Catholic Union of Arkansas

The Catholic Union of Arkansas was created on July 27, 1890, at Subiaco Abbey in Logan County and was a subsidiary of the national Deutscher römisch-katholischer Centralverein von Nordamerika (German Roman-Catholic Central Union of North America). Established in 1855, the Central Union was led by laymen rather than clergy to avert Know-Nothing criticism that the organization was controlled by the Roman Catholic Church. Its early goals included providing an alternative to secret societies for Catholic men and advocating for Catholic values in American civic life.

The national umbrella organization allowed immigrants on the move to connect with local chapters and easily transfer their membership. In 1878, the Central Union entered a mutual understanding agreement with the Irish Catholic Benevolent Union. Members of both groups received “traveling cards” that would enable them to receive assistance, including a burial benefit, in areas where their own group might not be represented.

The Central Union also established a Widows’ and Orphans’ Fund that provided life insurance for members from 1881 to 1906, in which the Arkansas chapter participated. The Arkansas chapter also ran a fire and storm mutual aid society that was eventually subsumed into the Farmers Mutual Aid Association of Arkansas. Both national and local chapters were marked by a strong focus on social justice with support for immigrants; for victims of natural disasters in Germany; for the building of schools, churches, and hospitals in America; for outreach; and for Peter’s Pence (a payment that went directly to the papal treasury in Rome to support various initiatives). Notably, the national group’s publication, originally titled the Central-Blatt (Central Paper), transitioned to the title Social Justice Review with publication in English in 1941.

The national group supported protections for female workers, including advocating against a forced return to work immediately after childbirth, and campaigned against child labor. They urged members to become active in local trade unions but cautioned against joining socialist causes. A further national position of note to the Arkansas chapter was race relations. The national Union noted: “If the whites and blacks were to obey the commandments of God, there would be no color problem in the South and it seems to us that all efforts toward a solution ought to be directed first and foremost over the road of God’s law.” Race is curiously absent from the Arkansas records, except for a 1960 footnote in a women’s auxiliary report that the bishop asked: “That since there is seemingly so much race prejudice right now that we all work for better race relations.”

Much of the Arkansas chapter’s history is contained in the group’s fiftieth anniversary publication of 1940 and included all past presidents and noted especially the first three: Conrad Elsken (1890–1893), who established an immigration committee; J. P. Thienes (1893–1900), who fought against the anti-Catholic secret society American Protective Association; and H. Schemedes (1900–1903), who created a fund to promote immigration.

The relationship between the Arkansas chapter (which referred to itself in its notes as Deutsch Roemisch Katholischer Staats Verband Von Arkansas) and the national organization reflects mutual support. In 1920, the national director wrote to the chapter with a need for “Stoffe, Leder, Schuhe und Geld” (fabrics, leather, shoes, and money) for Austrians and Germans recovering from the war. In 1928, he forwarded a $25 donation sent by a reader of the national publication after it profiled the fire that destroyed large parts of Subiaco Abbey in 1927 and arranged the donation of volumes of classical literature and a Latin-German Bible to reestablish the library. In 1933, the national organization sent a donated car to the abbey to be used in its missions’ work.

A national women’s auxiliary was founded in 1916, with an Arkansas chapter, the Catholic Women’s Union of Arkansas, established in 1919, for which Theresia Wewers served as the first president at the organizing meeting held in Morrison Bluff (Logan County). Its founding goals were similarly to promote Catholicism and civic engagement. The chapter held study clubs for women and youth and supported domestic and international missions.

Another organization, the Jünglingsverein (Union of German Catholic Young Men), was founded in 1890 concurrently with the men’s chapter. The Jünglingsverein also offered an alternative to secret societies but allowed clergy to serve in leadership roles, unlike the Catholic Union. The Benedictine Father Gall D’Aujourd’hui was active in both organizations and served as the first president of the Jünglingsverein. It seems likely that the Jünglingsverein was meant for younger men who would transition to the Centralverein after they established careers and families, as parents were invited as honored guests to yearly meetings. Both groups fostered continued use of the German language, although an early discussion recorded in the Jünglingsverein record reveals that some members struggled with written and spoken German. The group decided to continue singing religious songs in German to help members with their language skills while also including the national anthem in English.

The Union provided political guidance in difficult times. In announcing the postponement of the 1918 convention, the national group reaffirmed its unique nature, grounded in two languages and cultures: “Times of war are times of visitation for all, and more than for others, for us Americans of German descent. Now is the time when it must be shown that the Central Verein…is no foreigner on our soil, but an autochthonous organization, an organization which truly and unselfishly has at heart the interests of the Church and the welfare of our country, the country of the Stars and Stripes.”

J. H. Kramer, president of the Catholic Union of Arkansas, wrote to Subiaco Abbot Fr. Edward Burgert in 1932 to propose a Walfahrt (pilgrimage) of “the religion of our forefathers” to Subiaco to beseech God for his aid in the Depression: “The times are hard and the people cannot expect to get help from the President or Governor alone. They are only human beings like the rest of us, and we must look and seek our help from above.” In a 1935 letter to the local chapter, the national director, Frederick Kenkel, included a report in German about the Nazi persecution of Catholic clergy and its racial politics regarding marriage between so-called Aryans and non-Aryans; it called attention to the dangerous Nazi assertion that fighting for Germany and Adolf Hitler could be equated with serving God. Kenkel concluded: “There is method in their madness and this method is, according to reliable information, succeeding. Hence it becomes our duty to arouse our people to the realization of a condition which is viewed with apprehension by serious minded Catholics in all parts of Europe.”

It is unclear from the Union’s file at the Subiaco Abbey archive how long the group continued to be active, but annual conventions continued to be held until the 1970s.

For additional information:
Bourscheidt, Peter J. “Central Verein of North America, German Roman Catholic (Deutscher römisch-katholischer Centralverein von Nordamerika).” Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910, p. 534. Online at https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/german-roman-catholic-central-verein-of-north-america (accessed September 27, 2024).

Brophy, M. L. “Catholic Central Union.” Catholic Encyclopedia. Washington DC: Catholic University of America, 1967. 265–67.

———. “The Social Thought of the German Roman Catholic Central Verein.” PhD diss., The Catholic University of America, 1941.

“Erste Generalversammlung der deutschen katholischen Jünglingsvereine im Arkansas und Statuten des Centralvereins der deutschen katholischen Jünglinge des Staates Arkansas (First General Meeting of the Unions of German Catholic Young Men in Arkansas and Statutes of the Central Union of the German Catholic Young Men of the State of Arkansas).” Unpublished manuscript, 1890. Subiaco Abbey Archives, Subiaco, Arkansas.

“Fifty Years of Catholic Action: Golden Jubilee Program of the Catholic Women’s Union of Arkansas, 1919–1969.” Charleston, AR: Catholic Women’s Union of Arkansas, 1969.

Frey, Joseph, and John Q. Juenemann. “Annual Convention Postponed. —Activities in War Time. / Verschiebung der Jahresversammlung. —Fortsetzung der Tätigkeit.” St. Paul: D.R.K. Central-Verein of North America, May 10, 1918.

Gorman, A. F. “American Federation of Catholic Societies.” New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., 351–352. Vol. 1. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2003.

“History of the Catholic Union of Arkansas.” Program of the Catholic Central Union of American 105^th Annual Convention and National Catholic Women’s Union 44^th Annual Convention. Little Rock: 1960, pp. 21–23.

“History of the Catholic Women’s Union of Arkansas.” Program of the Catholic Central Union of American 105^th Annual Convention and National Catholic Women’s Union 44^th Annual Convention. Little Rock: 1960, pp. 25–27.

Kenkel, Frederick to Arkansas Central Union, January 5, 1920. Central Union Collection, Subiaco Abbey Archives, Subiaco, Arkansas.

———. December 18, 1935. Central Union Collection, Subiaco Abbey Archives, Subiaco, Arkansas.

Kenkel, Frederick to Rev. Edward Burgert, May 31, 1928. Central Union Collection, Subiaco Abbey Archives, Subiaco, Arkansas.

———. February 25, 1928. Central Union Collection, Subiaco Abbey Archives, Subiaco, Arkansas.

———. October 5, 1928. Central Union Collection, Subiaco Abbey Archives, Subiaco, Arkansas.

———. July 25, 1933. Central Union Collection, Subiaco Abbey Archives, Subiaco, Arkansas.

Kramer, K. H. to Fr. Edward Burgert, August 13, 1932. Central Union Collection, Subiaco Abbey Archives, Subiaco, Arkansas.

Program of the Golden Anniversary Convention of the Catholic Union of Arkansas and the 22nd Annual Convention of the Catholic Women’s Union of Arkansas. Little Rock: Paragon Printing, 1940.

“Resumé of Facts Surrounding the Development, Progress and Achievements of the Catholic Union of Arkansas.” Program of the Golden Anniversary Convention of the Catholic Union of Arkansas and the 22nd Annual Convention of the Catholic Women’s Union of Arkansas. Little Rock: Paragon Printing, 1940, pp. 27–55.

Steckel, Alfred. “German Roman Catholic Central Society of the United States of North America. Deutscher Roemisch-Katholischer Central Verein der Vereinigten Staaten von Nord-Amerika.” Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia 6.3 (1895): 252–265. Online at https://www.jstor.org/stable/44208794 (accessed September 27, 2024).

Weiser, Francis. “The National Catholic Women’s Union.” Program of the Catholic Central Union of American 105^th Annual Convention and National Catholic Women’s Union 44^th Annual Convention. Little Rock: 1960, pp. 11–12.

Zernitz, Emilie R. “Fifty Years of Catholic Action: 1916–1966. National Catholic Women’s Union.” New Haven, CT: 1966.

Kathleen Condray
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville