A warranty deed signed August 15, 1867 by Henry and Anna Boehringer and Herman and Adolphine Schrader conveyed title to a plot of land 300 by 300 feet to Maurice de St. Palais, Bishop of Vincennes, "for the purpose of erecting a Catholic Church and other buildings to it on said lot." The price of the lot was $5.00.
 
Another warranty deed signed August 27, 1867 by George and Louisa Schultz conveyed to Bishop Palais 2 acres of ground "for the purposes of a burial ground of the Cathohc denomination to a church to be built on the south side of the C. & 1. R.R on H. Boehringer's & Co. land ... for the sum of ten dollars."
 
Previously, July 20, 1867, Mr. Schultz had signed a written promise to give these 2 acres "for the purpose of a graveyard for the Catholic Church, provided said Church is built on the proposed Lot of H. Boehringer & Co."
It was not till May 14, 1870 that the same Mr. Schultz signed a receipt saying he had received the "ten dollars in payment in full allowed for two acres of ground as present to said church."
 
Boehringer and Schrader were not Catholics, and this made their generosity doubly appreciated. Possibly, however, their kindness had another side to it. As "developers" they were seeking to encourage German-Catholics from Cincinnati to buy lots and settle in Batesville. A place for worship and burial and the regular services of a priest would make the new town more attractive to Catholics. Having this as a selling-point might have provided part of the motivation for their donation. Nevertheless, their deed was a good one and very welcome.
 
Some years before (about 1865) there had been a bit of altercation about where to locate the hoped-for church. Ground was given by Louis Dickmann on what is now (1968) East Pearl St. From his patron saint came the name of "St. Louis" church. John Hartman at the same time agitated buying his land in the north end of town, but Dickmann donated his property and, therefore, it was accepted. Hartman, it is said, even started some construction work that was later abandoned. In the end, though, the church was erected in the south end of town on Boehringer's land.

The actual construction of the church seems to have begun in 1868, as various receipts would indicate: $5.25 to Frederick Wochers for sand; $5.55 to Theodore Dolle for sheet tin and tubs. These receipts show John F. Brinkman and Henry Weber were the committee and Fr. J. P. Gillig, pastor.
 
A yellowed-dog-eared page from a 5 by 3 inch note book dated June 4, 1869, Oldenburg, Indiana, John P. Gillig, pastor, and Jos. Thoman, trustee, as far as the writing can be deciphered, seems to be a list of Oldenburg people who promised a specific donation to the Catholic Church in Batesville. It is in German and lists 40 names with the amount promised and paid The gifts run from $1 to $5. Some of the names: John Haverkost, August Haverkost, Philomena Freyhage, Katharina Holtel, Jos. Springman, Friderick Drees, Eberhard Wachter, etc.
 
Very likely work on the new church came to a halt during the winter of '68-69 and worship continued in "Boehringer's Hall." But not everything went smoothly after that. We find the following communication dated July 3, 1869:
 

Construction dragged on through 1869. The Franciscans from Oldenburg were asked to assume the pastorate. Fr. Louis Haverbeck, O.S.F. (The Brown Franciscans used these initials up until when the Order was reorganized; from then on they used O.F.M.) was appointed first Franciscan Pastor late that year. He began at once pushing for completion of the edifice.

The great and long-awaited day came on September 18, 1870. Very Rev. Otto Jair, O.S.F., Provincial Superior, had been appointed by the Bishop to perform the ceremony of dedication and blessing of the building. Fr. Apollinar Hattler, O.S.F. preached the sermon.

Photo taken July 20, 1892. Louis Stemmler and Ben A. Schene "topping off" the job atop the cross with a bottle of beer while Heinie Specht observes from below.

Fr. John Capistran Heitman, O.S.F was assigned as pastor in 1891. He was a meticulous sort of person and an unfinished building grated on his sensitivities. Subscription sheets were drawn up and everyone was asked to pledge as much as they could to be paid in monthly installments, so that the entire amount was given by August 1, 1892. Records show approximately 160 families on the roster by this time. These funds were to be used to finish the tower. January 10, 1893, the congregation was told that: "Beginning with next Sunday, opportunity will be given to make a pledge for the building of the steeple. From 1 o'clock in the afternoon till Vespers two young men will be in the Pastor's  house to enter pledges and their payment in the book." The drive was very successful as the long list of names testifies.
 
On May 22 of the same year a meeting of the Building Committee and the Trustees was called for "as the building of the steeple, will soon begin and we must be ready to go ahead with the payments immediately ... All those who have made pledges and especially those who have made no payment at all should make their contribution as soon as possible."
   
The O. L. Pulse Co. of Greensburg was retained on April 7, 1892, to construct the steeple at a cost of $3,447.00. L. Picket & Co. were the architects. It is noteworthy that the eleven pages of specifications were beautifully hand written.
 
Construction began at once and July 17 Father announced: "On Wednesday, July 20, after the 8:30 Mass the cross on the steeple will be blessed. All the members of the parish are asked to attend Mass on this day and to attend the blessing. Short sermon." The cross was 9 1/2 feet high, 71/2 feet wide and 1 foot in thickness, gold leafed.

Correspondence had been started with the Buckeye Bell Foundry of Cincinnati to hang a third bell. This Foundry had supplied the two previous bells in 1868 and 1874. The problem was to get a matching tone to avoid dissonance and the Rector was instructed how to determine the tones of the two old bells so that the third bell could be cast in the proper tone. That success was achieved in this is apparent today (1968) from the sweet sounds that issue from the belfry whenever Joe Hoff (the automatic bell-ringer) performs his duties.

A substantial donation was received from a parishioner for the new bell, and another parishioner, Mr. John Hillenbrand, gave a tidy sum to install a tower clock and four dials. This instrument was purchased from the Seth Thomas Clock Co. of New York and "worked like a charm" - at least until winter came and a man had to be sent down from Chicago to get things back in order.
 
A newspaper clipping probably from late September or October of that year (1892) reads as follows: Page 2 "Lib. Pub." 1887 - 1895.

Blessing the New Bell

On last Sunday a large gathering of devout worshippers witnessed a most beautiful ceremony at the Catholic church, Batesville. It was the occasion of the blessing of the new bell recently donated by the generous Mr. Louis Meyer. At precisely 10 o'clock a band of twenty altar boys, clad in garments of black and white entered the sanctuary, whose altar shone resplendently with its superb decorations and numerous lights. Then came the clergy: The Very Rev. Fr. Provincial Peter Baptist Englert of Cincinnati, Ohio, who had been especially delegated by the Right Rev. Bishop Chatard to perform the rite, celebrant of the mass, assisted by the Rev. Clemens Steinkamp of Bloomington, Illinois, as assistant priest, the Frs. Francis de Paul and Francis de Sales as deacon and subdeacon respectively, the Frs. Stanislaus and Dionys as Masters of Ceremonies. The Rev. Frs. Ferdinand of Oldenburg and John Capistran, rector of the congregation, were present in the sanctuary. The singing was superbly rendered. After Mass the Rev. Rector gave a brief exposition of the catholic ceremonies attending the blessing of bells. Preparatory to the consecration of the bell, seven Psalms, viz.: 50, 53, 56, 66, 69, 86, 129 were recited, the bell was washed entirely and anointed with holy oils, the clergy meanwhile reciting the Psalms, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150: finally a vessel containing fire, upon which had been strewn incense and myrrh, was placed under the bell. This ceremony completed, the generous donor gave the first blow upon the bell, followed by the trustees of the church, who did similarly. The chanting of the thanksgiving, "God of Might We Sing Thy Praise" by the entire congregation, ended the celebration of the day.

In 1894 the pastor requested of Bishop Chatard permission to expend a sum of  money to remove the stoves from church and school and to replace them with a furnace. Permission was granted, and thus ended the era of the pot-bellied stoves.
   
In 1902 the church sanctuary was enlarged considerably and two story sacristies added on the south east and south west, squaring off both of these corners and giving much needed room to these areas. A new high altar was dedicated on March 3, 1903, and frescoing was finished by Edw. Peine of Oldenburg in April of the same year.

Money was an ever present need in doing God's work. Once a month for many years the priests took up the collection themselves. To prevent too much embarrassment, the people were given fair warning a week ahead of time. It was the sporting thing to do. 
  
One time the Sunday offering did not come  up to expectations and the following Sunday the Rector sharply told his flock: "The collection last Sunday was good. $33.60. About one-half as much as we need;" 
    
Another Pastor put it this way: "The last monthly collection was $30.53. Three persons gave $1.00, five gave one-half dollar, ten gave 25 cents - 297 gave five cents, 64 gave ten cents and 128 gave one cent ... Let's try to convert these pennies into nickels or dimes."
  
Debt was present most of the years of the parish's existence. The original families were not sufficient in number to payoff the first cost of the church and school for several years.' In 1920 a special house to house collection for debt reduction was very successful and the congregation set up a Building Fund for the school which was constructed III 1923.

In 1943 debts incurred from building this school were retired by a 75th anniversary drive A new School Endowment Fund  was started and reached nearly $70,000 by 1953 when a school addition was put up. The remaining debt on this was retired in 1956. Due to the generosity of the parishoners, 
no debt was incurred for the construction work in 1961-62.

In November of 1938 a Jesse Reece had washed the interior of the church at a cost of $900.00. Apparently nothing had been done since then and the church interior badly needed a going over. The Fund Drive for the school addition had included a promise that the church would be redecorated if sufficient funds were brought in. This was the wish of the parishioners and explained their generosity. Sufficient funds were pledged to take care of both projects.
 
On June 8, 1962, work started on the church. The school auditorium had been set up as a temporary church. Mr. Chas. Brown was retained as consulting architect and engineer. The Gutzwiller Co. was the general contractor, Alphonse Enneking, electrician, and the Greiwe Co., of Cincinnati professional church decorators, A. H. Schneider electrical engineer. 
 
All the pews were removed to Romweber Company's warehouse, the finish removed and redone. The floor was shored and leveled as best it could be; rubber tile was laid wall to wall by Home Mart. Attic joists were reinforced, the ceiling was covered with acoustical tile and soffits built the length of the nave to give it more appearance of length and to conceal indirect lighting. All new wiring and lights were installed. ' 

The Weberding Carving Shop produced new stations of the cross using the pictures from the old ones as models. They also manufactured a tabernacle and pulpit and redesigned the confessionals.
  
Walnut panelling was applied around the entire nave. 
 
By August 31 work had proceeded so well that Mass could again be said in church at a temporary altar. The job was not entirely completed until December 7.