Saint Boniface Parish, Louisville celebrates it's 175th year

Mayor Greg Fischer makes remarks at the dedication of historical marker at St. Boniface Parish.
/ Photo by Pam Spaulding, The Courier-Journal

Courier-Journal:

Mary “Babe” Mulligan has spent her whole life as a member of St. Boniface Catholic Church.

She was baptized in the stately church on Liberty Street. She was confirmed there. In 1936, she got married there. Sixty-five years later, she celebrated her anniversary there.

On Sunday, Mulligan, 96, helped to unveil a historic marker that was dedicated at the church to help celebrate the parish's 175th birthday.

“It's a wonderful day for me, I tell you,” Mulligan said. “So many memories. There isn't another church in town as pretty as this church.”

A crowd of parishioners gathered in front of the church after the 11 a.m. Mass — which was held in the dark because the church was without power after Saturday's storm.

In bright sunshine, historians and leaders of the church stood to speak about the historic significance of the church's role in Louisville.

“The history of St. Boniface really represents the history of Louisville,” said Mayor Greg Fischer, who attended the Mass and then helped in the dedication.

The church was founded in 1836 to serve German Catholics. It is the second-oldest Catholic parish in Louisville, after the Cathedral of the Assumption, and it is the oldest that exists under its original name. St. Boniface is the patron saint of Germany.

The current church building, built in the Gothic style, was dedicated in 1900 and had its latest renovation last year.

In 1849, the church began its charitable outreach by co-founding what is now known as the St. Joseph Catholic Orphan Society.

The church was overseen by Franciscan friars from 1849 to 1998. A parish school run by the Ursuline Sisters was built in 1908 and closed in 1967.

Nativity Academy, a middle school for children of low-income urban families, now operates at the site.

The Rev. Jeff Shooner, sacramental moderator of St. Boniface, said that he was pleased and excited to have the marker unveiled Sunday, and not just because it honors a significant history.

“It also marks the future,” he said, “and what we are being called to do.”