History
1843 - Fr. Joseph Kundeck purchased 166 lots for the town of Celestine and 20 acres for the church from the U.S. Government on October 4 with the $400 he received from the Leopoldine Society. Fr. Kundeck platted the 20 acres for the church on November 16. St. Peter Celestine was established as the third Catholic parish in Dubois County, following St. Joseph in Jasper, and St. Ferdinand in Ferdinand.
1844 - The first chapel is built for St. Peter Celestine, which was built as the first of four churches. For the next five years, Fr. Kundek, stationed at St. Joseph, Jasper, came to Celestine once a month to celebrate Mass.
1897 - The cornerstone for the third church of St. Peter Celestine was laid on August 12, and the church was built at an estimated cost of $20,000. That fall the parish gave such a gift of generosity in time and energy that the debt of the church was lowered to $2,600. On October 17, the parish celebrated a three-fold festival. First, at 7 am the Bishop administered Holy Orders to six priests and deacons. Second, came the confirmation of 108 children. Thirdly, at 10am the new church was dedicated, and High Mass was held.
1899 - Fr. Charles Bilger, the priest at St. Peter Celestine, held a meeting on September 21 to establish a church in Dubois (then Knoxville). On October 13, the deed was made for the provisional three and half acres of the church with the land donated by John Seng. St. Raphael was the eighth Catholic parish established in Dubois County.
1899 - St. Raphael Church was a wood structure built for $1,200 and dedicated on December 24. Fr. Bilger informed the congregation the church was paid for, and the extra money would be used for a rectory for a priest. The rectory work began on January 30, 1900. Fr. Bilger remained the priest for both St. Raphael & St. Peter Celestine for three years until 1902. Services were held at St. Raphael on the fourth Sunday of each month.
1902 - Fr. E.J. Zierkelbach became the first resident priest of St. Raphael Church in July.
1915 - Fr. Lawrence Fichter built the present rectory on the St. Celestine campus. It was a kit ordered from Sears and Roebuck and was assembled to specifications by parishioners. The rectory was used by priests in the surrounding area. The housekeeper also had her own quarters in the rectory.
1917 - St. Raphael Church was destroyed by fire on Christmas Day. For seventeen years the basement of the present church was used for worship services. Construction for the present church atop the existing basement structure began on July 8, 1936.
1937 - The present St. Raphael Church was dedicated on May 16. Most of the stone, six stained glass windows depicting the Mysteries of the Rosary, and the six onyx candlesticks and matching crucifix came from Our Lady of Lourdes, a church which stood behind The Dome in West Baden, Indiana. The church cost $150,000 to construct.
1963 - A Bedford stone building was built as a convent for the nuns who taught at Dubois Elementary at St. Raphael. From 1978 until 2004 it served as the rectory for priest’s. In 2014 the building was converted to use for religious education. It housed two offices, a kitchen, five classrooms, and a conference room, making use of space upstairs and downstairs with a back door providing entrance to the three basement classrooms. The building was torn down in 2021 to build the existing St. Raphael Center.
1968 - The present St. Peter Celestine Church was dedicated on May 19, the year of the town’s and church’s 125th celebration and the Feast Day of St. Peter Celestine. The church was built in the form of a Greek cross with a capacity of 600, doubling the capacity of the former church. The cost of the structure was about $317,000, paid off in three years. One third of the cost had been saved for, another third was pledged by the parishioners, and the remaining amount was paid off from a successful campaign of having asked each family to donate $100 each of the next three years. The stained glass windows, sanctuary light, Crucifixion scene, statuary, the Baptismal font, and the fourteen Stations-of-the-Cross were kept for the new church.
2002 - In September, the Cluster Planning Committee invited parishioners to a public meeting at which Father Ackerman explained the clustering proposal, stating, “Due to the shortage of priests, the Bishop has decided to meet the staffing needs at each parish through the clustering of parishes.” In December the Cluster Plan was implemented with one pastor having full responsibility for both parishes. A pastoral associate assisted each parish.
2003 - The present St. Isidore Parish Center (at St. Peter Celestine Church) was dedicated on December 14, 2003. It was paid from anticipated savings of this project and from a successful campaign asking families to pay $3,000 over a three year period. The cost of $1,014,000 for the center, was paid-in-full three months after completion. The center has 9 classrooms, four offices, a conference room, an elevator, and a downstairs event hall with a seating capacity of 175.
2015 - The final task of the Cluster Council was to submit possible names for the new parish to Bishop Charles Thompson. A Merger Committee was put in place, set to meet monthly for 15 months. In June, the Bishop narrowed the new name submissions from five to two: St. Isidore and Divine Mercy. 322 Parishioners voted for St. Isidore and for 210 for Divine Mercy. The Bishop decreed that “St. Isidore the Farmer” is new parish name, informally to be known as St. Isidore. The decree also named St. Celestine as the main parish office. Sharon Burns of Catholic Charities facilitated “town hall” meetings for questions and answer session. In July the Diocese of Evansville realigned the diocesan deaneries, decreasing the number from seven to four for its 54 parishes. St. Isidore Parish is now in the East Deanery of the Diocese of Evansville.
2016 - The merger of St. Peter Celestine Parish and St. Raphael Parish into St. Isidore the Farmer Parish is completed. The names of the church buildings remain St. Peter Celestine Church and St. Raphael Church by decree of Bishop Thompson.
2020 - Planning began on the new St. Raphael Center after the merging of the Elementary schools of Celestine Elementary & Dubois Elementary by transfer into N.E. Dubois Intermediate School for third grade to 6th grade and the N.E. Dubois Elementary for Kindergarten to second grade. The Northeast Dubois Jr. & Sr. High School serves seventh grade to twelfth grade classes.
2022 - The St. Raphael Center is completed in May. The 5,526 sq. ft. building was dedicated on July 31, 2022 by Bishop Joseph Siegel after the 10:00am mass. The building has a hall seating capacity of 100 people, 4 classrooms, kitchen, and office. The building cost with furnishings was $1,161,130. The project total was $1,124,219, which included the Steward of God’s Grace Campaign $335,754, Diocesan Interest $18,950, Donations from Saint Isidore the Farmer and the Community $104,423, Sale of Logs from St. Raphael Campus $6,547, St. Isidore Woodland Hills Land Sale $499,200, and a St. Isidore Catholic Parish Letter Campaign for St. Raphael Center $159,345.
2023 - Renovations to the Saint Celestine Church began the last week of April, 2023. According to plans submitted by the Liturgical Space Committee and ratified by the Parish Council and the Finance Committee, two structural changes to the Church were made. The widening of the upper tier of the Sanctuary to accomodate centering the Tabernacle and the shortening of the first step to allow additional room for weddings, funerals, baptism, & other church events. The total estimated cost was $397,975. The donation of time, talent, and treasure by the faithful saved an estimated $150,000 was saved; this saving was accomplished while members of the Church guided the project as General Contractor. Work to be completed incudes: Sanctuary design and update, re-brassing the hanging sanctuary light, pew refinishing and cushioning for handicap seating, carpet and tile replacement, furniture reupholstery, refinishing various woodwork, cry station updates, stations and statuary repainting and gilding, bathroom renovation, and choir area overhaul. The Liturgical Space Committe completed the work in November 2023, under budget, and the committee disbanded.
In February 2023, the long process for approval to demolish the long vacant Saint Celestine School was begun at a joint meeting of the Parish Council and the Finance Committee. The approval of the diocese was complete by June 2023. Abestos remediation and the IDEM permit process came in late 2023. The demolition of the school began on February 12, 2024 and was completed a short time later.