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 continued
Father
John
Reid of the Pittsburgh diocese who took care of the Greenville
Catholics for some years following. During Father
Reid’s time a number of families were added to the congregation.
Among them were: Michael Mitchell and family
from Ireland; Michael and Matthias Schumacher
and their wives, Bernard George and his
father, Nicholas Romelfanger and family, Leonard
Sauers, Christopher Frum and Theodore Kirk.
All of these except the Mitchells had come
from Germany.
It
was in August of 1842 that Greenville was favored with a visit from Bishop
Kenrick of Philadelphia. Coming from Mercer and on his way to
Meadville and Erie, he stopped off in Greenville overnight (August
4th-5th) and celebrated Mass in the morning in the home of Mrs.
Schoonmaker who was a Catholic and whose husband is recorded as
being “well disposed toward the Faith”. At this time three persons
received Holy Communion and five
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were baptized. It is worthy of note that
one of the latter was the wife of Mr. Bryan McNally
who at this time is described as a woman “advanced in years”. Thus was
rewarded the kindness that provided an altar and chapel for the King of
Kings on His first visit to Greenville.
Again
in 1846 Greenville was visited by a member of the hierarchy, this time by Bishop
Michael O’Connor of Pittsburgh. About his visit here he wrote in
his Diary for August 21, 1846: “Travelled through Sharon to Greenville.
Greenville is a rising town said to contain 1500 inhabitants. Being on the
canal, much business is done here. Rev. M. Mitchell said
Mass here in a school house. Confirmed one. About one hundred Catholics
reside in the district. They promise to take immediate steps to have a
church erected here.”
continued
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