Carroll - St. Lawrence

On Aug. 10, 1914, on the Feast of St. Lawrence, the articles of the incorporation of Saint Lawrence Parish were signed, establishing the new parish to serve the needs of Catholics on the north side of Carroll. In April of 1915, Father Joseph Kuemper, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Carroll, purchased five acres of land in northwest Carroll, which was to become the site of the parish.

The nucleus of the parish was formed and in 1916 work on a new church began. In December 1916, Father Kuemper celebrated the first Mass in the new church, which included a parish hall in the basement and space for classrooms and sisters' living quarters on the second floor.

St. Lawrence remained a mission parish until August of 1917, when Father Joseph Cordes was named the first resident pastor of St. Lawrence Parish. There were 36 families in the new parish.

St. Lawrence School opened in September of 1917 and was administered and taught by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. To meet growing enrollment in the parish school, a new convent was built in 1929 and the entire second floor of the church was used for classrooms.

Father Arthur Poeckes (1940-1959) and Msgr. Edward Vollmer (1959-1963) succeeded Father Cordes. During the 50s, the parish quadrupled in size and a new church and rectory were built in 1951. In 1952, the original church-school building was remodeled, producing ten new classrooms and a library. In 1958-1959, enrollment was 500 pupils necessitating an addition to the school.

Because of parish growth, an assistant pastor was assigned beginning in 1948. This was increased when two assistant pastors worked at St. Lawrence Parish beginning in 1956. Many assistant pastors served the parish.

Msgr. Vollmer devoted himself to expanding the parish school. The first phase of a new addition, 12 classrooms and new offices and restrooms, was completed in 1964. Msgr. Henry Karhoff (1963-1978) succeeded Msgr. Vollmer.

Fathers Lawrence McCarty (1978-1986), Francis Nemmers (1986-1991), Robert Gralapp (1991-1994), Gerald Hartz (1994-1995), Laurence Burns (1996-2000) and Timothy Schott (2000-present) all served St. Lawrence over the years.

Under Father McCarty's leadership, many parishioners answered the call to ministry. Participation in liturgical ministries grew and a parish council was formed. A neighborhood census was undertaken and many inactive Catholics were welcomed back to parish life. The church sanctuary was remodeled to conform to Vatican Council II liturgical norms and new offices and a meeting room were added to the parish rectory.

Three parishioners were ordained permanent deacons for service to St. Lawrence Parish: Robert Bruner in 1984, L. B. Westendorf in 1986 and Timothy Murphy in 1998.

The church had air conditioning installed and was painted during Father Nemmers pastorate. Father Hartz was involved in the early stages of consolidation of St. Lawrence School and Holy Spirit School.