St. Mark's Church

Click on timeline for a larger version wich is zoomable.

(6/3/2022)

New shrine for St. Mark's statues
Click HERE for the photos and story.

For photos of the Farewell Mass,
click HERE.

Window plaques still available
Display photos for plaques

The commemorative window plaques that were at St. Mark Church are still available by calling 618-381-1726 or email to venicememories@yahoo.com to check availability. There are only a few plaques remaining. The following article includes a list of the plaques.

If you have an interest to display a window plaque, there are now two appropriate 8" x 10" photos available. You may left click on either photo to open the larger version, then right click on the larger photo and use the "save image as" option to download either or both photos. Both are designed to be printed at 8"x10" size and either makes an appropriate display and a way to remember who is commemorated on the plaque and St. Mark Church.

There are no photos available of the shorter wiindows that were higher up in parts of the church and in the vestibule.

Window plaques available

The commemorative window plaques at. St. Mark Church have been removed and are available from the history committee by calling 618-381-2716 or by email to venicememories@yahoo.com. To see a larger vesion, click HERE. Only the seven plaques not greyed out remain available.

To view a copy of the St. Mark Farewell Mass booklet
which features the history of the church and many historical photos, click HERE. You can save the booklet and share with others.

Last Memorial Mass at St. Mark's

It is with much sadness we report that official word was given to the St. Mary-St. Mark Parish on Saturday, Sept. 17, that the Memorial Mass held on Sunday will be the last Memorial Mass to be celebrated at St. Mark Church and is the last regular Sunday Mass at the church as well.

Due to the sudden reassignment of the Rev. John Patrick Day, who has served as Parochial Vicar of the parish and celebrated Mass most Sundays at St. Mark's, to the Jerseyville, IL, parish, there is no longer a priest available to celebrate Sunday Mass at the local Church.

There will be one more Mass at St. Mark Church and it has been announced it will be celebrated on Sunday, October 30, at 9:30 a.m. by Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki.

The St. Mark Parish was incorporated on September 20, 1871, and is celebrating it's 145th year this year.

Nearly 100 current and past St. Mark parishioners in addition to many former residents of Venice and others were in attendance at this year's Memorial Mass. During the Mass, the names of past parishioners and current and former residents of Venice who have passed away since last year's Memorial Mass were read. The Mass was dedicated to them.

The story of St. Mark's Crucifix
Click HERE for the photos and story.

The story of St. Mark's Bells
Click HERE for the story and photos.

This is an early hand-colored postcard of the Catholic and Methodist churches in Venice.
For a larger image, click on the photo.

Rev. Peter Kaenders

A special page on the life and accomplishments of Rev. Kaenders is now available. Click HERE.

This is the first St. Mark's Church completed in the spring of 1882 on Granville St.. The parsonage at left was erected during the winter of 1884-85. A small school was built on the property in 1883, but is not shown.

Confirmation of a mystery - circa 1928 In 1928 when large groups needed to be photographed, it required a professional photographer who used a large-format camera, which produced large negatives so details could be seen on prints. Bishop James A. Griffin visited St. Mark's Church in 1928 to confirm a large number of children. A photographer from St. Louis was hired to take a photograph of the large group.
At this time, photography was not an inexpensive endeavor, especially with large negatives for large prints. Here's where the mystery developes (no pun intended). The usual procedure would be for the photographer to take two or maybe three exposures to make sure they had a properly exposed negative and that virtually everyone was looking at the camera. He wouldn't know this for sure until the negatives were developed, so multiple exposures increased the odds of an acceptable photo. Then, after picking the best negative, the photographer would make prints for the orders received. In this case 8" x 10".
When scanning photos for the website, it was revealed that the photographer made prints from two different negatives. Possibly one of the prints was made at a later time, with a different negative being used inadvertently. Anyway, St. Mark's ended up with two different prints.
As with any large group, especially of children, there are a number of differeces. Exposures were long then, as much as a few seconds, so everyone had to look at the camera and remain motionless for a good photo. Frowns on one photo, smiles on the other. A little blurry on one, sharp on the other.
Click on either photo to see a larger image.

Seated at center is Bishop James Griffin of the then Alton Diocese. To the left is Assistant Pastor Father John Brockmeier, who also was editor and publisher of the Venice Herald newspaper, and to the right of the bishop is Father L.G. Kipping, pastor of St. Mark's. It is likely that storage conditions caused the variation in color between the two photos.

Both photos from the Foley Family Collection

To view a copy of the St. Mark's Centennial booklet
which features the history of the church, click HERE.

Here are photos of the Centennial celebration Click on a photo below to see a larger version.