ASSUMPTION - The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Mary Parish) in Assumption is celebrating its sesquicentennial with two special Masses the week of Aug. 12.

On Sunday, Aug. 12 Bishop George J. Lucas will be the main celebrant of a noon Mass, with Father Don Wolford, pastor, concelebrating. The Aug. 12 Mass will be followed by a catered lunch. On Wednesday, Aug. 15 - which is the actual 150th anniversary of the founding of the church - Father Wolford will celebrate Mass at 7 p.m. That Mass will be followed by an ice cream social. Priests and religious sisters who have served the parish have been invited to return for those celebrations.

Like so many long-time parishes in the Springfield diocese, St. Mary Parish had humble beginnings. Col. Elisee Malhoit left Canada around 1832 and resettled in the Louisiana parish (county) of Assumption. Under his leadership in 1857, several families migrated from the Assumption parish of Louisiana to Tacusah, as Assumption was then named. They then joined 35 French Canadian families and settled on land obtained by Col. Malhoit from the Illinois Central Railroad.

Col. Malhoit donated the land on which they built a little log church that they named for the beloved Mother of God: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. From 1857 to 1868, all the priests who served at the parish were natives of France who came from Louisiana.

A priest named Father Adolphus Jacques built a second church. That church burned, but framework was already in place for the present church, which was constructed in 1870, also under the direction of Father Jacques. That church was built on approximately five acres of land that had also been donated by Col. Malhoit.

Although original parishioners were mostly French, people of other ethnic origins began to settle there when the coal mines opened in Assumption. They were Polish, Czechs, Hungarians and Slovakians, says Eulalia "Jean" Ohl, a long-time parishioner who compiled an anniversary book for the sesquicentennial.

Another notable priest, Father Joseph DeChene came to St. Mary Church and remained at the parish for 22 years. Parish history notes that Father DeChene had graduated with honors from one of the most prestigious medical schools in Europe and practiced medicine before he was ordained to the priesthood. His obituary stated, "To him, the humble cassock of the priest was far more alluring than the white jacket of a surgeon."

Parishioner Pat Tillman writes that Father DeChene sometimes used his experience in medicine in his service to the parish. "Often times, he couldn't help but give medical advice to people," she writes. "My grandmother was one of those people ... ."

It was under Father DeChene's direction that the parish school and convent were built. The Dominican Sisters of Springfield began running the school just after the turn of the century and celebrated 75 years there in 1976. The school closed in 1989.

Other long-time pastors were Father James M. Huck who was pastor for over a decade, Father Daniel J. Higgins who ministered for 13 years, and Father Clement T. Stolze who served from 1932 to 1959. Altogether, more than 25 priests have served the parish in the past 150 years.

Included in the sesquicentennial book are a brief history of the parish along with essays contributed by parishioners and former pastors Father Alan Hunter (1993-2002) and Father Angel Sierra (2002-2004).

Special sections of the booklet also feature short family histories of parishioners, tales from altar servers, and several pages dedicated to musicians and members of the choir. Ohl, who contributed a number of essays to the booklet, notes that six generations of her family (and several other families) have been or are parishioners at St. Mary's Church. They are among the 147 families that make up the present parish.

The 150th anniversary book will be available to people who come to the Masses on Aug. 12 and Aug. 15. The parish is also selling parish cookbooks for $8 each and pewter Christmas ornaments featuring The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary for $10 each. For more information on purchasing a cookbook or an ornament, call the parish office at (217) 226-3205.