St. Anthony Parish
St. Anthony Church Renovation
Project
On Christmas Day in 1858,
the first Mass was
celebrated in the newly created St. Anthony of Padua
Church in Effingham, IL. Prior to that date, Catholics
in the Effingham area attended Mass in Teutopolis or
Green Creek, or in a small log cabin in Broughton which
served as a school during the week. St. Anthony was
a mission parish, served by priests from the neighboring
villages until 1871. In the beginning, St. Anthony Parish
consisted of 40 families.
Ten years later, the parish registry listed 120 families, and by 1875, it had grown
to 225. In that time, land had been donated for a cemetery, a two-room brick school building
had been built, and a six-room frame rectory had been erected. On March 1, 1870, the
congregation was officially incorporated as St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church of
Effingham.
In 1871, the first resident pastor, Rev. Michael Weis, arrived. During his
administration, the present church was built. Shortly, the School Sisters of Notre Dame
arrived to minister to the children.
During the term of pastor Rev. H.J.F. Jungmann, which began in 1877, a new
main altar was built. Other improvements included the construction of a new brick rectory,
and a new six-room school.
On January 1, 1896, St. Anthony's received a new pastor, Rev. Louis W.
Lammert. Fr. Lammert made many improvements to the parish buildings, including an
addition to the parish hall which included a stage, and the installation of the stained glass
windows which grace the church today. He had a new convent built, which the Notre
Dame Sisters occupied in 1918. The new convent housed a Repository for the Blessed
Sacrament in its chapel. Fr. Lammert installed a new organ in the church, and saw the
first high school class graduate from the St. Anthony School system.
June 8, 1929, marked the arrival of Rev. John H. Gramke as pastor. Fr. Gramke's
administration showed considerable interest in improving the school system. He built a
four-room addition to the school, saw the installation of the hot lunch program, received
full recognition of the high school by the state authorities and accreditation from the
University of Illinois, and received a superior rating for the grade school from the state.
He also had a public address system installed in the church and a new tile roof laid.
Fr. Gramke served as pastor until his death in 1945.
Rev. John J. Goff succeeded Fr. Gramke. He, too, made many additions and
improvements to the church and school. During his administration, new Stations of the
Cross were erected, as well as new statues of St. Anthony, the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and St. Anne. Fr. Goff added fourteen new
classrooms, a library, and a new gymnasium to the school. In the last year of his term,
he built a new high school building. He also intoduced C.C.D. classes in the parish,
raised the old rectory, and built the present one. He remodeled and added a wing to the
convent. Fr. Goff also had the difficult task of offering a Requiem Mass for the victims
of the St. Anthony's Hospital fire in 1949.
Fr. Goff was succeeded by Monsignor John McGrath in 1968. Msgr. McGrath
served the parish as pastor until 1972, when a team ministry took over the administration.
The team ministry consisted of Rev. William Peters, Rev. Robert Spriggs, and Rev. Donald
Meehling.
In 1976, a new pastor was appointed, Rev. Robert Heintz. Fr. Heintz joyfully
retired the parish debt in 1983. He served as pastor for one more year, until Rev. Michael
Kuse arrived.
Fr. Kuse was called by the Bishop to serve the Springfield Diocese as the director
of the Ministry to Priests Program. He was succeeded at St. Anthony's by Rev. William
Overmann. Fr. Overmann began serving the 1500 families of the parish in 1988.
In June of 1989, Very Rev. Leo Enlow became St. Anthony's most recent pastor.
Fr. Enlow, together with Rev. Mark Lewis, Parochial Vicar, are overseeing the ongoing
process of renovation that will bring the traditional beauty of the church in line with the
revised liturgical rites of the Second Vatican Council.