Holy Rosary
Catholic Church
Served by the Scalabrinian
missionaries since 1890
911 E. Missouri Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri
<< Fr. Donanzan's Successors || The Fire of April 12, 1903 || Holy Rosary School History >>
(This material originally appeared in 1991 in the 100th Anniversary of Holy Rosary Parish booklet. The article was researched and written by Angelo Bongino.)
The Fire of April 12, 1903
The burning of the old Methodist Church on the northeast corner of Missouri Avenue and Campbell set fire to Holy Rosary, also.
Fr. charles Delbecchi began making trips into the flaming foyer of the church to save religious objects inside. The ciborium was the first to be carried out, followed by a statue of St. Joseph.
Firemen dashed into the church where they found Fr. Delbecchi, just as red hot rafters began failing from the ceiling As the cleared what remained of the front door, at about 3:30 a.m. the gold cross in the steeple toppled to the ground, sending up a cloud of debris.
Fr. Delbecchi joined the crowd of parishioners. By all accounts of the day, he wept with the men, women, and children hovering there. The parishioners were concerned about Easter Services that morning.
"We shall celebrate Mass as usual," he assured them.
"Where?" they wanted to know.
"In the children's school room," he answered. "It is large enough for an altar and a few of you."
Masses were held that morning at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. just as he had promised. The main altar was carried over and used. Miraculously, not so much as a single burning rafter had touched it during the entire blaze.
That afternoon, Fr. Delbecchi and Bishop Glennon met with parish leader to start a building fund. Collections mounted. The new brick church was completed and dedicated by December of that year in time for Christmas services.
The church remained essentially the same in appearance after that until the massive remodeling of the mid 1940s.
A second fire took place in 1947, causing damages of 490,000 and a third fire occurred in March of 1955, causing $18,000 in damage.
<< Fr. Donanzan's Successors || The Fire of April 12, 1903 || Holy Rosary School History >>
(This material originally appeared in 1991 in the 100th Anniversary of Holy Rosary Parish booklet. The article was researched and written by Angelo Bongino.)
Index for the entire series
The Founding and Early Years of the Parish || The 1920's to the 1940's
Fr. Donanzan's Successors || The Fire of April 12, 1903
Holy Rosary School History || The Lodges
Church Organizations History || Spirit of the Parish