History of Corpus Christi into the 1960s

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent 
With Leonard Cash
 
“For the next few years, apparently, everyone was pleased with the new church and basement, and they worked hard to pay debts and loans. Their efforts were successful, for at the end of five years the church was free of debt,” according to “A History of Corpus Christi And Its Missions” by Elizabeth Thorpe. 
In last week’s installment of “History on Main,” historian Leonard Cash ended with the completion of a new church for Newcastle’s Catholics in 1952, and a few years later, it was paid off. 
The story continues with an article from the June 12, 1952, issue of the News Letter Journal. It was reported that the Rev. Terrance McGovern temporarily went to the Riverton parish, where he was to stay for a week before heading to Ireland. He was scheduled to return to the U.S. around Sept. 15. 
According to the Sept. 18, 1952, paper, assistant pastor Joseph Fraher was transferred to Sheridan, so the Rev. Bartholomew Svete, from Lady of Sorrows parish in Rock Springs, was appointed in his place. A native of Slovenia, his home country became the United States in 1948 because of “persecutions.”
Right around this transferal of pastors, McGovern returned from his trip, according to the Sept. 25, 1952, issue. As we will soon see, many pastoral exchanges would occur over the remaining course of his ministry. 
On July 7, 1955, the paper reported that Svete was leaving to take over the parish at Hartville, and the Rev. Cornelius O’Connor, also from Lady of Sorrows, was his successor. 
The article also noted that the former Newcastle pastor, Gerard Schellinger, was to become the new chaplain of St. Joseph Novitiate, a hospital in Florida, which was a post previously held by his brother until his death.
Over two years later, around Sept. 5, 1957, the next assistant pastor came and went. The Rev. O’Connor was sent to Rawlins, so John Ferran from St. Mary’s Cathedral transferred to Newcastle (the booklet spells his name as Sean and says that he came in 1959 — Cash was unsure of why the two records are different).
“That’s the trouble when you get two or three different people writing stuff,” Cash said. 
On Jan. 13, 1958, the church’s board of trustees asked the bishop to purchase the Patrick Brennan property for the priest’s residence at $15,000 with 4% interest, according to the booklet. 
“Today this seems such a low rate that it is ridiculous, but twenty years ago, the members of the parish were taking a big step in assuming another great debt in what had been a comparatively debt-free parish. It proved to be, ultimately, a very wise purchase,” the booklet says. 
After serving in Newcastle for several years, it was finally time for the Rev. McGovern to start a new chapter of his ministry in Douglas. 
The records here are slightly different because an article from the Sept. 22, 1960, News Letter Journal, reports that McGovern was replaced by Michael O’Brien of Lusk (whose vacancy was in turn filled by the Rev. O’Connor). 
However, the booklet says that the Rev. James O’Neill arrived as the new pastor on Jan. 10, 1961, and stayed until Aug. 8, 1962, and then O’Brien arrived, which is confirmed by a list of priests in Cash’s records. 
But whether the ministries of the various priests in Newcastle were short or long, all of them left their mark at the church. 
“All have left part of themselves with the people of Corpus Christi parish,” the booklet says. 
Another purchase was made in May 1959, when the church bought the Rose Toth house for $6,000 “to be a part of the parish property,” according to the booklet. A few years later in August of 1962, $1,000 was used to fix up the rectory “to make it liveable for the lay volunteers.” 
According to an article from Jan. 30, 1964, Gerald Sullivan, who had served as an assistant pastor since Sept. 14, 1962, was transferred to Rawlins. He was ordained on May 1959 in Casper with his twin brother, Eugene.
The following year, the Newcastle parish received word that former Newcastle priest Gerard Schellinger died of a heart attack and was buried in Corpus Christi, Texas, according to the Dec. 30, 1965, issue of the paper. Schellinger was born on April 11, 1888, in Alkmaar, Netherlands. 
On Sept. 16, 1965, the paper said assistant pastor Father George Tellez was transferred to the St. Laurance O’Toole parish in Laramie. Thomas Sheridan of Rawlins was sent to Newcastle, and the Rev. McBrien recently returned from a two-month excursion in Ireland. 
A year later, both McBrien and Sheridan were leaving Newcastle for Douglas and Powell, respectively. according to the Oct. 13, 1966, issue. A carry-in farewell dinner was scheduled at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 18 in the church basement for members and friends to wish McBrien and Sheridan luck in their new posts. The Rev. James Doudican of Jackson was succeeding McBrien, and it was to be effective by Oct. 21. 
The following issue of the paper gave a brief biography of the new minister and departing ministers on Oct. 20, 1966. McBrien was raised and ordained in Ireland in 1942 before coming to the Cheyenne diocese two years later. He started out as an assistant pastor for the parishes in Greybull, Cheyenne, Riverton and Gillette until he was appointed pastor of Lusk in 1951. 
Doudican was also born in Ireland and ordained in 1948. He served in Rawlins and Kemmerer and then as the first pastor of Our Lady of the Mountains parish in Jackson. 
Thomas Sheridan was also ordained in Ireland in 1964 and served a year in Rawlins before coming to Newcastle. A later article said that he went to Our Lady of Fatima parish in Casper. 
According to the Aug. 16, 1967, paper, the Rev. Gerald Sullivan, formerly of Newcastle, who had been assisting at St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Torrington for three years, was making some big life changes. That fall, he was going to Washington, D.C., to enter the School of Social Work at the Catholic University there. His brother, Eugene, was succeeding his position at the orphanage. These changes were announced by Bishop Hubert Newell. 
On Jan. 12, 1968, Rev. F.J. Kimmett became the new pastor, according to the booklet. In April, $4,000 (with an additional $160 interest) was paid to St. Joseph’s orphanage. Additionally, the furnaces of the church and rectory were converted to gas and the exterior trim was repainted. 
A year later, in January 1969, the heating system was repaired. 
“New kneelers were installed — a joy to old bones!” the booklet says. 
Soon after, the heating system was also converted from steam to hot water for $4,500.
According to the Aug. 13, 1970, paper, the Rev. Msgr. Kimmett was to become the first diocesan priest to be named pastor of St. Patrick parish in Wheatland on Sept. 1. He was succeeded by the Rev. Cletus Prado of Upton, who unlike so many of the Irish pastors, was a Wyoming native. He was the first pastor of St. Anthony’s in Upton.