Pipes, Pedals and Pizza at St Aloysius, Bowling Green

 St. Aloysius was hosting an event all about their organ and I had to go. Here are some images

Normally the balcony is locked, meaning you can't get this close to the organ.

The organ was built in the late 1800s, but had some sort of major restoration in 1998. Unlike most organs, everything is operated by wood levers, not electronically.

This must be a new statue.

A Scrapbook of Materials Pertaining to Toledo's Catholic Deaf Community, 1916-1955

A fascinating item available at Internet Archive: A scrapbook compiled by a member of Ephpheta, the sodality of deaf Catholics in the Toledo area. There are many clippings showing the installation of several Toledo bishops and details of missions held for deaf Catholics. 

Click HERE to see it.

St. Michael, North Toledo

 I have recently received the news that St. Michael the Archangel in North Toledo will be closing on January 4 2026. I will attend the mass and get some final photos before its closure.

The parish will merge with St. John the Baptist in Point Place. 

News article from WTOL11 can be found Here

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

 Today marks 10 years that Good Shepherd has closed. I got some photos to see what has happened since then.

I can say that not much has changed (Besides the school).

The sacristy roof in the bottom left corner of the image is starting to collapse. Somehow that seems to be the only damage to the church.

Lourdes Grottoes and others

A recent article in ArtNet examines the tradition of grottoes in the Midwest, highlighting an exhibition at Wisconsin's John Michael Kohler Arts Center, "A Beautiful Experience: The Midwest Grotto Tradition."

The article notes that grottoes are often constructed from materials found locally, and that is certainly the case in Northwest Ohio, where there are several replicas of France's Lourdes Grotto made from tufa rock, related to the limestone formations found around the Great Lakes.

A 2020 Ohio Magazine article tells how Toledo Bishop Karl Alter was inspired to build a Lourdes Grotto in Genoa after his visit to France in 1932. (St. Bernadette Soubirous, seer of Lourdes, was beatified in 1925 and made a saint in 1933.)

Other grottos in the area can be seen at Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue, Tiffin Franciscans grounds, Sylvania Franciscans grounds, Grand Rapids' Nazareth Hall (no longer church-related), St. John the Baptist in Glandorf, Holy Rosary in East Toledo (now closed), and a small indoor grotto at St. Mary's in Sandusky.

If you know of others in the area, please add them in the comments.

For Sale: Toledo's former St. Hedwig church and rectory

 A segment on WTOL Channel 11:

https://www.wtol.com/article/news/local/local-ministry-church-for-sale-historic-polish-neighborhood-toledo-ohio/512-5fe7ac34-1844-49f1-a630-e8d224d64ec2

The stained glass windows from the church were repurposed for the chapel at Sandusky Central Catholic High School.

St. Louis, Custar

 I was just driving by and decided to try the doors. They were open this time and I couldn't help but take a ton of photos.

It was a rainy day, but during a break the sun was shining right on the church.

I've noticed that some churches that had a crazy color have now repainted to a more modern white color. The same can be said here. Another church that has gone through this repaint is St. Bernard in New Washington.

Still have a remnant from the 1970s. I hope they replace that resurrection statue with a crucifix. 

Here is the interior of the new narthex, the wrong way to build one. It completely blocks the front facade of the church.

Churches Around Toledo

 Here are various church photos taken from the Ohio Building downtown. I got access thanks to my Dad.

Mary Manse College, Old West End

I attended the Old West End festival and one of the houses I toured was the Gerber home. It was part of the Mary Manse College at one point and the 3 windows on the bottom right used to be a kindergarten room.

 

St. John, Defiance

A postcard of St. John in Defiance.

 

Patrick Keely Video

The Tablet (Diocese of Brooklyn) recently featured an article and video about 19th century architect Patrick Keely.  He is credited with the design of Toledo's St. Francis de Sales and Sandusky's Ss. Peter & Paul.  Click HERE.

St. Alphonsus, Deerfield

 Just a couple miles west of of route 23 in Michigan is the small town of Deerfield. They don't have much except for an amazing looking church named St. Alphonsus. 

Simply amazing.

The doors were unlocked, but I didn't go inside because there was a wedding practice taking place and because this church was unfortunately hit pretty hard during the "simplicity" phase of churches. All they have now is the tabernacle and a crucifix.

Pope Leo XIV

 After two days of voting, the cardinals elected Robert Francis Prevost from Chicago, IL to be the new Pope at 12:07 EST. This marks the first Pope from the United States to serve.

Vintage Photos of Rosary Cathedral

Through the Toledo-Lucas County Library, a collection of photos from the 1940s of Rosary Cathedral in Toledo:  click HERE.

Thanks to Max Schroeder for the link!

St. Bernard, New Washington

 

There are already photos of this interior, but they went through a repaint after they were taken. Unfortunately these were taken during Lent meaning that every Statue HAS to be covered? The crucifix makes sense, but every statue?

A new coat of blue was added to the apse ceiling and the church looks more brighter with the new paint. A new Marble floor replaced the carpet around the altar as well.

St. Mary, Norwalk

 I made a trip to Norwalk and St. Mary happened to be open.

I also climbed the bell tower. I'm pretty sure the last person up there was Alex Fries.

This room was a large storage area. In this room is what I would assume is a crucifix that was in the sanctuary.

Why store it here and not put it in the sanctuary, I don't know.

Along with the crucifix, there were organ pipes stored in this room. Why not put these things to good use?

The final door was difficult to open, how did Alex get past the door.

Personally, I don't like the new steeple. Its too short.

St. Michael Statue at St. Joseph, Maumee

 Another Statue from Good Shepherd has been restored and is now on display at St. Joseph, Maumee.

Its nice to see that they changed the paint colors. The last colors were gold, white and pink.