June 3, 1999/Saint Cloud Visitor/Page 7
Osakis parish centennial promises to be a real knockout
Boxer Thomas Gibbons donated funds to build presentday church
by Mike Killeen Visitor Staff Writer
OSAKIS - Boxing is a rough sport, definitely not for the faint-hearted. It also seems like
an unlikely partner to help a parish deep in the heart of Minnesota resort country. But at
10:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 6. Immaculate Conception Church celebrates its centennial
with a Mass in its brick church — a church that was made possible through a generous
donation from the Thomas Gibbons family in the late 1920s.
Who was Thomas Gibbons? The St. Paul native was a middleweight and
heavyweight boxer who had several championship tights in the 1920s. He trained for
some of those fights in the Osakis area (he also maintained a summer home on Lake
Osakis).
According to Marj Schelfhout, who has written a history on the church, A Journey
in Faith: 1899-1999, the marriage isn't as unlikely as you might think. "If you would
have known Tommy, you wouldn't say that. He was a very spiritual man," Schelfhout
said. "He loved the area, and liked the people. "It was his wife who got him started on
building the church." Schelfhout said. They were at Mass one Sunday. He looked
around, and he said, We better fix that bell tower, (and) the windows need some repairs.'
She said to him, 'Oh Tom, why don't you just build them a new church?' "
Ask, and you shall receive. The new church was dedicated by Bishop Joseph
Busch of the St. Cloud Diocese on Sept. 15, 1929 - just before the Great Depression hit.
"He (Gibbons) built a home here, so really it was his summer residence,' said Father
Victor Kinzer, who has served at Immaculate Conception since 1986. I think he was a
generous man to start with. He was spiritual. So was his wife, too."
Schelfhout said Gibbons decided to build the church after being knocked out by thenheavyweight champion Gene Tunney (records compiled by Minnesota's Boxing Board
show Gibbons was knocked out by Tunney June 5, 1925, at Madison Square Garden in
New York City).
"He gave the money that he earned from the Tunney fight to build our church,"
Schelfhout said. "Let's put it this way; It was a joint project, really," Father Kinzer said.
The Gibbons' put up the money; the stained-glass windows, the pews, all the furnishings
were contributed by the parishioners."
After retiring from boxing. Gibbons eventually became sheriff of Ramsey County.
He maintained his summer home on Lake Osakis. "By the time he was sheriff, the story
goes that if they needed him in St. Paul, they would call Osakis, and then they would
have to send a boat out on the lake, because he'd be out fishing with his buddies."
Schelfhout said.
Actually, Immaculate Conception was in its second quarter-century of life al the
time of the Gibbons family donation.
Shortly after the Benedictine monks established St. Alexius Priory on a farm eight miles
east of Osakis, the city's Catholic residents asked for the services of a priest in the town.
Benedictine Father Ildephonse Molitor. pastor of St. Alexius Church at the Priory,
assisted the people of the area in establishing their own parish in April 1899.
They purchased eight lots on April 21, 1899, for $400. And the parish was incorporated
on Aug. 11.1899, with Father Molitor named as pastor. Immediately, the men of the
parish built a frame church, which was dedicated Dec. 17, 1899.
The Benedictine priests who served the parish in West Union also served as
pastors of the mission in Osakis. This arrangement continued until Benedictine Father
Philip Banner was named the first resident pastor in September of 1905. During his
tenure, the parish undertook the building of a rectory.
Under the direction the Father Sebastian Schirmers, who served from 1921-27,
the present rectory was built at a cost of $8,458. Then, shortly after the arrival of Father
Daniel O'Driscoll (1927-37), the present church was undertaken. More projects would
follow. In 1950, St. Elizabeth's Convent was constructed at a cost of $60.000 to
commemorate the golden jubilee of the parish. Two years later, the convent received an
addition. The Franciscan sisters took up a permanent residence in the parish and they did
their religious education program," said Benedictine Sister Janine Braun, principal of St.
Agnes School. The Franciscans left in 1987.
In 1959, the parishioners undertook the building of the parochial school. The
following year, the $196,000 St. Agnes School opened its doors. It was made possible
through a generous donation by Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rutten, Plainfield, 111. What makes
the parish of approximately 1,000 members special? "I think there's a deep faith, but an
open faith, to the future," Sister Janine said. "I also think that our older parishioners are
very caring and dedicated as to helping the younger parishioners and the youth. They are
very, very generous in promoting youth activities and support of our religious education
program in the school. And, they're wonderful role models for the younger families."
Father Kinzer said members of the parish work well together. "It helps a lot. For
instance, we had a funeral (May 28) with lunch after. We have people divided into
groups: They take their turns (serving). If the crowd is big, then two groups come. They
do that," Father Kinzer said. Schelfhout, who has been a member of Immaculate
Conception since her birth in 1921, said the church included people of different
nationalities.
"I look back on this, and it never was a church that had one ethnic group. It was
primarily German, but not like the churches south and east of us," Schelfhout said. There
has always, from the beginning, been kind of an ecumenical spirit in this community. I
think that's special, and I think it's different."
Bishop John Kinney will preside at the 10:30 a.m. centennial Mass on June 6.
Following Mass, a program and dinner will begin at noon at Osakis High School. Tickets
for the catered meal had to be purchased by May 31.
Copies of Schelfhout's 138-page book will also be available at the centennial
gathering. Cost is $15 (copies are also available at St. Agnes School)."We're hoping that
many of the sisters of St. Francis will be able to come back, as they are part of the school,
and former parishioners and friends,* Sister Janine said.