St. Stephen’s Schism
Time line
“Átok verte meg a Magyart, hogy az soha össze nem tart.”
Dec. 21, 1907Father Froehlich becomes pastor of St. Stephen’s
Sep. 12, 1909Cornerstone laid for new St. Stephen’s Church building
Aug. 21, 1910New St. Stephen’s Church dedicated; cost of $33,000
Apr. 8, 1911*Bishop sues to dissolve board of trustees at St. Stephen’s
May 15, 1911*Violence at St. Stephen’s. Crowd accuses Froehlich of crimes.
May 16, 1911*City officials appeal to Bishop Alerding to intervene.
May 18, 1911*Investigators for Bishop question Father Froelich and accusers.
May 22, 1911*Police disperse crowd at St. Stephen’s
May 26, 1911*Father Froehlich vindicated by Bishop’s panel.
May 29, 1911*Father Bognar of East Chicago read’s Bishop’s letter at St. Stephen’s low mass; trouble after mass; police close church.
May 31, 1911*Fraulu defends himself in newspaper; John Horwath attacked by housemates.
June 3, 1911*St. Stephen’s closed by Bishop Alerding.
June 8, 1911*Fraulu charged with wife desertion–hearing June 22; Horwath attackers in court–Faraga trial June 15.
July 12, 1911*Bishop Alerding announces exchange of pastors: Father Froehlich to go to St. Stephen of Hungary in NY,NY; Father Louis Kovacs to come to St. Stephen’s in South Bend from that NY parish.
July 13, 1911*Riot at St. Stephen’s in South Bend, Fathers Kovacs and Froehlich threatened.
July 15, 1911*Bishop reopens St. Stephen’s.
July 17, 1911*Riot at St. Stephen’s in South Bend–Father Kovacs flees city. Parishioners of St. Stephen’s in NY lock out Father Froelich.
July 18, 1911*Father Kovacs returns to parish in South Bend
July 24, 1911*Father Kovacs celebrates mass undisturbed.
Apr. 4, 1912*Congregation announces plans to build new Hungarian-Catholic church.
Apr. 22, 1912*Congregation purchases site for St. Szive’s Church, at Indiana and Catalpa avenues; elects officers. Announce that Rev. Victor von Kubinyi will accept new charge.
Apr. 27, 1912*St. Stephen’s pastor, Rev. Louis von Kovacs will exchange parishes with Rev. Alexander Varlaky, of St. John’s in South Bethlehem, Pa.
“Early 1912”Victor von Kubinyi, then in Newark, NJ contacted by certain members of St. Stephen’s parish in SB to come minister to them.
May 1, 1912Father Varlaky assigned to St. Stephen’s parish in South Bend.
May 4, 1912*Rev. Kubinyi elected priest of the new Church of the Sacred Heart
May 6, 1912*Final appeal sent to bishop Alerding, asking him to appoint Rev. Kubinyi pastor of St. Stephen’s church or recognize new congregation.
May 9, 1912*Rev. Kubinyi and followers rent 211 S. Scott St. to be used as residence, headquarters, and place of worship.
May 16, 1912*Rev. Kubinyi moves to 312 S. Lafayette; he issues statement claiming to be victim of slander in nation Hungarian-language newspapers.
May 18, 1912*Bishop Alerding sends letter denying Rev. Kubinyi right to diocesan faculties and authorization to form new parish.
May 20, 1912*Rev. Kubinyi issues statement that he never claimed to be diocesan priest.
May 27, 1912*Rev. Kubinyi’s congregation elect officers; Kubinyi named “perpetual rector”.
June 5, 1912*Rev. Kubinyi’s congregation award construction contract for temporary building to be used as church until “proper” church can be built. It will later be used for school. Rev. Kubinyi and headquarters move to 929 W. Washington Ave.
June 1912Rev. Kubinyi and followers begin organizing parish on southwest side of South Bend.
July 22, 1912*Sacred Heart cemetery dedicated by Rev. Kubinyi.
Aug. 5, 1912*Sacred Heart Church joins diocese of Rt. Rev. Francis Hodur, of Scranton, Pa.
Aug. 26, 1912*Bishop Alerding excommunicates Rev. Kubinyi and his followers. Rev. Kubinyi states that the bishop has no authority to do so, since he (Kubinyi) left the jurisdiction of Bishop Alerding several months previous.
Sept 8, 1912Sacred Heart Independent Catholic Church holds opening ceremony.
Dec. 28, 1912*Rev. Kubinyi leaves South Bend.
Apr. 14, 1913*Rev. Kubinyi forms Hungarian National Church; to be consecrated as bishop in South Bend.
Apr. 22, 1913*Sacred Heart Independent Catholic Church parishioners refuse use of church by Rev. Kubinyi for consecration as bishop.
April 23, 1913*Rev. Kubinyi files affidavit alleging that officer elections of Sacred Heart Independent Church were false and fraudulent, and that he, not Rev. Basil Sychta, is the priest of the church.
Apr. 28, 1913*Rev. Kubinyi consecrated as bishop at Magyar Haz.
May 1, 1913*Bishop Kubinyi sues Stephen & Helen Toth for slander-$20,000; sues Rev. Basil Sychta & officers of Sacred Heart Church for slander – $5,000.
May 1913Bishop Kubinyi delivers speech “True Religion” at Oliver Opera House.
Dec. 7, 1913Rev. Kubinyi & followers join Episcopal Church.
Rev. Kubinyi founds Holy Trinity Episcopal parish in South Bend.
*These dates are dates that stories appeared in the newspaper.
Highlights of Newspaper Stories
SBT 5/15//1911, p. 1“...charging him with criminal offenses and also misrepresentation.”
“...no trouble has arisen between the bishop and the congregation...”
SBT 5/17/1911, p. 8“...as the parish and the bishop are on the best of terms, the trouble being between the priest and the parish.”
SBT 5/26/1911, p. 1“The controversy, it is said, dates back to the time when the new church was built, about two years ago.”
SBT 5/26/1911, p.20“Louis Meister...charged Rev. Fr. Froelich with an offense committed in Feb. 1908...”
SB Times 5/29/1911“The police asserted today that during his remarks in the church at low mass yesterday Father Bognar called a certain New York priest whom the congregation wishes sent here, evil names...”
ibid, p. 11“He (Father Froehlich) told Rev. Father Miller, bishop’s secretary, that he is not afraid, that the Magyars are cowards.”
“Father Miller says the trouble is that Father Froehlich will not let the congregation run things...”
SBT 7/12/1911, p.5“Persons qualified to speak assert that the coming of the New York priest will not dispel the trouble in the South Bend parish. Members of St. Stephen’s Church are said to dislike him equally as much as Father Froehlich.”
SBT 7/13/1911, p. 1“On every side the people shouted they would have none of the new priest. Some said they would rather have Father Froehlich than Father Kovacs for their pastor.”
“While members of the congregation are reported as having said they prefer Father Froehlich to the new appointee, they are determined, it is asserted, the former priest shall not be put in charge. Father Farkas, of Chicago, who delivered the sermon at the dedication of the church, would be acceptable, say they. Father Kubiny, whose father yet living in Hungary was a noted Hungarian general, would also meet with favor among the congregation, it is reported.”
SBT 7/17/1911, p. 1“The two parishes are now loud in their demands for new pastors and for men of their own selection. The South Bend congregation is said to prefer Rev. Victor von Kubinyi, of the Church of the Ascension, New York, over any other man. Rev. Laszlo Farkas, of Chicago, is the choice of the New York church.”
“The trustees of St. Stephen’s church, in this city (New York), had made their own choice of priest to take Rev. Father Kovacs’ place and did not fancy the arrangement between their former pastor and the South Bend man to exchange places.”
SBT 4/4/1912, p.17“Bishop Alerding said he would do all he could to help us and declared he would try to obtain Rev. Father Kubinyi for the new parish. The plan of building the new church is not entirely the result of dissention within St. Stephen’s church.” (Ladislaw Horvath, trustee of new congregation)
“Rev. Father von Kovacs, pastor of St. Stephen’s church, characterized the movement as a step toward the organization of a new congregation independent of the authority of the bishop and,consequently, a non-Catholic body.
SBT 4/22/1912, p.5President Horvath said today that the difficulty between the new parish and the bishop was the determination of the trustees to have the St. Szive property in their own name.
SBT 4/22/1913, p.1“According to a statement made today by Father Varlaky, this step was taken only after Bishop John Hazen White had refused the use of St. James Episcopal church, as well as having refused to be present at the services.”
“...the uncle of Rev. Mr. Kubinyi, Louis de Szmrescanyi, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary...”
“Father Varlaky further states that Rev. Mr. Kubinyi defrauded the people of Newark, N.J. where he had a parish.”
South Bend Tribune: September 11, 1909 page 5
WILL LAY CORNER STONE SUNDAY
BISHOP AND DIGNITARIES AT ST. STEPHAN’S CHURCH.
CONSULS TO CHICAGO AND CLEVELAND, CITY OFFICIALS AND PROMINENT MANUFACTURERS GUESTS–TWO SERMONS.
Bishop Alerding, men prominent in the consular service and noted Catholic dignitaries will take part in the ceremonies accompanying the laying of the corner stone of the new St. Stephan’s Hungarian church, Thomas and McPherson streets, Sunday afternoon at 3:30. Sermons in English and Hungarian will be given and the exercises will be the most elaborate and the most impressive in the history of the congregation.
Rt. Rev. Bishop Alerding, of Fort Wayne, will have charge of the corner stone laying. He will be assisted by 50 priests from Notre Dame, South Bend and other points in the diocese, as well as dignitaries from Chicago and other Points. Very Rev. Andrew Morrissey, provincial of the Holy Cross Order; Rev. John Cavanaugh, C.S.C., president of Notre Dame, and other Notre Dame officials will have prominent parts. Bishop Alerding will give the English sermon and Rev. L. Farkas, of Pullman, Ill., will preach in Hungarian. Baron Forster, Austro-Hungarian consul to Cleveland, and Baron Silvestri, minister to Chicago, will have prominent parts.
The various Polish and Hungarian societies will turn out in full uniform and will receive the papal blessing from the bishop. Invitations have been extended to the city officials and to representatives of the various factories in which m embers of the congregation work. The pastor, Rev. John von Froelich, C.S.C., announced today that Joseph D. Oliver, of the Oliver Chilled Plow works, and J. M. Studebaker, Sr., president of the Studebaker Bros. Manufacturing company, will be in attendance. Over 5,000 people are expected to attend.
South Bend Tribune: September 13, 1909 page 11
BISHOP ALERDING LAYS CORNER STONE
WIELDS TROWEL AND CEMENTS ROCK INTO PLACE.
TEN THOUSAND WITNESSES
FIFTY DISTINGUISHED LAYMEN AND TWENTY-FIVE PRIESTS PARTICIPATE IN IMPRESSIVE EXERCISES–CITY OFFICIALS AND FACTORY HEADS.
Fifty distinguished laymen, 25 priests and hosts of singers assisted Bishop Alerding and the pastor, Rev. John von Froelich, C.S.C., lay the corner stone of St. Stephan’s Magyar church, Thomas and McPherson streets, Sunday afternoon. Ten thousand people of all nationalities honored the occasion with their presence and commended the Hungarian Roman Catholics on their enterprise in providing such a fine church edifice. Bishop Alerding not only conducted the impressive religious exercises, but he also cemented the corner stone into place. Sermons in English and in the Hungarian tongue were preached.
The exercises, which marked an epoch in the annals of the church, were opened at 3:30 by the bishop. Prior to the opening the Polish and Hungarian societies of South Bend met at their respective halls and in full uniform marched to the church site and mingled with the several thousand people already in attendance. The priests and laymen occupied seats on a platform with the bishop. Joseph D. Oliver, head of the Oliver Chilled Plow works, and J. M. Studebaker, Sr., president of the Studebaker Bros. Manufacturing company, were among the representatives of manufacturing concerns in which members of the parish work, who held places of honor.
Austro-Hungarian consuls to Chicago and Cleveland, expected to be present, were called away at the last moment and sent telegrams, which were read by Father Froelich. Very Rev. Andrew Morrissey, provincial of the Holy Cross order, and President John Cavanaugh, C.S.C., were among the Notre Dame priests participating. The entire corps of city officials and many county officers were also in attendance.
The bishop blessed the stone and consecrated it to divine use. He himself marked the cross upon the symbolicial of Catholicism and wielded the trowel in spreading the mortar and cementing the stone in place. The English sermon was preached by the bishop and was a masterly effort in which he detailed the importance of the occasion and the cooperation necessary for successfully completing and maintaining the church. The discourse in Hungarian, was by Rev. L. Farkas, of Pullman, Ill. In the box sealed in the corner stone was a history of the church and congregation, church records, copies of the daily papers and religious insignia.
Father Froelich was host at dinner to the bishop, the priests and assisting laymen at his home following the services. Covers were laid for 50. The bishop was toastmaster.
South Bend Tribune: May 18, 1910 page 11
BRINGS SUIT AGAINST LOCAL CATHOLIC HEAD
CLAIM TO COLLECT MONEY ON ACCOUNT FROM BISHOP IN COURT.
Suit against the Rt. Rev. Herman J. Alerding, bishop of the Fort Wayne Catholic diocese, and Rev. John von Froelich, pastor of St. Stephen’s church, South Bend, has been instituted in the circuit court. The suit was filed by Calvert DeFrees and the claim is for building material furnished the parish for use on its new church now building at Thomas and McPherson streets. The complaint sets forth the building material was furnished and never paid for. As a result, judgment of $500 and the foreclosure of the lien is asked.
The action is entitled “DeFrees vs. Alerding et al”, but in addition to the bishop, the following are made joint defendants: Rev. John von Froelich, pastor of the church; Gault & Gault, of Terre Haute, architects; and C.E. Staples and E.A. Coleman contractors.
South Bend Tribune: August 6, 1910 page 5
DEDICATE BELLS IN NEW MAGYAR CHURCH
HUNGARIAN CONSUL AT CHICAGO WILL BE AMONG VISITORS.
Initial exercises in connection with the dedication of St. Stephen’s Catholic church, new edifice erected at Thomas and Mc Pherson streets by the Hungarian residents of South Bend, will take place tomorrow. In the presence of J. Belenyi, Hungarian consul at Chicago, and a number of church officials the bells in the new church will be dedicated. The church building will be dedicated in three weeks.
Exercises tomorrow will take place at 2 o’clock in the afternoon and will be in charge of Rev. John Von Froelich, C.S.C., pastor of the church. Rev. Fr. Froelich, Consul Belenyi, Dr. Oscar A. von Barandy and others will be in charge of church officials, all the Hungarian societies in the city will attend.
The Rt. Rev. Herman Joseph Alerding, C.S.C., bishop of the diocese of Fort Wayne, is expected to have charge of the exercises formally dedicating the church on Sunday, Aug. 21.
South Bend Tribune: August 8, 1910 page ?
BEGIN DEDICATION OF LARGE CHURCH
EDIFICE BUILT BY CATHOLIC PARISH IN USE SOON.
FIRST EXERCISES HELD
SET OF CHIME BELLS CONSECRATED FOR USE–CEREMONIES WILL EXTEND OVER TWO WEEKS–FINAL SERVICE SUNDAY, AUG.21.
The dedication of the new St. Stephen’s Magyar church, fine edifice erected at Thomas and McPherson streets by the Hungarian Catholic residents of South Bend, began yesterday. The exercises, which will be most elaborate, will extend over two weeks. The set of chime bells were dedicated for use yesterday and the church building as a whole will be opened and dedicated in two weeks.
Exercises in connection with the dedication of the bells were in charge of Rev. John von Froelich, head of St. Stephen parish, and were attended by a crowd of several thousand persons. A procession from Sacred Heart Belgian church, which has been used for a meeting place while the new edifice is building, opened the ceremonies. Following the formal service of consecration of the chimes, addresses were given by Rev. Fr. Froelich, Dr. Oscar von Barandy, J. Belenyi, Hungarian consul at Chicago, and a number of others. Musical numbers were contributed by a band and a social, giv- completed (sic) day’s events.The procession of priests, speakers, visitors and church members moved from the Sacred Heart church at 2 o’clock and the exercises consumed the greater part of the afternoon.
The new church is a fine large structure of brick and stone and has cost a substantial sum. Close attention has been paid to utilizing all available space for seating purposes and the auditorium is one of the largest church meeting places in the city. The altar and interior decoration of the church are both elaborate in appearance, entirely in keeping with the remainder of the building.
The church takes a place of a small brick structure that was originally built as a place of worship for the Milburn chapel of the Methodist denomination. With the opening of St. Paul’s Memorial church, the chapel was disposed of to the Hungarian Catholic parish and it was used by this congregation until torn down to make room for the new edifice.
Rev. John von Froelich has been pastor of the St. Stephen’s church and the parish under his direction has become a large and prosperous one.
South Bend Tribune: August 13, 1910 page?
THREE CHURCHES IN SHAPE FOR OPENING