St. Rose, Perrysburg

Photos by Allan Dieball.

St. Michael, Findlay - Downtown

A shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe located outside the rear of the church.

Sofus L. Mortensen

While the statue of Our Lady of Consolation brings many people to the shrine in Carey, Ohio, the basilica’s mural of Christ in Glory is equally memorable. The work is credited to Sofus Mortensen, a muralist and decorator from Boston.

(Advertisement from the Boston Architectural Club, 1915.)

The Boston Public Library shared some information: Mortensen was a native of Denmark, immigrating in 1880. He is listed as a member of the Boston Arts and Crafts Society in 1901-02, and exhibited works in 1907. One source says he studied at the Royal Academy at Copenhagen and the Imperial School of Design in Vienna. Mortensen also did work for commercial enterprises, such as theaters, banks, hotels and restaurants.

St. Rose, Perrysburg

Photos by Allan Dieball. More tomorrow.

Sts. Peter and Paul, Attica

The previous church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Attica (uncertain of date); parish is now part of Our Lady of Hope.

St. Michael, Gibsonburg

St. Michael, Gibsonburg

St. Aloysius, Bowling Green

St. Peter, Mansfield

An interior view of the church from 1946.

"Vianney"

The play "Vianney" will be presented by St. Luke Productions in several local parishes (Perrysburg, Fostoria and Norwalk) from March 24 - 27. Full details are HERE.

Above, portrait of St. John Vianney at St. Joseph Church, Tiffin.

Our Lady of Consolation, Carey

St. Peter, Mansfield: 100 Years

St. Peter's parish in Mansfield will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of their church building this May. There's a good article about its history in the current issue of "Heart of Ohio" magazine. You can look at the article at the website HERE. (Go to the "download" tab.)

Above, a photo of artist John Bernat from the Jan. 27, 1962 Mansfield News Journal. Bernat painted the extensive murals in St. Peter's; his wife Martha created the Stations of the Cross.

A Quick Dip in Lake Erie, 1845

Pioneer priest Fr. Joseph Machebeuf takes the shortcut from Sandusky to Toledo:

I had the pleasure of seeing the Rev. Mr. De Goesbriand on his way to Toledo, and as the ice was good on the bay and along the lake shore, we went to "give church" at the Canadian settlement on the Toussaint river, and then proceeded to Toledo, all the way on the ice. But I must say in passing that we enjoyed somewhat of the comfort our friends, the Baptists, must feel when, in the heart of winter, they are "dipped," for owing to a little forgetfulness of the track by our guide, we broke in, about fifteen miles from Toledo. Fortunately, the water at that spot was not more than five feet deep, and had it not been that the vestments and books of my reverend friend were injured by the water, everything would have turned out in fun. We made land as soon as we could, and having built a fire on the edge of the lake we dried our clothes and continued our route to Toledo. Upon arriving there our mutual and good friend, Father Rappe, made us forget our little mishap with warm refreshments before a warm fire.

From "The Life of the Right Reverend Joseph P. Machebeuf, D.D.: pioneer priest of Ohio, pioneer priest of New Mexico, pioneer priest of Colorado, vicar apostolic of Colorado and Utah, and first bishop of Denver," by William J. Howlett, 1908. Full text available at Google Books HERE.

Tours of St. Rose, Perrysburg

In celebration of its 150th anniversary in 2011, St. Rose parish in Perrysburg is hosting tours of the church. According to the bulletin, the dates/times are:

Sat. March 5th 9:00 am
Sat. April 2nd 9:00 am
Sun. April 3rd 1:00 pm
Sat. May 7th 9:00 am
Sun. May 8th 1:00 pm
Fri. June 3rd TBD

St. Wendelin, Fostoria

Icon of Mary and Jesus.

12th Station of the Cross -- note detail in the background: eclipse of the sun, and from Matthew's Gospel, "graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose . . . "

14th Station -- Jesus is laid in the tomb. Myhrr in the foreground.

200th Birthday of St. John Neumann

St. John Neumann Prayer Center in Peru.

2011 marks the 200th birthday of St. John Neumann, born March 28, 1811 in Bohemia. Neumann served in the Diocese of Toledo for several months in 1841, at St. Alphonsus parish in Peru.

For details of his local history, click HERE.

St. John Neumann's shrine is in Philadelphia; you can visit their website HERE.

St. Mary, Tiffin

Architect was W. R. Dowling of Toledo; the church was completed in 1906.

St. Joseph, Fremont