Points of interest related to the first 9 chapters not in any specific order...
TITANIC Connection -
- Father Joseph Peruschitz learned of The Broken Sacrament while a young man at the Scheyern Monastery in Bavaria. He wrote to Elizabeth (Of Old St. Anne's Pass) in search of the personal effects of The Benedictine Priest. Her husband, Johann, was active with the Priests and thus Father Peruschitz was able to forward a letter. He received approval to come to America under the agreement he was going to teach at the St. John's Preparatory School. On April 14, 1912, (47 years to the date of The Broken Sacrament) his ship hit an iceberg and sunk. He was on the Titanic. Once again, this caused further belief in the shroud.
Mary Surratt was the first woman hanged in American history for her involvement in the Lincoln Assassination. She was also a converted Catholic.
The Benedictine Priest was a converted Catholic having been from the battle grounds of the Schleswig-Holstein German / Danish border country.
Church Burning - It is disputable the number of times the Old St. Anne's Church was burned by the local secret society groups called, "Haters." This author supports the church was torched 15 times over a period of 25 years.
The Stone Chalice - had 12 marked stones spread across 10 locations including 8 cemeteries and 2 churches. All 12 marked stones were placed on consecrated soil. Early settlers from Old St. Anne's named this area The Stone Chalice because of the granite under the ground. The Benedictine Priests that came to Old St. Anne's for mass, drew lines on the map that connected them from church to church. On the map, it looked like the chalice of Christ's blood. Elizabeth generally believed she was in purgatory. She left her homeland and was neither in heaven nor hell. Rather than call the area purgatory causing concern, she continued to use, "The Stone Chalice" as key words meaning purgatory to her family and friends.
The Cross and Medal of St. Benedict protects believers from storms, poisons, and pestilence. All of Johann and Elizabeth's family had one around their neck as the oriental railroad workers died of disease. Not a single family member turned up with so much as a runny nose during the deaths of 6 railroad workers.
Pearl Lake Minnesota - The town was named, "Marty" after Benedictine Bishop Marty. Those close to him said he was about to break the shroud over The Benedictine Priest but died suddenly. His sudden death caused further belief in the shroud. The town was about to dedicate a new church because the old St. Lawrence Church was destroyed during the, "Devil In The Chalice" storm of 1894. However, he chose to skip the new church dedication to address the shroud. Initially, the towns people felt bad about his death and named the town Marty in his honor. However, after they learned what he was going to do, they wanted nothing to do with him or the shroud. They changed the church name to be, "Holy Cross" and all the Catholics refused to call the town, "Marty." For several generations they would only call the town, "Pearl Lake." The US Postal Service delivered mail to a fictitious town named, "Pearl Lake" for over a century. And for over a century the newspapers (Including the St. Cloud Times) printed obituaries and births of Catholics as, "Pearl Lake" and non Catholics as, "Marty."
Devil In The Chalice Storm Of 1894 - In addition to knocking down the St. Lawrence Church, in Pearl Lake, it also attacked the St. John's Abbey, The Assumption (Grasshopper) Chapel in Cold Spring, and took out the Old St. Anne's Church as well.
Calvary Hell - The picture on the cover of this book is actually taken behind the St. James Church in Jacob's Prairie. This is the location from which the Oriental Railroad Workers crossed out of The Stone Chalice on their mission in St. Cloud.
St. Boniface - From which the Stone Chalice Church in Cold Spring is named, is the apostle to the Germans.
Old St. Anne's Pass - On February 13, 2001, Maine Prairie Township Officials voted unanimously to name the trunk highway 55 bridge in their jurisdiction, "Old St. Anne's Pass."
The Milestone Bar - Located in Stearns County just west of Old St. Anne's Pass. The bar owner named, "Hib" and in this chapter, "Hibbin" was nicknamed after he took several fishing trips with his family up to the town of Hibbing Minnesota. There stood a bar in Watkins for many years known as, "Hib's Bar."
Mary In The Bathtub - When families pulled out their old cast iron tubs, they often set them upright in their yards and decorated them with rocks. They placed a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the tub. Drawings and pictures of this are located in the chapter, "The Milestone Bar." One of these tubs on hwy 55 in Watkins, was dedicated and blessed in 1962 as a shrine to The Stone Chalice.
Big Fish Lake - First had a tribal name followed by Hermit Lake. The settlers of Old St. Anne's Pass called it, "Angel's Pond." There was a strong Bavarian settlement on the south-west end where they often stopped to pray and water the horses. The sun would sparkle off the waves appearing as angels visiting them. On the site they stopped now rests the Timberlee Chapel owned by the Sister' of St. Joseph of Carondelet. A frame on the wall contains the history of The Stone Chalice. One of the 12 marked stones rests there on consecrated soil.
St. Nicholas Minnesota - One point of The Stone Chalice. During The Milestone Bar chapter, Frederick William often went to the Perpetual Help Chapel. This Chapel is actually in the cemetery of the Old St. Nicholas Church property. Parishioners of St. Nicholas Church teamed with parishioners of Old St. Anne's and eventually St. Anthony's Church to form a continuous prayer group that lasted, without stopping, 139 years.
Cove - The name comes from a destroyed street sign in St. Cloud Minnesota on Calvary Hill March 5, 1953. A truck swerved in an attempt to avoid striking a small boy. The truck ran over a street sign leaving only the first 2 and the last 2 letters along side each other. The sign had read, "Cooper Ave" which runs on Calvary Hill. After the truck drove off, the boy looked down and read, "Co-ve." He adopted the name, "Cove."
1965 Floods - The Minnesota temperature did not rise above 30 during March 1965. The snowiest March on record in Minnesota was in 1965. The Stone Chalice held the state record for the month with 66.4 inches recorded at St. John's. The Calvary Hell mission peaked as the Mississippi River hit the crest on the evening of April 14, 1965 (100 years to the date of The Broken Sacrament). The Sartell Dam dropped over 1 foot on this night.
Swamp Of Bones 1880's - Located just west of the Old St. Anne's Church Cemetery. This is the place where Mathias Peter dragged the bodies of haters after he tortured and killed them. He killed these people because they were involved in church burnings. It has been said that the majority of those murdered, came up from the south to join the fighting during the religeous unrest.
Maine Prairie Corners Historical Marker - What story should it tell!!!! Some local historians attempt to paint a romantic picture of how life was on the prairie. A historical marker rests on the side of Highway 15 just north of Kimball Minnesota. This marker informs visitors of where the village once stood. Various views tell the story of why the village was moved. Stories of buildings placed on wheels and wagons having been towed south to Kimball to rest along side a railroad are plentiful. Stories about the village moving simply due to the railroad construction having turned south away from Maine Prairie are also plentiful.
These chapters from Old St. Anne's support a different story from the two listed above. This was a story of a gunfight on August 20, 1892. Mathias Peter left home just prior to midnight (August 19, 1892) and arrived into Maine Prairie just after midnight August 20, 1892. He torched several buildings and killed almost eveyone he came in contact with. He knew of this location as a nest for Haters. This village was once considered to have strong sympathizers to the southern confederate movement. Mathias Peter went to Maine Prairie to burn down the nest and kill the Haters. An all night gunfight ensued stretching between Maine Prairie Corners and Old St. Anne's Pass where Mathias Peter had help waiting. The historical marker should actually celebrate the end of the religeous unrest. Mathias Peter died later that day as a result of multiple gunshot wounds and is buried outside the boundary of Old St. Anne's church cemetery... west end!
Orphan's Home - As mentioned in A Bishop's Soul, on March 5, 1953 the St. Cloud Orphan's Home started answering their phones calling the place, "St Cloud Children's Home."
St. Cloud Prison - As mentioned in A Bishop's Soul, on April 25, 1953 the St. Cloud Prison had three men escape. Richard Lloyd, Ray Webb, and Jerry Duncan.
Annea - A name that combines all given to the church at Old St. Anne's Pass. Those names were St. Ann, St. Anne, and St. Anna. Out of the confusion about the church's name came the only prophecy from Old St. Anne's Pass. The prophecy that a great child of God will be born, with the help of a Benedictine Sister, capable of performing divine miracles.
