Hays Historic Church Tour
Hays, Kansas
Beautiful Volga German and Bukovina German churches grace the towns of Ellis County, and the Hays Historic Church Tour provides ample opportunity to explore them. Roman Catholic influences, Gothic style and beautiful stained glass are the most dominant features of each church. Yet each structure is unique to the people who settled that particular town.
Many settlers were descendants of German immigrants from the Volga River region of Russia. They had emigrated from Germany to Russia at the invitation of Russian leader Catherine the Great, who was born in Germany. But her successor began to remove the privileges that Catherine had promised the Volga-Germans.
The Germans searched for new land to farm. By 1876, they began settling in towns on the Kansas plains. As they had done in Russia, each community retained its own language, food and traditions. The people also expressed their creativity through the churches they built during the late 1870s and 1880s.
St. Fidelis Church in Victoria remains the largest and most magnificent of the Ellis County churches. William Jennings Bryan dubbed it the Cathedral of the Plains when he visited during his 1912 presidential campaign. The pope approved the church as a minor basilica in 2014. During its four-year construction, native limestone blocks were dressed and faced by hand. They were hauled by wagons from a nearby quarry and lifted atop the walls by horsepower. Almost 1 million pounds of cement were hand mixed and brought in by wheelbarrow. The church’s twin bell towers can be seen for miles.
“It’s quite easy to spend a whole day touring our churches, and we offer step-on guides who are passionate about the area’s history,” said convention marketing manager Janet Kuhn from the City of Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau. “On certain days, if the first or last stop is St. Fidelis Church, groups can attend Mass.”
Precious Moments Chapel
Carthage, Missouri
Precious Moments artwork and figurines have become fixtures in collectible stores around the United States. In Carthage, Missouri, the Precious Moments Chapel brings this artwork and its inspiration to life.
The chapel is patterned after Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel in Rome. The paintings begin with creation and end with the resurrection. The Hallelujah Square mural celebrates the lives of children who died, some of whom artist Samuel Butcher knew personally and some of whom he had heard about. Butcher painted to share the joy of his faith. He considered the chapel his crowning work.
Upon arrival at the Precious Moments Visitor Center, guests pass through an area unofficially called the Little Village that reflects the warmth of an English country town. It includes a small stream, a schoolhouse and a cobbler shop. Free guided tours start from the visitors center.
Inspiration Park’s paved path travels downhill toward the chapel. The Avenue of Angels lines the way with baby-angel statues. Beautifully landscaped gardens line the creek. Visitors can relax on benches and take in the spring dogwoods, redbuds and hundreds of blooming flowers that put on a spectacular show.
Royal Delights Café and Bakery serves light lunches. The complex’s extensive gift shop stocks exclusive Precious Moments products and items not available elsewhere. For those who love the holidays, the store’s Christmas area feels like a year-round winter wonderland.
“There are many new products within the Precious Moments line that visitors can buy in the store,” said Wendy Douglas, director of the Carthage Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Overall, the complex is a spiritual place that people find rejuvenating.”
