The History of The Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist
In the earliest years of the twentieth century, St. Mary’s Parish in Hot Springs, Arkansas, had grown to 250 souls. The population of the city had reached 13,000 with a reported visitor population of 60,000. The demands of the parish, coupled with the responsibility of ministering to all, was an impossibility for Fr Michael McGill.
In January of 1907 a small committee calling themselves “The Catholic Improvement League” met with the Bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock to discuss the feasibility of a new parish in the “Spa City”. Bishop Morris welcomed the idea and promised he would send a priest.
Fr John E. Weibel, a Benedictine Priest, was our first pastor.
The first Mass was a Solemn Hight Mass sung on October 4, 1908 in the provisional church at 658 Ouachita Ave.
Plans were made for the construction of the permanent church, Mr. Louis Wersitzka was hired as the chief builder and contractor.
The church bells were ordered in December of 1908 from the Henry Stucksede Company in St. Louis, Missouri. They ring in G, A and D and combined weigh over 2 tons! The bells that ring every day across our community are named in Latin: “Sancta Maria, Sancta Antonius and Sancta Joannes Baptista”
It took three years to construct our building. Fr Weibel was most demanding that the materials for the construction of the church be of the finest quality. He insisted that the sand for the blocks, which were each constructed on site by a special machine from Cardington Cabinet Company in Ohio, be “snow white”. On one occasion, a carload of sand arrived which was a mixture of white and yellow sand. Fr Weibel refused to accept it and the salesman threatened to sue. After much heated discussion, another carload of sand was sent. Later when everyone saw how beautiful the finished blocks were, that salesman thanked Fr. Weibel profusely. It seems he sold many more orders for white sand to other builders who admired our “snow white” blocks. The walls of the church proper are 27 inches thick, while those of the towers are 33 inches thick. There is a wall of white-faced blocks on the outside and another on the inside. These walls are connected with concrete. The floors are also of concrete. The width of the church on the exterior, including the towers, is 26 feet while the towers are exactly 100 feet tall.
There were no accidents during this long construction thanks to God and careful planning by Mr. Wersitzka.
On the morning of October 16, 1910, Bishop John Morris arrived and confirmed 80 people. He and the entire parish then processed from the provisional church to the construction site as the cornerstone was laid.
Construction continued as did the work of artisans. While electricity was relatively new at this time, St John’s was fitted with 500 outlets for electric lights.
The church was completed and consecrated on April 14, 1912.
