.
The first church, a 45-by-90-foot clapboard structure that cost $5,000, was built on 4.5 acres donated by town founder Nicholas Scherer, with a rectory added a year later for $1,800, said Father Bertino.
The first resident pastor, Father Godfrey Kueng of Austria, arrived in 1875 and served only a year. Nearby pastors filled in until the second St. Michael leader, Father John Henry Bathe of Germany, arrived in 1877 to shepherd 80 families and preside over 11 baptisms and four funerals. Due to his poor health, he served only seven months and was succeeded by Father Francis Xavier Diemel, who acquired the church bells that remain in use today.
Also from Germany, Father Deimel’s fragile health led to his death in 1882, a year after leaving St. Michael.
He was followed in 1881 by Father William Berg, a fellow German native who served the Schererville community until 1929. He secured the Sisters of St. Francis of Joliet to begin teaching children in 1886, although they did not open a parish school until 1900, housing 42 students.
Father Berg’s lengthy tenure, including a stint as dean of the Hammond Deanery, included the development of St. Calvary with the grotto and Stations of the Cross.
The parish survived the desecration of the church by arson and the vandalism of the cemetery in 1893. A convent was built in 1914 and a second floor was added to the school in 1916.
In 1927, Father Berg celebrated his golden jubilee and was named a papal chamberlain and monsignor and began planning for a new church, but he passed away in 1929 just prior to the dedication of the 500-seat building that cost $97,000.
Father Peter Biegel became the fifth pastor in time for the 1930 dedication of the second church building in 1930 by Bishop John Francis Noll and served until his retirement in 1958. By the mid-1950’s, school enrollment had risen to 250 pupils.
The next pastor was Father Timothy Doody, a World War II military chaplain who guided 320 St. Michael families until 1964, when he was transferred to Michigan City. He retired in 1991 and passed away in 2004.
Father Doody’s ordination classmate, Father Bernard Freeman Shank, succeeded him from 1964 to 1979. Under his tenure, the current school opened and classrooms doubled by grade, the sanctuary was reorganized and the parish’s centenary Mass was celebrated by Bishop Andrew G. Grutka.
Father Joseph E. Vamos arrived to shepherd 898 families in 1979 and had to double Sunday Masses, hosting them in the church and the school. Among four different assistants, he welcomed Father Martin Dobrzynski in 1985. Father Vamos was transferred to Our Lady of Consolation in 1987 and retired in 2009.
His successor was Father Patrick J. Connolly, principal of Bishop Noll Institute from 1977 to 1985, who began construction of the current church in 1999 to serve 1,600 families and host 117 baptisms. He died in 2002 from cancer.
Father Dobrzynski arrived in 2002 to administer the parish during Father Connolly’s illness and succeeded him as pastor.
He supervised the construction of St. Patrick Hall, adjacent to the church, and supervised the renovation of the church, closed from 2000-2002 due to extensive smoke damage, and hosted Vesper Prayer Services for the installation of both Bishop Donald J. Hying and Bishop McClory.
“What I enjoy most about pastoring is ministering to the people, visiting the sick and taking care of the people with the sacraments,” said Father Dobrzynski.
A parishioner since 1990, Betsy Grossman and a former teacher at the parish school for 15 years, lauded “the friendliness and support of the people and all of the parish activities” as a strength. “Masses are very festive, with lots of music; we have a very good choir,” said the member of Labors of Love, a crafting group that donates handmade items to the needy.
“Today we cleaned the attic,” added Betty Eaton, another Labors of Love member. “We have lots of fun. I hope this parish is here another 150 years.”
“All the associate pastors who have come here have been amazing,” said John Hemmerling, a parishioner who raised four children in the former church before his growing family welcomed the bigger building. “I appreciate the many ministries, like the music ministry and the teen group.”
Sandy O’Drobinak joined St. Michael three years ago to offer her teenage daughter more involvement in a larger parish. “I feel very much at home here,” she said. “I appreciate the large number of ministries, and the people here treat my family like we’ve been here forever.”
Deacon Ron Pyle praised the St. Michael parishioners for being “so welcoming and so excited about the faith and their church”
He said he feels most a part of the faith community that currently numbers 2,200 families when assisting at Mass. “We are one body, one Church, and I’m praying with the people and for them,” Deacon Pyle added. “Having an archangel be our guardian is very appropriate. He’s the protector of our faith.”
Caption: With dozens of photos gathered by the St. Michael Parish 150th Anniversary Committee on display, Father Martin Dobrzynski (left), pastor, listens to Father Dominic Bertino, historian for the Diocese of Gary, explain the impact the parish has had on the Town of Schererville since it was established in 1874. Father Bertino's presentation was well-attended by parishioners on Sept. 27 as the parish began its celebratory weekend. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)