Catholicity in Wichita as Manifested Through the Growth and Development of Her Institutions

Abstract

The greatest successes in life are not of the material or intellectual world as such, hut of the Kingdom of God. In these pages, I wish to call attention to the progress made by the Catholic Church from its introduction into the city of Wichita down to the present time. While endeavoring to give a truthful representation of the principal events occurring in the history of Catholicity in Wichita, I have bestowed my closest attention on such points as are of superior importance and it has been my aim to give to each topic the consideration suitable to its importance, and space proportionate to the extent of the whole study.

I have attempted to rescue from oblivion the memories of the earnest pioneers that they may live on in the minds and hearts of the faithful unto edification, and to give to those interested in the Catholic Church of Wichita, a reference work in which facts can be found to show that the Church has been, and is, an integral part of the city of Wichita.

I have tried to write the exact truth, since this thesis would have no value unless it is honest. I have made as much use as possible of old letters and diaries, because it seemed to me that the contemporary opinions, however crude and ingenuous, of the people in the period under review are an important testament, and the people and places of which I am writing are too near and too real to be made the subjects of an imaginative, detached reconstruction.

I shall be grateful indeed if I have given an impression of the creditable achievements, and the events relative to the progress of Catholicity in Wichita.