ANGELIC: OLD CHURCH STANDS THE TEST OF TIME

ORAN -- When entering Oran from the southeast, one notices the Guardian Angel Catholic Church rising majestically against the backdrop of wooded hills.

Next Saturday, many of the 432 families of the church's congregation will gather at a special mass and picnic to celebrate the centennial anniversary of their church.

In 1892, Catholic settlers who had previously gone to St. Lawrence Church in New Hamburg, began holding services in Oran. The Rev. Francis Brand recorded the first baptism on July 25, 1892.

While serving as pastor of St. Henry's Parish in Charleston, Brand also served Guardian Angel Parish in Oran from its inception until August 1894. Brand would travel on the St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad every Sunday from Charleston to Oran, a distance of 20 miles.

"Mass was then celebrated in the Crenshaw Warehouse," said Carol Dirnberger, church historian and editor of the church history book, which will be published later this year.

On Aug. 19, 1893, the congregation of 44 families held a meeting at the Crenshaw Warehouse and decided to erect their own building. The two-story frame church was completed and dedicated less than a year later. The first floor served as a school, and worship services were held on the second floor.

The Rev. Michael Helmbacher was assigned to the parish in 1897 and served the community in that capacity for 46 years, until his death in 1943.

The present church building was built in 1916-1917 under the guidance of Helmbacher. The original decor of the Roman Gothic structure boasted arched stain-glass windows, five gold-leaf altars, "Mysteries of the Rosary" painted on canvas by a German artist, many statues of saints and a painted scene of the Holy Trinity in the dome above the sanctuary.

The church was redecorated in a simpler style under the direction of the Second Vatican Council in 1965.

Although the church committee has amassed several pictures of the church in its original glory and as it stands today, it has found no photographs of the church dating back to the 1965-1985 renovation period.

"It was really kind of drab," said Lawrence Seyer, chairman of the church's Centennial Committee. "The Vatican wanted simpler places of worship, not so grandiose and intricate."

Seyer said that many of the ornate decorations had been painted with a bland green paint and a majority of the side alters were removed from the church.

"They were going to paint over the canvas paintings along the walls of the church," Seyer said. "One of the parishioners got really angry and spoke up against it, so they were spared."

Shortly after the Rev. Normand Varone came to Oran, he called together the parish council to get authorization for some much needed repairs to the building.

But the committee had more in mind than simple repairs.

"I told them about the repairs which were needed, and just look at what they came up with," Varone said.

A major fund drive was initiated, raising more than $32,000 to restore the church to its original beauty. Church members brought out old photographs from their family albums. The photos provided a guide for the congregation in its efforts to duplicate the intricate stenciling of the original church.

Varone learned that many of the parishioners had taken statues from the church when it was renovated in the 1960s, and stored them in barns and attics for safe keeping.

Church members donated countless hours of their personal time and expertise to the remodeling effort painting, sealing, cleaning and assisting where needed.

The men cleaned and sealed the windows and pillars; the women refinished pews and woodwork. The children of the parish carried chairs from the Knights of Columbus Hall to the school gymnasium were masses were held from January to April 1986, while the restoration work was under way.

Kirby Hahn, chairman of the restoration effort, erected scaffolds throughout the church to make needed repairs to the roof and to re-paint stencils on the archways.

"Everyone was so excited to get things back the way they once were," Dirnberger said. "Everyone pitched in all they could to help, spending countless hours here, and saving the church thousands of dollars."

Church members set up a display of church artifacts in a small room at the back of the building: a memorial to the church's rich history.

The Guardian Angel Church was rededicated on Oct. 19, 1986. Mass was celebrated at the renovated church with Bishop John Leibrecht of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese officiating.

Since Thanksgiving last year, the church has been celebrating its history through various programs and activities.

Thursday, the Guardian Angel Church will have a special Living Rosary candlelight service, to which all area residents are invited.

On Saturday, a picnic will be held on the parish grounds, honoring all former priests, sisters and teachers in the parish.

The celebration will kick off with a special mass at 10 a.m. Afterward, the Guardian Angel Home and School Association will serve a buffet meal for the public in the school gym from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

During the afternoon, there will be a number of activities including a horseshoe tournament and a performance by the "Bad Habits," a group of singing nuns.

Varone has now been with the church for 10 years - the term of most priests within a parish.

"When the time comes for me to leave here, it's going to be so very hard," Varone said. "The work these people have done is outstanding. This is a wonderful parish and it's been my privilege and honor to serve them."