St. Elizabeth Roman Catholic Church celebrates 125 years

POCAHONTAS, Va. — On September 18, St. Elizabeth Roman Catholic Church in Pocahontas, Va., held a celebration to commemorate its 125th year in service.

They had a celebratory service followed by a reception at Fincastle in Bluefield, Va.

In attendance were members of the regular congregation along with six priests including former priest of St. Elizabeth Father Dan Brady and current priest Father Eric Anokye, the bishop, and a few others coming in from sister churches and coming back after moving away.

“This place has served the community steadily and had never really shuttered,” said Brady. “The people have kept it going throughout its 125 years, and this is actually our 126th year as we would have been celebrating this accomplishment last year, but we couldn’t due to COVID.”

The church was built in 1896 by French priest Father Emil Oliver, according to a booklet explaining St. Elizabeth’s long history.

“This is the second oldest Catholic church building in the diocese of Richmond which includes all of Southern Virginia from the Eastern Shore all the way to the Cumberland Gap,” said Brady.

He also added, “St. Elizabeth’s was built around the same time as the Catholic church in Bluefield.”

Over the years, St. Elizabeth has become the mother church to several in the area including the Catholic churches in Tazewell, Richlands and Grundy. Anokye goes to each of these churches every week.

Congregation member Andrew Satmary, who has been attending the church his whole life and is 94 years old, said the history of St. Elizabeth’s is one that goes way back, and it was immigrants from countries such as Hungary, Germany, Poland, and Italy that began the church.

Though the Catholic population is not large now, when the church was started there was a very large number in the area.

The booming coal business was what really drew the migrants to the area as they had been mine workers in the other countries they had come from, so they knew the work well.

“They all came here when they migrated to America, and they all worked in the mines,” said Satmary. “When the Hungarians came over, a lot of them settled here.”

Satmary said all of the migrants were very self-sufficient and they got the church started.

“It wasn’t the best back then, but it took care of the people,” he said. “We had a very large congregation of Catholics here, and our little church here was named in honor of our patron saint of Hungary, St. Elizabeth.”

Brady explained a little bit more about St. Elizabeth and how she received her sainthood.

“She was a queen who lost the throne when her husband died because the people did not think she was good enough to sit on the throne alone, and after that she began a third order religious life,” said Brady. “She opened a hospital at the bottom of the mountain that the castle sat on, and over time there was a feast at the castle, and she would try to make sure that everyone was fed in the town.”

“She led quite an example of a Christian life.”

The most notable part of St. Elizabeth’s church is the many murals and art that is displayed all over the inside of the church, which was another big part of the celebration as they have just been restored.

“The paintings are 100 years old, different things over time have made them age, but they look so beautiful restored again,” said Brady.

Jerry Lambert, who was on the planning committee for the celebration along with his wife Donna, also added, “The restorations have just absolutely brightened this place up.”

The murals were completed by Theodore Brash who came to Pocahontas in around 1919 or 1920 for a visit, and when he saw the church, he felt like he needed to do the murals.

“He came down from Cincinnati, and we was friends with the previous pastor Father Anthony,” said Brady. “He came in, and what’s here now is only part of what he did. There are dates on all of them along with his name too. When you walk in here, I think it’s pretty impactful to see all of the art and stories on the walls and ceiling.”

Another long-time congregation member Vincent Shumate added, “I’ve traveled quite a bit being in the military, so I’ve see a lot. I’ve been to the Sistine Chapel, and Michelangelo did a good job, but I’d put this up against it any day.”

It depicts many biblical stories and symbols of the Christian faith.

“It’s a great place to teach children about God and the Bible because of the examples we have all around us in here,” Brady said, adding that the murals don’t distract from worship, and they actually amplify it.

“It’s just powerful and just a beautiful place,” he said. “It just enhances our worship. It’s not what we worship, but it enhances it by reminding us of what we are learning about.”

“It’s just spectacular,” Shumate said.

The Pocahontas area has churches in a few other denominations including Methodist, Baptist and Episcopal, just to name a few, so the area is not set to just one denomination.

According to Shumate, many from this area have probably not seen the inside of the church.

Though Brady followed by saying that on the 100th year celebration, they actually invited the town and all the other churches to come and see St. Elizabeth’s.

“When we did that I said to them, ‘Isn’t it a great time in the world that we can communicate and see our similarities. We can see that we use the same gospels and stories,’” said Brady.

Though the population of the Catholic church is not as large as it was in the beginning, the current congregation makes sure that St. Elizabeth’s will not be going anywhere anytime soon because those who grow up in the church “plant their roots” in the area.

“I think we’re still probably one of the best flourishing churches in town because of that rootedness here,” Brady said. “It still has an impact on the community, and this is a place that will draw people here once they know it’s here.”

Those who do attend the church are very close to each other, and Shumate describes it as a family atmosphere.

“I think thats the only way you could put it,” he said. “We’re a family.”

Shumate also added, “We get a lot of support around here, and people here support the church really well.”

Brady added that he feels what has kept the church running for as long as it has is the fact that the church is “mature.”

“When I say that, I mean it that way and not that its old,” he said. “If anything needed to be done, I just needed to suggest it, and it would get taken care of because everyone in this parish takes care of it and does their part.”

Within the community of Pocahontas, St. Elizabeth’s feels like the entirety of the area. All get along well because they all understand each other regardless of denomination.

“There’s a recognition that we have to help each other to get through life,” said Brady. “This is the kind of place where people will help each other out and care about each other, and that matters a lot.”

The successful celebration had Brady reminiscing on his time here as he is now at a church in Richmond, but he said that St. Elizabeth’s will always be home for him.

Brady also talked fondly of the church and and he said that he would be returning to Pocahontas after he retires.

“I was pastor here, I left 16 years ago, but I served here for 20 years,” he said. “I was here for a good, long while, and I have my home here in Pocahontas. When I retire, this is where I’ll come.”

He also added, “I’ve known this church for 36 years, and it’s been a here a lot longer than that. It’s always been a pleasure to be here.”

Brady, Satmary and Shumate all said they were excited to get to see people returning for the celebration, and they are ready to see what the future will hold for St. Elizabeth’s.

— Contact Kassidy Brownout kbrown@bdtonline.com.