Passionists in St. Paul, Kansas (continued)
"How we reached Osage Mission, Kansas. On Friday night at 11:30, September 7, 1894," wrote Father Barr, "the following Passionists left St. Louis over the Missouri, Kansas and Texas RR called the Katy Route for short."
"Rev. Fathers Hugh [K. Barr], Alphonsus [Rossiter], Denis [Callagee], Felix [Ward] and Stephen [Kealy]. We never in all our journies [sic] felt the heat as it was on this day in St. Louis. Yet when the cars moved we felt some relief. At 3pm September 8th, the Feast of the Nativity of Our Blessed Lady we arrived at Osage Mission Kansas. We were all most agreeably surprised to find at the Depot the Rt. Rev. Louis M. Fink, Bishop of Kansas City, Kansas and Rev. Fr. Bononcini who had boarded our train at Fort Scott though unknown to us." Barr then went on to describe the welcoming ceremony at the Osage Mission. "No sooner had the carriage of the Bishop left the Depot than the great Bell in the Church Tower pealed forth its grandest tunes; it seemed to say W—e—l—come!!! Wel come!!!"
Much of Father Barr's notes pay homage to the important past events. He offers reflections on the long tradition of the Osage Native Americans and the Jesuit experience before 1800. Barr then reveals how pioneers came to Kansas in the first decades of the 1800s. Consequently, evangelical competition between Catholics and Protestants increased. In 1847, Jesuit Fathers John Schoenmakers and John Bax arrived in what was called Osage Mission, Kansas and established a school for Indian boys which later became St. Francis Institute. That same year the Sisters of Loretto of Kentucky began a school for Indian girls which later became St. Ann's Academy. On Sept 3, 1890 St. Ann's Academy was destroyed by fire. It was not rebuilt. Despite struggles the Catholics remained even through the Civil War of the 1860s. According to Barr, in 1869 the Osage "sold their land to the U.S." and moved under duress to the Oklahoma Territory. On July 28, 1883 Father Schoenmakers died. As a result, local Bishop Louis M. Fink, O.S.B. began to exert more influence on the day to day operations at the mission. Barr wrote that the Jesuits decided to leave Osage Mission, Kansas in 1892.
Passionist preachers had become familiar with the area when they conducted a parish mission in Kansas in October 1886. In 1892 Passionists gave a retreat to the Sisters of Loretto assigned to Osage Mission. Bishop Fink and the Passionists initiated discussions to begin a Passionist foundation shortly thereafter.
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