HOT SPRINGS — St. John the Baptist Church in Hot Springs will celebrate the centennial of the parish’s founding during 2008.
The celebration started with a kickoff Mass and dinner Friday, Jan. 11. Priests and nuns who had served at St. John over the years were the honored guests.
Former pastors attending were Father Raymond Rossi, a retired priest living in Hot Springs, Father James West of Immaculate Conception Church in North Little Rock and Father Bill Thomas of St. John Church in Russellville. Other special guests were Msgr. J. Gaston Hebert, diocesan administrator, pastor Father Erik Pohlmeier, associate pastors Father T. J. Hart and Father Christopher Okeke, and Father John Burkus, another retired priest in Hot Springs.
Centennial planning committee member Jim Lockwood and JoAnne Pryor are compiling a book of the parish history and have been gathering information from many sources for the past several months. The book will be available for purchase in the fall. Doug Hall is chairman of the centennial committee. The yearlong celebration is using the theme, “The Catholic Church and School of St. John the Baptist. A Light on the Hill, the Home of Saints.”
“We (the committee) have met with Father Erik at various times during 2007 to consider the possible events,” Lockwood said.
To mark the year, the committee decided to undertake a community service project, building a house for Habitat for Humanity. Construction will begin in April with a projected completion date in July.
In February a parish-wide spiritual bouquet was introduced. Parishioners are encouraged to pray for the continued success of the church. A parish outreach project of bringing home-bound parishioners to a special Mass and luncheon is scheduled for April 19. A memorial garden is also scheduled.
Special Masses will also be celebrated to commemorate significant dates that occurred in 1908. On Aug. 9, a liturgy will be held to mark the first Mass said in the temporary church and on Sept. 4 a Mass will mark the day the school officially opened. The special observances will end Oct. 3-5, marking the 100th anniversary of the church dedication.
The parish began in 1907 when the Church of St. Mary of the Springs had a growing congregation of 250 and the town was spreading out. A committee was formed to petition the formation of a new parish in Hot Springs.
Bishop John B. Morris provided a provisional church at 658 Ouachita Ave. The first parish building was a 14-room, two-story home, which also housed the school. On Aug. 9, the first Mass was said in the church, with the dedication of the building completed on Oct. 4, 1908.
St. John School opened it doors Sept. 4, 1908, under the guidance of pastor Father John E. Weibel, a Benedictine priest. There were eight grades, two Olivetan Benedictine sisters and 16 students.
Construction of the present church began in 1910, with the first Mass and dedication of the new building occurring on April 14, 1912. Although the present church address is on Grand Avenue, the provisional church was located nearby where Grand and Ouachita avenues come together.
In 1921, at the request of the pastor Msgr. William Carroll, St. John School merged with St. Mary Academy, which was under the direction of the Sisters of Mercy. With the merger, the Sisters of Mercy took over the responsibilities of St. John School. During the 1960s, with a drop in enrollment and the lack of teaching sisters, grades seven and eight were dropped.
In September 1987, the school began a pre-kindergarten program, which continues today. In 1998, the seventh grade was re-established and the eighth grade became part of the school the following year.
