Address: North Main Street; Touhy NE 68065
Website: https://www.stjohnschurchweston.com/
Overview
The beautiful Czech-heritage church has been a beacon on the hill of the village site since 1903. The neo-Gothic brick and wood structure was built to support the needs of local Catholics who first gathered as members of the Katolicky Delnik (Catholic Workmen), St. Ladislaus Branch No. 36 formed in 1897 – long before the parish of St. Vitus was designated in 1913. The décor and artifacts of the church reflect its Czech roots with statues of Czech saints; Stations of the Cross labeled in the Czech language and a Moravian-style painted ceiling.
Special things to see in the Church
• Brightly-colored stained glass windows adorn the nave of the church. The windows are highlighted with curved stylings and floral designs with dedication plaques of Czech names at the bottom of each.
• The multi-spired high back-altar houses the central tabernacle surrounded by statues of the patron St. Vitus, shown as a boy holding the palm leaf of martyrdom; and Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles of the Slavs – the 9th century Greek brothers who evangelized in Moravia after St. Cyril developed the Cyrillic alphabet to translate the liturgy into the Slavonic language.
• On the base of the altar are unique enamel paintings of the Last Supper and and a scene of St. Wenceslaus (with a crown) celebrating the Eucharist. The latter may be an illustration alluding to the turmoil related to the Hussites during this period. The Hussites were a pre-Protestant Christian sect and followers of the Czech martyr Jan Hus (1369–1415). One of the tenets of Hussites ideology was the ability of the laity to receive the body and blood of Christ in the form of both bread and wine; and the chalice is a symbol of this ideology. While King, Wenceslaus was initially permissive of the Hussites, but later became less-so with the encouragement of his brother, Sigismund, as a representative of the Pope. The 12 years of the Hussite Wars followed Wenceslaus’ death in 1419.
• The side altars are of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. Aside the Blessed Mother is a traditional Daprato statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague in a gold and white cloak.
• Stations of the Cross painted in dark-hued enamel line the nave walls. The realistic scenes of the path to Golgotha are shown within a frame topped by spires and a cross with the depiction of the scene below in the Czech language.
• Overhead is white painted ceiling of the Moravian style with repeating floral patterns highlighted by yellow flowers.
Interesting Fact About the Church
St. Vitus was chosen as the patron of the parish in 1902. It is not known why he was chosen, but perhaps it was related to the fact that other popular Czech-heritage saints were are already taken as parish names by other churches in the Lincoln Diocese such as St. Wenceslaus, St. John Nepomucene and St. Ludmila. St. Vitus’ short life was lived during the 3rd century in Sicily and Rome. He is known as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, invoked for illnesses such as epilepsy, rabies and snake bites. He is also considered the Patron Saint of Beer Brewers; and the world’s oldest brewery, Weihenstephan, near Freising, Germany takes St. Vitus as its patron. His feast day is celebrated on June 15th, which was the longest day of the year according to the Julian calendar (summer solstice).
