The Heritage of Our Community Back to Home Page
WE ARE A CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY BROUGHT TOGETHER BY THE BELIEF THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD. WE ARE CALLED TO SHARE IN HIS MISSION TO BRING ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN OUR MIDST BY PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS IN WORD AND DEED.
Saint Robert Bellarmine belonged to the Society of Jesus. He was a bishop and a cardinal, a doctor of the church venerated as one of the greatest Catholic apologists of all time. He wrote catechisms and books to defend the church against the heresies of his time. His remarkable abilities from the pulpit and in writing brought a great many conversions in the difficult years of the 16th century. A noted scholar, he taught at Louvain and later held the important Professor of Controversy post at the Roman college. Click here to see more on St. Robert.
In February of 1958, St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Chapel was a storefront mission meeting in the old Western Auto Store on Main Street of North Manchester. There were 35 families. Father Zahn of St. Bernards in Wabash served as St. Roberts first mission pastor. The first mass in the store front chapel was offered by Bishop Leo Pursley on August 3, 1958. It was also the first ever Catholic Mass offered in the town of N. Manchester. St. Roberts remained a mission until Fr. Miller was appointed joint pastor of St. Patrick’s, Lagro, and St. Roberts when it finally became a parish in 1963.
Fr. Balzer was named pastor to the two parishes in 1963. The parish had over 55 families. Under Fr. Balzer’s leadership, the present church was built and was finally dedicated by Bishop Pursley on April 25, 1965. The Rectory was added behind the sanctuary and was blessed on May 23, 1971. Our education wing was completed in 1986. At present, we are a parish of approximately 135 families. Our pastor since 1997 is Fr. Ron Ramenaden from Sri Lanka. More Below!!!
OUR PASTORS |
||||
| Fr. Robert Zahn 1958-63 | Fr. Paul Miller 1963 | Fr. Raymond Balzer 1963-68 | ||
| Fr. Dennis Dennihan 1968-71 | Fr. Donald Isenbarger 1971-75 | Fr. Adam Schmitt 1975-78 | ||
| Fr. Richard Urbine 1978-83 | Fr. James Seculoff 1983-84 | Fr. Robert Mahoney 1984-87 | ||
| Fr. Edward Narcowich 1987-89 | Fr. Robert Hammond 1989-1997 | Fr. Ronald Ramenaden 1997- | ||