spread and gutted the convent school. Construction commenced on a new school and detached convent. In the interim, classes were once again held in the former 1868 large stone school and other locations. The new school and convent were completed in 1927. In 1966, a larger central school replacing a number of rural schools was planned. It was built directly behind the site of the 1926 school, and completed in 1968. It is called Immaculate Conception, part of the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board. It is a large modern school, in close proximity to the nearby convent. Currently, the school has a French Immersion program in addition to its regular program. The School Sisters of Notre Dame provided teachers for the Formosa schools nearly continuously from 1872 to 1976, working in concert with lay educators to provide a Catholic-based education. After 1976, a few stayed on volunteering at the school into the early 1990s. In 1996, the remaining sisters moved to a private residence in Walkerton and the convent was sold for private residential use. Formosa Church The Formosa church, situated at the top of the hill at the north end of the hamlet, was envisioned as a large permanent church for the new and growing Roman Catholic parish. At the time, a wooden church that had been completed in 1857 had required two expansions to handle the increasing number of German immigrants flowing into the area. The architect was charged with designing a stone church capable of seating 1200 to 1500 people. Rev. Archangelus Gstir arrived to lead the Formosa parish in 1861. Soon afterwards, he oversaw the expansion of the original 1857 wooden church, appealing on behalf of the parishioners to Ludwig I of Bavaria via the Ludwig Missions-Verin in Munich. He received 2000 Thalers from the King for this initial appeal. In April 1864, Father Gstir again wrote to Ludwig for funds to build a larger stone church, and subsequently received an additional 1000 Thalers. Father Gstir returned to his native Tyrol in 1865, and died in 1870. After the foundation of the new stone church was laid in 1875, work proceeded at an uneven pace. The new pastor of the day (Father Louis Elena) and the parishioners did not want to go into debt, so work progressed as fast as contributions allowed. Much of the materials (limestone hand-cut from local rock, and timber) were obtained locally