USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Catholicity in northern Ohio and in the diocese of Cleveland from 1749 to December 31, 1900, Volume I, pt1 > Part 29
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Following is a list of the priests who filled the position of
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curate at St. Stephen's: The Revs. F. J. Ludwig, from January to July, 1883; Jacob Christophory, August to December, 1892; John R. Forrer, January, 1894, to June, 1898; Albert J. Aust, November, 1899, to September, 1900. The Rev. A. M. Seeholzer and John Harks are the present curates, the former having served as such since June, 1898, and the latter, since September, 1900.
In January, 1889, Bishop Gilmour made St. Stephen's parish a rectorate, and appointed the Rev. Casimir Reichlin its first irre- movable rector, an honor well deserved by both. St. Stephen's is the largest German speaking parish in Cleveland. It is well provided with societies and confraternities, each having a large membership, and all in a flourishing condition.
During the existence of St. Stephen's as a parish there was never a discordant note or lack of harmony. Peace and union at all times reigned therein. The people always responded generously to every call, and the result is that St. Stephen's parish, in spirituals and temporals, ranks with the most prosperous and best regulated parishes in the Diocese of Cleveland.
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS' CHURCH, CLEVELAND.
The facilities for rapid transit, afforded by electric street cars, induced many families to leave the densely crowded and smoky down-town district for the pure atmosphere of the East End. Amongst this large number of home-seekers in the farm lands of a few years ago, east of Madison avenue, was a fai proportion of Catholics. The founding of St. Agnes' Church, on Euclid avenue, near East Madison, provided for the parochial wants of the Catholics in that section of the city, whilst those living in the northeastern portion continued to attend the Immaculate Concep- tion Church, even though in many instances at great incon- venience, especially to the children, owing to distance. To meet this difficulty, and to provide more convenient church and school facilities, Bishop Horstmann authorized Mgr. Thorpe, pastor of the Immaculate Conception Church, to select what he considered a suitable site for a proposed new church. In August, 1895, he accordingly purchased eight lots, four of which fronted on
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Wheelock street, near the Boulevard. The purchase price was $6,400. The two years of financial depression which followed rendered it unadvisable, however, to take any further steps towards organizing the intended parish. Bishop Horstmann realized the growing necessity of properly providing for the spiritual wants of the people in this section of the city. Hence he felt it his duty, in spite of the continued hard times, to appoint a pastor to this new field of labor. He selected Rev. Thomas F. Mahon, who received his appointment on June 26, 1898.
Father Mahon soon found that conditions had considerably changed on and near Wheelock street. The section of his parish towards Superior street, on both sides of the Boulevard, had grown largely in population; and the people of Glenville insisted that their village, growing still further eastward, would eventually need a church further east than Wheelock street. This and other more weighty reasons induced Father Mahon to ask permission to locate the church site on or near Superior street, thus allowing ample territory for a future parish in Glenville, whenever condi- tions there might warrant it. This plan was suggested to the Catholics of both sections and met with their unanimous approval. Meanwhile, for about three months, services were held in the lower story of St. Casimir's Church, until the proposed temporary church was ready for use.
September 2, 1898, eight lots were bought for $9,000, at the corner of Superior and Nanson streets, overlooking the Boulevard, and on Sunday, October 24, of the same year, the cornerstone of the present handsome combination church and school was blessed by Bishop Horstmann. The building cost nearly $20,000, and is one of the most compact and substantial structures in the city. It is built of impervious cream-colored pressed brick. The floors of each story are supported by massive steel girders. The basement is thirteen feet high, and will in a short time be divided into society rooms. The first floor, which will eventually be converted into class rooms, is sixty feet by ninety feet, with an extension for the altar, making a splendid auditorium, capable of seating about S00 people. The second floor is of the same dimensions, divided into four school roonis, each with spacious cloak rooms. The third floor is also 60 x 90 feet and 18 feet high, with a large and well
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equipped stage. The entire building is plastered with adamantine plaster. It is heated by steam, and is furnished with a perfect plumbing system. Mass was said for the first time in the new building on Sunday, October 19, 1898, and services have since been held therein regularly. The building was dedicated to St. Thomas Aquinas, by Bishop Horstmann, on Sunday, November 15, 1898.
This is a new departure in the organization of city parishes, and from present indications will prove a thorough success. The suggestion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop and the ambition of the pastor, in following this new method, seem to have appealed to the better judgment of all classes. The additional interest on this larger investment is well repaid by the advantages of this handsome structure for the congregation as a place of temporary worship and as a permanent school building for the children of the parish for all time.
The congregation of less than one hundred and fifty families began to meet the large responsibility of this undertaking without a dollar of outside assistance, and every individual within the confines of the new parish feels that, with God's help, this experi- ment in the line of parish work will meet the highest expectations of all.
In August, 1900, at a cost of $11,600, six additional lots were bought, thus extending the church property to the corner of Ansel avenue, and giving a frontage of more than 500 feet on Superior street.
In the fall of 1900 a temporary pastoral residence was erected at a cost of about $3,000. Later this will be converted into a home for the Sisters in charge of the parish school, and a per- manent pastoral residence facing the Boulevard will be erected.
In September, 1899, the parochial school was opened and placed in charge of five Sisters of St. Joseph. About 250 pupils now attend. In the same month and year a house was bought on Nanson street, as a temporary residence for the Sisters.
ST. VITUS' CHURCH AND SCHOOL, CLEVELAND.
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ST. VITUS' (KRAINER) CHURCH, CLEVELAND.
The first Krainer congregation in Ohio was organized at Cleveland in August, 1893, with the Rev. Vitus Hribar as its first and present. pastor. Services were held in the chapel of St. Peter's Church until November, 1894. Previous to this time the Catholic Krainers residing in Cleveland had occasional services from the Rev. F. X. Bajec, who came all the way from Minnesota to give spiritual comfort to his countrymen. He held a week's mission for their benefit, for the first time in July, 1891, in St. Columbkille's Church, kindly opened to them by Mgr. Thorpe, then pastor of the Cathedral. Whilst Father Hribar was still a student at the seminary he looked after the temporal interests of the Krainers, and collected funds for the parish he was to organize after his ordination, which took place July 27, 1893. Four lots were pur- chased with a frontage on Glass avenue of 230 feet and 165 feet deep along Norwood avenue. This excellent site was to serve for church, school and pastoral residence. The lots cost $6,000, and were purchased June 29, 1894. The foundation of the new church, a frame structure, was begun almost immediately after the pur- chase of said lots. Bishop Horstmann blessed the cornerstone on October 19, 1894, and the church was dedicated on Sunday, November 4, of same year to St. Vitus by Mgr. Boff, V. G., whom the Bishop delegated for that purpose. The church is a neat edifice, 36 x 60 feet. Shortly after this Father Hribar built also a commodious pastoral residence near the church.
Thus far, owing to lack of means, the parish has been without a school, but it is hoped to realize in the near future the ardent wish of pastor and people in this regard. The parish numbers at present about two hundred families. The church property, as it now stands, cost about $12.000, with a debt of only $2,200. This speaks well for the generosity of the people of the parish, who belong exclusively to the laboring class.
The native home of the Krainers is in the province of Krain (or Carniola), in the southern part of the Empire of Austria. They are a sturdy people, full of faith and very generous towards the Church. They are a very desirable foreign element, and have
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settled in great numbers in the northwest, especially in Minnesota. The largest number of the Krainers in Ohio is to be found in Cleveland.
ST. WENCESLAS' (BOHEMIAN) CHURCH, CLEVELAND.
St. Wenceslas is the oldest of the Bohemian parishes in Cleve- land. It was organized in 1867. Prior to that time the Catholic Bohemians had separate services in St. Peter's, St. Joseph's, and lastly in St. Mary's on the Flats. The Rev. Anthony T. Martin, who was fairly conversant with their language, attended to their spiritual wants till the appointment, in October, 1867, of the Rev. Anthony Krasney, a Bohemian, as their pastor. In February of the same year several lots were purchased on Arch street, near Woodland avenue, for a church site. On Sunday, October 20, 1867, Bishop Rappe laid the cornerstone for a brick church (50 x 90 feet), which was ready for use a few months later. Father Krasney's health failing, and weary of opposition from some of his people, he resigned his pastorate in October, 1869. The Rev. George A. Beranek was then appointed temporary pastor. His successor was the Rev. Wenceslas Revis, who was given charge of the parish in January, 1870. He met the same opposition as did Father Krasney during his pastorate, but until 1873 he held out against his opponents, many of whom were of the Bohemian infidels, most bitter enemies of the Church, supported by vile Bohemian papers published in Cleveland, as also by Bohemian secret societies. In April, 1873, the Rev. Anthony Hynek, at the time, and until February, 1875, pastor of St. Procop's Church, the second Bohemian parish in Cleveland, was also given pastoral charge of St. Wenceslas' congregation, and has held it ever since. During his long incumbancy the parish was twice dismembered, viz., in 1881, by the formation of Our Lady of Lourdes' congrega- tion, and in 1886, by the formation of St. Adalbert's. Yet, notwith- standing this dismemberment, St. Wenceslas' is still a large parish. Under Father Hynek's direction many substantial improvements were made, property purchased and buildings erected. The first in order of time was the erection of the parish school building on
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Burwell street. Its cost was about $4,000. In 1883 the old and small pastoral residence, erected during the pastorate of Father Revis, gave way to a comfortable and roomy house, with the old as an annex. At an expense of over $3,000 the church, as also the property surrounding it, received a needed tidying up. The former was frescoed. Stained glass windows replaced the plain windows, and the exterior of the building was painted. In 1886 lots were purchased at the corner of Broadway and Forest streets, and shortly after two lots and a house, on Forest and Svoboda streets, all to be used eventually as a church and school site, the present location being found too far away from the centre of the parish. The lots cost $15,700.
In August, 1891, the foundation for the new church, a stone edifice of Gothic architecture, was begun and the cornerstone laid by Bishop Horstmann on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 1892. Fol- lowing are the dimensions of the church: Length, 175 feet ; width of transept, 91 feet ; width of nave, 71 feet ; height of nave, 50 feet ; height of the two spires, 227 feet and 180 feet, respectively. The estimated cost of the church, exclusive of furnishings, and a chime of six bells, is $40,000. The splendid building was enclosed in the following year, and in its unfinished condition as to its interior it was used for over six years, because the old church was much too small to accommodate all the members of the parish.
The church is now finished, frescoed, and furnished with fine windows, at an additional cost of $20,000. The imposing edifice, as yet not dedicated, is a credit both to pastor and people. Although the debt is considerable, it will be liquidated in a few years, if the past record of the parish as to generosity is a criterion for the future.
The school is an integral part of the parish. It is in charge of four Sisters of St. Joseph and a lay teacher. One section of the school is taught in the building mentioned in another part of this sketch, and the other in a frame building located next to the new church. About 300 pupils are enrolled.
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ABBEYVILLE, MEDINA COUNTY,
ST. MARY'S MISSION CHURCH.
One of the very few missions that have passed out of existence in the diocese is that of Abbeyville, a village in Medina county. Near this place a few Catholic Germans had settled on farms as early as 1840. For several years they received occasional visits from the Revs. Peter Mclaughlin and Maurice Howard, who said Mass and administered the sacraments to them in private houses. Bishop Purcell also visited them for the first time in June, 1840, on his tour through Northern Ohio. In 1842 there were about twenty Catholic families in that section. They built a small brick church, 24 x 40 feet, on a plat of land donated by Louis Rolling. Shortly after, most of the families became affiliated with another mission church, located near Liverpool Centre, two miles distant, because services were held there more frequently, owing to the larger number of attendants. The church at this mission was a log building and. like that at Abbeyville, was dedicated to St. Mary. In the meantime however the use of the church at Abbeyville, and of the cemetery attached, was retained by the original settlers, who had divine service at irregular intervals. The log church at Liverpool, having become too small, it was resolved in 1849 to build a larger church. The members of the mission failed however to agree as to its site and hence the Abbeyville members returned to their own church, while the remainder built the desired church-again under the title of St. Mary's-on the present site of St. Martin's Church, Liverpool. In 1859 the two missions were united into one congregation, and two years later built the present St. Martin's Church. Although the mission of Abbeyville ceased to exist as such in 1859, services were held there semi-monthly by the various pastors in charge of St. Martin's until 1874. In that year the church was razed and the property sold. Only the small cemetery was retained, the use of which was granted by Bishop Gilmour to the mission of Medina until 1898, when it became the exclusive property of St. Martin's parish, Liverpool.
ST. BERNARD'S CHURCH (1902), AKRON.
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AKRON, SUMMIT COUNTY.
ST. BERNARD'S CHURCH.
Until 1861' the English and German speaking Catholics formed one parish in Akron-St. Vincent de Paul's. In that year Bishop Rappe allowed the Germans to form into a separate con- gregation, in compliance with their own wishes. He appointed as their pastor the Rev. Henry L. Thiele, who held services for his people in a public hall for over a year. Meanwhile he took effective measures for building a brick church, which cost about $5,000. It forms the west end of the present edifice. Its corner-stone was laid by Vicar General Luhr, in July, 1862. The new and unpretentious church was ready for use in January, 1863. Father Thiele remained in charge until May, 1863. Two months later his suc- cessor was appointed-the Rev. Peter Danenhoffer, who opened a parochial school in September of the same year. He in turn was succeeded, in July, 1866, by the present pastor, the Rev. John B. Broun. At that time St. Bernard's numbered about 120 families. In a short time Father Broun paid off the parish debt, of $2,200, and in the autumn of the same year he also bought the present cemetery at a cost of $2,500. The rapid growth of the congrega- tion forced the enlargement of the church in 1SS0. The addition, now the main part of the edifice, cost $11,500. In the meantime many improvements had been made in and about the church property. / These included a school house, spire, three bells, pipe organ, etc., all at an outlay of nearly $7,000. The church is 140 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 60 feet at the transept. It is tastily frescoed and adorned with mural paintings. It has also fine stained glass windows, and many beautiful pieces of statuary. The church is now much too small, but Father Broun has been making preparations for some years past for the erection of a large and beautiful church. For this purpose he secured an elegant site, with a frontage of 193 feet on State street, in December, 1895, at a cost of $3,000, and each year he has put aside from the parish income a generous sum for the building fund. The new stone church will be commenced in 1901, and is to cost at least $100,000.
In 1887 two large lots located on Broadway, one of the prin- cipal streets of the city, were bought for $9,000, to serve as the site
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for a much needed school. Bishop Gilmour laid the corner-stone on August 7, 1887. The splendid building, an ornament to Akron, . was ready for occupancy in the spring of 1889, thus gladdening the hearts of 400 children and their teachers. At present seven Dominican Sisters, of Jersey City, N. J., have charge of the school. The Sisters of Notre Dame had been in charge from 1886 to 1893.
St. Bernard's is one of the prominent German parishes of the diocese, has excellent property, and for years past has been with- out debt-due to the energy of its pastor and the unvarying generosity of its people.
AKRON, SUMMIT COUNTY. ST. MARY'S CHURCH.
St. Mary's Church was established as a mission in November, 1887, and as such was attended from St. Vincent's-its parent church, until 1896. The combination church and school, a brick structure, 40 x 62 feet, was built under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Mahar, in 1887. The upper story served as a temporary church, and the lower story was divided into three school rooms. Mass was said in it for the first time on November 27, 1887, but the building was not dedicated until October 28, 1888, when Mgr. Boff, V. G., performed the ceremony. The building cost $5,000, and the lots (168 x 182 feet) cost $5,100. They were bought in April, 1887.
The congregation rapidly increased in numbers and soon the temporary church accommodations provided in the above men- tioned building proved inadequate. Additional room was also needed for the school. To supply these wants the present frame church was erected during the summer of 1895. It will serve its purpose admirably until the people's means will allow them to erect an edifice in keeping with its sacred purposes, and in accord with their own desires. The edifice was dedicated on October 13, 1895.
During the interval between November, 1887, and December, 1896, Franciscan and Jesuit Fathers from Cleveland, and for a few months also the Rev. J. E. Mahar, from the diocese of Grand Rapids, Mich., assisted the pastor of St. Vincent's on Sundays, to enable him to attend St. Mary's.
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ST. VINCENT'S CHURCH, AKRON.
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On December 12, 1896, the Rev. Francis T. Moran took charge of St. Mary's as its first resident pastor. At that time the parish numbered about 200 families. In the following spring he had a hall built for the use of the Young Men's Union of the parish.
When Father Moran took charge of the parish he was obliged to rent a house. During 1898 a very neat and commodious pastoral residence was built of brick, at a cost of $5,000.
The parish school dates from the organization of St. Mary's, and has at all times received the earnest care of devoted teachers, under the direction of the respective pastors. It was opened in October, 1887, with an attendance of seventy-five pupils. The Sisters of Notre Dame, from Cleveland, had charge of the school until June, 1895. They were succeeded the following September by the Sisters of St. Joseph, from Ebensburg, Pa., who have since then conducted the school with most gratifying success. During the year 1900 a sixth room was opened to provide for the steadily increasing attendance, of now over three hundred pupils.
AKRON, SUMMIT COUNTY. ST. VINCENT'S CHURCH.
The Rev. John Martin Henni was the first priest to visit the Catholics of Akron (about 1833), then very few in number. He said Mass in the log cabin of James McAllister. Private houses or rented halls had to serve as temporary places of worship until 1845. There is no record of any priest again visiting Akron until 1837, when the Rev. Basil Schorb attended it as a station from Doyles- town, where he was resident pastor from 1837 till the summer of 1842. During the latter part of the same year the Rev. Peter Mclaughlin, pastor of St. Mary's Church on the Flats, Cleveland, visited Akron a few times to administer the sacraments. The Rev. Maurice Howard succeeded Father Schorb at Doylestown and Akron in December, 1842. Under his direction the first church of St. Vincent's parish was commenced in 1844. It was a small frame structure, located on Green street. In February, 1845, the Rev. Cornelius Daly was appointed the first resident pastor of Akron. He finished the church commenced by Father Howard, and remained in charge of St. Vincent's until October, 1847. On
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September 5 of that year Bishop Purcell ordained to the priest- hood the Rev. James Vincent Conlan, in the above mentioned church. Akron was again attended from Doylestown, from the time of Father Daly's departure until the appointment of the Rev. Casimir Mouret, who remained until June, 1850. Following is a list of the priests who had pastoral charge of St. Vincent's until the appointment of the present pastor, the Rev. Thomas F. Mahar, D. D .: The Revs. Jacob Goodwin, a few months in 1850; Francis McGann, September, 1850, to August, 1855; Louis Molon, January-October, 1856; Thomas J. Walsh, October, 1856, until 1858; William O'Connor, a few months in 1858; Matthew A. Scanlon, July, 1859, to November, 1873; Timothy M. Mahony, November, 1873, to August, 1880. During the period when St. Vincent's had no resident pastor, as above seen, the parish was attended as a mission, either from Doylestown or Canton. During the pastorate of Father McGann the present church site and the old part of the cemetery were secured.
The present church was built during the pastorate of Father Scanlon; it was commenced in the early spring of 1864-a massive stone structure, 50 x 100 feet, and of Roman style of architecture. The interior was quite attractive, especially the ceiling, which was very beautifully stuccoed. There are no pillars, and hence an unobstructed view is had of the whole interior. The cost of the church, exclusive of furnishing, is estimated at $50,000, of which sum a large part was due at the time of Father Scanlon's removal from Akron. His successor, Father Mahony, made every effort to reduce the debt and succeeded in so doing. In the summer of 1879 he purchased a six acre tract of land as an addition to the cemetery, and in the early part of the following year had a new floor and new pews put in the church. These were the only improvements of note made during his pastorate, the burden of the debt necessitating a rigid economy and the postponement of every additional burden.
Father Mahony was succeeded, August 1, 1880, by the present incumbent, the Rev. Thomas F. Mahar, D. D. The school build- ing was in urgent need of improvement. Hence in 1881 the old church on Green street, which, with little change, had served as a school for many years, was remodeled and an addition, 56 x 32
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feet, made to it, so as to provide in all four large and convenient rooms. This was done at an expense of about $2,000. The Sisters of the Holy Cross, from Notre Dame, Indiana, were engaged at the same time to teach, and continued in charge for about four years, when they were withdrawn by their superior, who did not think it advisable to continue so small a mission at so great a distance from the Motherhouse. They were replaced by the Sisters of Notre Dame, from Cleveland, who taught the schools for nine years. In 1894 the Sisters of St. Joseph, from Ebensburg, Pa., were engaged and are teaching at the present time.
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