About St. Frances Solano · Francesville, Indiana
St. Francis Solano was a small Roman Catholic parish in Francesville, Indiana, founded as a mission in 1867 by immigrant Catholic families drawn to the town by the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railroad. For generations the parish was served by a remarkable succession of diocesan priests, Precious Blood missionaries (C.PP.S.), and briefly the Franciscan Fathers (O.F.M.) of Lafayette, who built a 20-by-40-foot wooden church and—decades later—a Mission Revival/Spanish Mission-style cement church completed in 1952. By the early 21st century the parish had dwindled to about nine attending families, and on June 7, 2024, Bishop Timothy L. Doherty of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana signed a decree relegating St. Francis Solano Church to profane but not sordid use. The parish is now merged with St. Joseph Church in Pulaski as part of the multi-site Fulton Pulaski Pastorate, which continues to care for sacramental records dating back to 1867.
- Established
- 1867
- Patron
- St. Francis Solano (San Francisco Solano), the Franciscan missionary to South America, whose Spanish-mission patronage is reflected in the parish's Mission Revival architecture.
- Rector
- The parish is now served through the Fulton Pulaski Pastorate; the merged site has no resident pastor of its own. Current pastoral leadership for the pastorate can be reached through the Pastorate Office at 574-946-4906.
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana
Why belong here
Members and visitors today experience St. Francis Solano's Catholic life through the Fulton Pulaski Pastorate, which welcomes new parishioners across its six merged churches (registration forms are available in English and Spanish on the pastorate website). The Good Samaritan Store, a Ladies of Christ–run thrift ministry founded in 1969 and long tied to the pastorate, channels 100% of its proceeds back into local nonprofits—from the Pulaski County Food Pantry and Pack-A-Backpack Program to St. Peter's Parish and hurricane disaster relief. Visitors can pray during open church hours at any of the active churches, attend daily and Sunday Mass in English or Spanish, take part in perpetual adoration on the second weekend of each month, and trace a piece of Indiana Catholic history by visiting the original Francesville church site within the National Register-listed Francesville Commercial Historic District.
Mass times at St. Frances Solano
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday 7:30–8:00 AM, St. Joseph Rochester (weekday confessions are 30 minutes prior to Mass)
- Tuesday 7:30–8:00 AM, St. Joseph Pulaski (30 minutes before Mass)
- Wednesday 5:00–5:30 PM, St. Peter Winamac and 5:30–6:00 PM, St. Joseph Rochester (30 minutes before Mass)
- Thursday 7:30–8:00 AM, St. Joseph Pulaski and 5:30–6:00 PM, St. Joseph Rochester (30 minutes before Mass)
- Friday 7:30–8:00 AM, St. Joseph Rochester and 11:30 AM–12:00 PM, St. Peter Winamac (30 minutes before Mass)
- Saturday 5:15–5:45 PM, St. Joseph Pulaski
- Sunday 7:15–7:45 AM (St. Peter Winamac) and 9:50–10:15 AM (St. Joseph Rochester)
- Confessions end 10 minutes before Mass; other times by appointment through the Pastorate Office (574-946-4906)
Adoration times
- Perpetual Adoration during Mass on the Second Weekend of every month at all locations
- Tuesday 6:00–7:00 PM on the first Tuesday of February, April, June, August, October, December — St. Peter, Winamac
- Tuesday 6:00–7:00 PM on the first Tuesday of January, March, May, July, September, November — St. Joseph, Pulaski
- First Friday 6:00–7:00 PM — St. Joseph, Rochester
Parish Story — From Francesville Mission to 2024 Merger
The story of St. Francis Solano begins with the 1853 founding of Francesville, named for the daughter of railroad president James Brooks. Irish Catholic families drawn by the railroad—the Hacketts, Dooleys, Finnegans, Fitzpatricks, Gleasons, Hallagans, Lynchs, and O'Connors—became the parish's pioneer roots. Early priests from Lafayette said Mass in private homes, including Patrick Hackett's, before a 20-by-40-foot frame church was built in 1867 for $1,500 on two lots dedicated in honor of St. Francis Solano. Over the next century and a half the parish passed through the care of Franciscan Fathers, diocesan clergy of Reynolds, Precious Blood (C.PP.S.) missionaries from St. Joseph College, and finally a Fulton Pulaski Pastorate that merged it with St. Joseph, Pulaski, effective with Bishop Timothy L. Doherty's June 7, 2024 decree of relegation to profane but not sordid use.
The 1867 Mission Church
Completed before fall 1867, the original wood-frame mission church was a modest 20-by-40-foot structure seating about 75 people, with two adjoining lots costing in total $1,500. Its back room doubled as sacristy and as lodging for itinerant missionary priests, who cooked bacon and heated coffee there between journeys by handcar or horse to the Reynolds mother church.
- Pioneer families: Hackett, Dooley, Finnegan, Fitzpatrick, Gleason, Hallagan, Lynch, O'Connor
Building the 1951–1952 Spanish Mission Church
By the late 1940s the 1867 frame church was beyond economical repair. Administrator Rev. Gilbert Esser, C.PP.S., a professor at St. Joseph College in Rensselaer, and parishioner-designer Neil Lyon drafted a new Spanish Mission-style plan using modern cement instead of adobe, balancing economy and beauty. Bishop John G. Bennett blessed the cornerstone on October 21, 1951. Fred L. Vollmer and Sons built the $34,000 church; Father Alvin Burns, C.PP.S., celebrated its first Mass on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1952; and Bishop Bennett formally dedicated it on October 19, 1952.
- Mission Revival / Spanish Mission architecture
- Stucco exterior with segmental arches and statue niche
- Designed by Neil Lyon and built by Fred L. Vollmer and Sons
1867–1945: Mission Years
As a mission of Reynolds, Francesville was served first by diocesan priests (McMahon, then Berg, Schramm, Blum, Kubacki, Horstmann, Seimetz, Koch, Schmitt, Rothermal, Magsam). In 1876 Bishop Dwenger, C.PP.S., entrusted Reynolds and Francesville to the Franciscan Fathers of Lafayette for twelve years (Meier, Steinkamp, Wilkens, Stallo, Hoffman, Welling, Beyer). In 1933 Bishop Noll of Fort Wayne appointed Rev. Felix Seroczynski of North Judson to add Francesville to his duties; his assistant Rev. Louis Bozik stabilized regular Sunday Mass from July 1936.
1945–1958: Independent Parish and the New Church
In early 1945 Father John Hosinski became Francesville's first resident pastor when it became an independent parish. Rev. Gilbert Esser, C.PP.S., succeeded him as administrator in 1948 and drove the new-church project to completion in 1952. Father Raymond Cera, C.PP.S., continued his work from 1954, with Rev. James Leah and Rev. Leonard Kostka briefly bridging the transition before Bishop John J. Carberry appointed Rev. Joseph W. Grace pastor in 1958.
- First Forty Hours Adoration: August 1959
- First parish mission in over 20 years: March 1962
- Statue of Christ the King blessed October 28, 1962
2024 Merger Decree and Closing
After decades of decline—from 42 families in 1967 to nine families in 2024, with the last baptism in 2018 and the last marriage in 2005—Bishop Timothy L. Doherty signed a decree on June 7, 2024, relegating St. Francis Solano Church to profane but not sordid use. The pastorate's website publishes the formal decree, the May 13, 2024 effective merger decree, and a media release. The Christ the King statue and pastoral care have moved to St. Joseph, Pulaski.
- DECREE – St. Francis Solano, Francesville (pastorate PDF)
- St. Francis Solano, Francesville Effective Merger Decree 05-13-24
Worship Schedule and Pastoral Care Today
Because St. Francis Solano no longer has its own Mass schedule, parishioners are welcomed into the Fulton Pulaski Pastorate's worship rhythm across six merged sites. Saturday vigil Masses run at 5:30 PM in St. Joseph, Rochester (Memorial Day through Labor Day) and 6:00 PM at St. Joseph, Pulaski year-round. Sunday Masses are celebrated at St. Peter, Winamac (8:00 AM English), St. Joseph, Rochester (10:30 AM English and 1:00 PM Spanish), with a weekday schedule spread across Rochester, Pulaski and Winamac. Confessions are heard 30 minutes before each weekday Mass and on Sunday at 7:15 AM in Winamac and 9:50 AM in Rochester; Saturday confessions are offered at 5:15 PM in Pulaski. Adoration is perpetual on the second weekend of every month at all locations, plus first-Tuesday holy hours at Winamac and Pulaski and a first-Friday hour at Rochester.
- English and Spanish Masses celebrated across the pastorate
- Perpetual Adoration second weekend of the month
- Open church hours for individual prayer
Sacramental Records and Sacramental Life
Baptism and marriage records for St. Francis Solano are split across four custodial archives, a practical resource for genealogical researchers tracing pioneer Francesville Catholic families. The original parish published Sacramental record archive from 1867 should be requested first from Reynolds (1867–1933), then North Judson (1933–1936), then San Pierre (1936–1945), and finally from the Fulton Pulaski Pastorate for 1945 onward. Today, all sacramental preparation—baptism, first Communion, confirmation, matrimony, anointing of the sick—is coordinated through the pastorate.
- Records 1867–1933: Reynolds
- Records 1933–1936: North Judson
- Records 1936–1945: San Pierre
- Records 1945 onward: Fulton Pulaski Pastorate
Ministries, Outreach and the Good Samaritan Store
The Fulton Pulaski Pastorate's most enduring ministry is the Good Samaritan Store, founded in 1969 by Dolores and Anna—grandmother and great-grandmother of current Director of Operations Rachel Morris—and long run by the Ladies of Christ. The store welcomes more than 200 people weekly and donates 100% of its proceeds to local charities including the Pulaski County Food Pantry, Pack-A-Backpack, Pulaski County Head Start, the Eastern Pulaski Schools lunch-assistance program, Parkview Haven, Hickory Creek Healthcare Center, Pulaski County Health Care Center, St. Peter's Parish, Emmaus Mission Center, hurricane disaster relief, and the Diocese of Lafayette campaign. Parishioners can also register online (English or Spanish forms), give online by church, and access the pastorate's stewardship report and Vision Plan from the website.
- Good Samaritan Store (since 1969; Ladies of Christ)
- Online Giving by parish
- Parish Registration (English & Spanish)
- Victim Assistance Ministry
- Bilingual ministries
Architecture and the Francesville Commercial Historic District
The 1952 church—documented by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as a 1951 Mission Revival contributing resource—is a stuccoed, segmental-arched building whose Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival vocabulary was chosen precisely because of St. Francis Solano's California mission heritage. The church sits within the Francesville Commercial Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023 after the Uptown Project worked with historic preservation consultant Kurt West. The district covers the historic downtown corridors and includes three other churches (Francesville United Methodist, Francesville First Christian, United Salem Church of Christ), the Carnegie library, the post office, and the town hall/fire station.
- National Register listing: 2023
- Architectural styles in district: Italianate, Queen Anne, Gothic, Neoclassical, Craftsman, Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival
Planning a Visit — Contact and Directions
St. Francis Solano's building sits at 217 W. Montgomery St., Francesville, IN 47946, within easy walking distance of downtown Francesville. Because the church was decreed to profane use in 2024, those wishing to view the building should confirm current status with the pastorate. Pastoral and sacramental needs are met through the Fulton Pulaski Pastorate Office at 574-946-4906, and the parish registration form (English or Spanish) is available on the pastorate website. The pastorate's main contact email—[email protected]—is listed in third-party church directories.
- Pastorate Office: 574-946-4906
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: fultonpulaskipastorate.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Felix Seroczynski1933–c.1936
Pastor of North Judson; attended the Francesville mission by order of Bishop John F. Noll.
- Rev. Louis Bozikc.1936–1938
Assistant at North Judson who revived interest in the mission; established regular weekly Sunday Mass in July 1936.
- Rev. John Hosinski1938–early 1945 (mission); 1945+ (first resident pastor)
First resident pastor when Francesville became an independent parish in early 1945.
- Rev. Gilbert Esser, C.PP.S.1947/1948–1954
Professor at St. Joseph College, Rensselaer; administrator of Francesville; designed the new Spanish Mission-style church with Neil Lyon.
- Rev. Raymond Cera, C.PP.S.1954–1957
Succeeded Father Esser on September 3, 1954, continuing his work.
- Rev. James Leah1957–1958
Diocesan priest; served from June 12, 1957 until April 21, 1958.
- Rev. Leonard KostkaApril–June 1958
Professor at St. Joseph College; served as administrator at Bishop Bennett's request.
- Rev. Joseph W. Gracefrom June 18, 1958
Appointed pastor by Bishop John J. Carberry; Francesville then operated as a mission.