Luxembourg had always been a Roman-Catholic country, it was not touched by the religious turmoil of the Reformation in the 16th century. The many emigrants who left their country for the United States had a simple but solid and authentic faith. Confronted to the hardships of a new existence, it was in their faith where they found force and hope.
Catholic faith was, apart from the language, an aspect of national identity in their communities, a vector of unification in a vast land with such a multitude of ethnic groups and denominations.
At first pastoral care was administered only sporadically by missionaries visiting the pionneer settlements, like in Seneca Co, Ohio: « Off and on, they received a visit from a priest, usually Father Tschenhens of Peru, Ohio. Mass was said in a log cabin and confessions were heard in the loft ». But as soon as the the first necessities of settling had been taken care of, the Luxembourg communities started with the construction of a church. A building, which at first was just a frame church, but which was soon replaced by a brick or stone building. Nicholas GONNER in 1889 (Die Luxemburger in der Neuen Welt, published in Dubuque, IA) stresses the contributions for school and church building in Luxembourg settlements and points out that the equipment and interior furniture, even in rural areas, is of excellent quality. He specifically mentions the churches in Luxembourg, Dubuque, Co, IA, St. Peter, Alvada, Seneca Co, OH, Port Washington, Holy Cross both in Ozaukee Co and Luxembourg, Kewaunee Co, WI.
Even today, when Luxembourg rural communities are no longer such closely-knit and isolated entities, many activities of social life are linked with church activities or tend to gravitate around. For instance, in Belgium, WI, at the yearly Luxembourg Fest in August, the mass celebrated in the City park is a highlight of the festivities, with lectures and songs part in English part in Luxembourgish. The mass, which attracts an assistance by far larger that the community itself, sees the active participation of representatives of the first pioneer families.