150TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR DIOCESE - Historical Facts: St. Michael’s Church opens in 1860. Fr. Michael Gallagher purchases a lot on the grounds of the Springfield Armory for $7,250 to construct St. Michael’s Church which he names after himself. Built at a cost of $75,000, it opens on Christmas Day 1861, amid the darkest days of the Civil War in the presence of the largest congregation of Catholics ever assembled in Springfield.