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A
brief history of St. Hyacinth
Dear Parishioners,
You are part of history--the history
of St. Hyacinth Church. As a member you participate in the almost
hundred years that this parish has been in existence. We live
in the present, and so much of the past is history, but when we
reflect on the passage of time, we understand how each one of us is
connected as a family.
History has presented us with many
interesting facts over this span of time. In the 1890's
people from the Eastern European countries began to flow into the
area to seek a new way of life, and many of Polish descent settled
in Auburn. In time the parish saw the need to be nourished and
refreshed. They felt the need to retain the customs and
traditions from their native land , and so the parish of St.
Hyacinth was formed in 1905.
Many changes, as throughout the
history of man, impacted upon the people of the church.
World War I, the Depression with all its allied poverty, the many
reforms of the Roosevelt era, World War II, the Korean War, and the
Vietnamese War changed the nation, families and the church.
Stability in living was affected, and families no longer lived
within short distances of one another, but had to travel many
miles to visit those whom they loved. Many factories that
people depended upon for their livelihood closed or moved to other
locations.
Changes also affected the Catholic Church.
Latin was the language of the Mass; the priest faced the altar; Holy
Communion was received on the tongue by the person in a kneeling
position, and the obligations of fast and abstinence were more
demanding upon the person during the Lenten Season. Vatican II
was updating the Church.
In 1964 the parish family
built and opened their new place of Worship--the beautiful, modern,
spacious and almost maintenance free Church. The gem of Auburn
allowed people to feel exteriorly the awesome presence of God
interiorly.
Some of the negatives also took place. The famous
grammar school, conducted by the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph,
closed. The strong family ties that gave both prestige, power and
stability to the neighborhood shifted to other areas. And so
changes took place and affected the makeup of the
parish.
The
CCD, the religious education of the young, has filled in the
necessary area of Growth in the Faith, where the parish school
system has left off because of its closing. Dedicated leaders
and teachers, by their continuing lived faith, have shared their
knowledge of God with their students.
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