Name: Schaaf, Andrew Albert
Born: 03/14/1861
Place Lanesville, Indiana
Ordained: 06/15/1889
Place Ordained: Saint Meinrad, Indiana
Years of Service: 1889-1945
Died: 01/08/1945
Place Died: Brookville, Indiana
Burial Info: St Michael Cemetery Priests Circle – Brookville IN – 1945 Jan 11
Notes:
Reverend Andrew A. Schaaf
Rev. Andrew A. Schaaf was ordained June 15, 1889. He was Pastor of Saint Michael Church from 1910 – 1945.
“… The new pastor was forty-nine years old and a native of Lanesville, in Harrison County. After studying two sessions at Teutopolis, Illinois, he entered St. Meinrad where he was ordained June 15, 1889. He was appointed immediately to St. Michael Church, Bradford, from which, after six years, he went as pastor to Poseyville. Until 1897 he resided at St. Mary Church, Evansville, as assistant … and in that year changed his residence to Poseyville. Here he remained until his appointment to St. Michael, Brookville. Father Schaaf enjoyed the longest pastorate in the history of the parish; for thirty-five years, almost the span of a generation, he conducted the administration of its affairs. In 1911 he printed an Official Year Book, containing the report of the parish for the year 1910 and he continued the publication of his annual reports in an unbroken series. In these it is possible to trace the major trends of parish history as well as to discover the cardinal features of the pastor’s policy. Obviously his first thought was to pay off the remaining debt on the church … . There were two projects in the parish which commanded his especial interest – the school and the cemetery … Finally, it may be noted that Father Schaaf had a particular interest in the history of the parish and preserved its records with great care. … In 1912, Father Schaaf finished his first great achievement – the rebuilding of the school. … The parochial institution, however, which commanded the deepest and most constant interest of Father Schaaf was the cemetery. … When the cemetery was thus enlarged, Father Schaaf began the construction of a wall of concrete blocks, enclosing the plot. This was an ambitious undertaking which required a number of years and much labor before it was completed. … in the flood of March 25, 1913 … it appears that Brookville … was damaged more than any other town in the valley. The alarm was sounded after midnight by the shrill steam whistles and the clanging church bells. … Father Schaaf was very active in the midst of the greatest danger and was especially named for heroism … on July 5, 1914, Father Schaaf celebrated the silver jubilee of his ordination on which occasion the people generously contributed a large purse. …” [A Souvenir of the Centennial of the Parish of St. Michael Brookville, Indiana pp. 65-72 November 18, 1945 compiled by Rev. Robert Gorman, Ph.D.]