User:Lniehues/St. Mary's Church (St. Benedict, Kansas)

St. Mary's Church (St. Benedict, Kansas) was named to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec. 5, 1980. Measuring 162 by 60 feet with the steeple rising 172.5 feet above the water table, the late Romanesque style church is considered by many to be a repository of fine art. This beautiful church sits in the valley of Wildcat Creek in a farming community in northeast Kansas. The parish began in 1859 when early German and Irish settlers in the area were determined to have a Catholic Church in which to hold their Sunday services. The current church is the fourth one that was built in this small community that continued to grow in the late nineteenth century. It was the decision of the local bishop Rt. Rev. Louis M. Fink, O.S.B. that a new church be built of stone and large enough to meet all future needs of the community. The foundation was begun in the fall of 1891. On April 30, 1893 the cornerstone was laid and building of the immense structure began in earnest. The dedication of the church took place on November 14, 1894, and the church was consecrated on June 1, 1899 by Bishop Fink.

Much of the building of the structure was done under the watchful eye of pastor Father Herman Mengwasser, O.S.B. and the local parishioners who hauled the limestone rock from a local quarry. A skilled local St. Benedict carpenter, August Droge, made the pews and did much of the carpentry work. The parishioners paid for the building as it was erected and had invested $46,699.20 by the summer of 1899. The furnishing and decorating the church was an elaborate undertaking of the faithful farm families who eventually spent an additional $40,000 to finish the interior.

The church's justification for becoming one of the "8 Wonders of Kansas Art" lies in its beautiful symbolic wall painting, its many fine statues, and its exquisite leaded stained glass windows. The church has approximately 3000 square feet of stained window space, and is adorned with 37 free standing statues in addition to the 14 three-fourths life size Stations of the Way of the Cross, a replica of the Pieta, and the figures of John the Baptist and Jesus atop the baptismal font. The church has 79 angels in various locations throughout the church.

It was the work of two notable artists, George Satory and Tadeusz Żukotyński that made this church exceptional. Satory, of Wabasha, Minnesota, painted the walls and ceiling of the church with a technique that gave the appearance of frescoeing. He applied many colors and patterns until he covered every plastered surface in the church with elaborate symbolic art. The Ukrainian-born Żukotyński decorated St. Mary's with 14 oil paintings. Known for his work in the Polish churches in the Chicago area, Żukotyński, was also one of Europe's foremost painters in religious subjects before immigrating to America. Six of the paintings he did in St. Mary's measure six by nine feet and are painted on canvas and hung in the nave clerestory. They depict scenes from the life of Mary, patroness of the church. In the transept are four round oil paintings on canvas six feet in diameter of the four major prophets. He also added three oil paintings directly on the the plaster ceiling above the high altar depicting faith, hope, and love. The focal point in the church is an oil on canvas, six by nine feet, of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven that surmounts the high altar.

In 1980, the parishioners once again reached into their pockets and found the funding for a complete restoration project totally nearly $120,000. After being added to the National Register of Historic Places, the decision was made to hire Joe Oswalt, a native of Onaga, Kansas and a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute to complete the laborious task of refurbishing the walls and ceiling to their original luster. Other artists who helped with the intricate painting were Chari Johnson and Kathy Montgomery, along with Oswalt's wife Anita.

In the fall of 2009, St. Mary's Parish at St. Benedict, Kansas celebrated the 150th anniversary of the founding of their parish.