Rosary Cathedral

There are plenty more to be posted over the next few days.

Rosary Cathedral

Stay Tuned

I expect to have plenty of pictures from today's ordination, and not just of the ceremony. I've been looking over my pictures of the cathedral and noticing interesting details.

The Sacred Heart

Immaculate Conception
Rosary Cathedral
SS Peter and Paul

St. Mary, Defiance

St. Wendelin, Fostoria

Still haven't made up my mind about this dome.
The font's impressive, as are the pews. Wouldn't mind getting a closer look at those stations.

Photos by Sean Lyons, of Roamin' Catholics

Our Lady of Consolation

Sorry, Jeff, I had no up-close of the main one. I thought i did but i guess it didn't turn out so i got rid of it.

From St. Anne, Detroit to St. Ann, Fremont

An excerpt from Twentieth Century History of Sandusky County Ohio and Representative Citizens, by Basil Meek, Chicago: 1909.

“On a stormy day in March, 1823, an earnest priest came all the tortuous distance from Detroit, to say mass to a little gathering of faithful French Catholics, in their rude little log cabin in the frontier village of Lower Sandusky [Fremont]. … here really begins the history of the venerable St. Ann’s Church.”

Three brothers, Joseph, Anthony and Peter Momenay, as well as John B. Beaugrand, his wife and seven children, French Catholics, came to Fremont from Detroit. Beaugrand asked his former pastor, Rev. Gabriel Richard of St. Anne’s in Detroit, to pay a visit and bless his home. Fr. Richard said the first Mass in Fremont.

Fr. Gabriel Richard

“His stay was only for a few days during which he also visited the French families at La Prairie, eight miles from Lower Sandusky. After Father Richard’s departure no priest visited the village for some years, but between 1826 and 1831 Bishop Fenwick, on his way to Michigan, stopped over at Lower Sandusky two or three times and looked after the spiritual wants of his neglected little flock.”

Bach: Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her

Gregorian Chant Benedictinos

Immaculate Conception, Old South End

Polish Parishes

If you're interested in the local Polish parishes, there'll be a lecture on the subject, on Wednesday, May 28, at Ski's Restaurant, 5834 Monroe. Dinner's at 7, with the talk at 8. I hear the food's good, and since the speaker is Fr. Paul Kwiatkowski, who really should write a book of his reminiscences, you should be able to learn a lot.

Our Lady of Consolation (outside)

St. Wendelin, Fostoria

A statue of the parish's patron. HERE'S some information on the saint.
Photo by Sean Lyons, of Roamin' Catholics.

Janos, Cardinal Csernoch, Archbishop of Esztergom

Cardinal Csernoch, who as Primate of Hungary had crowned Bl.Karl of Austria as King of Hungary, was present at the laying of the cornerstone of Rosary Cathedral, in 1926.

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This is in front of Gesu School. Not sure if it was the base for a statue or a fountain, though I couldn't see any pipes. Does anyone know the story?

St. Wendelin, Fostoria

A statue of the Holy Family, on the grounds.
Photo by Sean Lyons, of Roamin' Catholics

Novena in Honor of the Sacred Heart

The annual novena at Visitation Monastery, is being held. There'll be a Mass each morning at 7 AM, and in the evening, the Guard of Honor, and Mass, beginning at 7:15 PM. The novena started on Thursday and will culminate with the evening Mass on Friday, May 30.

Corpus Christi

There will be a Corpus Christi procession from St. Adalbert's to St. Hedwigs', tomorrow. It will start with Mass, at St. Adalbert's, at 10:30 AM and end with benediction at St. Hedwig's.
Another procession will be from St. Thomas More University Parish to St. Aloysius, both in Bowling Green. This one will follow the 5 PM Mass at St. Thomas. There's more at their WEBSITE.
We need to see more of this sort of thing. By the way, the picture's in North Carolina. If anyone gets pictures tomorrow, we'd be happy to post them with credit.

St. Bernard, New Washington

Notice the hinges.
Then compare them to this one at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, in Downtown Toledo.

Our Lady of Consolation, Carey

Figures Don't Lie, But.....

There's a good article about certain innacuracies in interpreting the recent "US Religious Landscape Survey", at CNA.
I noticed, when it was released, that everyone with an axe to grind, especially in cyberspace, rushed to use the survey to prove their own particular versions of gloom and doom. Actually taking a close look at the survey, in context, presents a different story.
For example, Mark Gray, of CARA, points out that, while the Church lost more members than any denomination “it's also the biggest religion and when you translate the discussion in to proportions you can see the Catholic Church is doing quite well comparatively. It keeps more of its young faithful than any Protestant denomination.”
68% of those who are raised Catholic, stay Catholic. Compare that with the rates of 60% for Baptists, 59% for Lutherans, 47% for Methodists and Pentecostals, 45% for Episcopalians, and 40% for Presbyterians. Contrary to hype, there's no mass exodus from the Church.
Furthermore, there's been no sudden loss, but a steady rate over the years. 54% of those who have left the Church did so before 1988. That rather puts a crimp in the blame game.
The simple truth is that the Church is steadily growing.

Fr. Joseph Bihn

Fr. Joseph Bihn was the founder, along with Elizabeth Schaefer, of the Sisters of St. Francis and their orphanage in Tiffin. He also served as pastor of St. Joseph’s in Tiffin.

Bihn had immigrated to America from Bavaria with his mother and several brothers and sisters in 1845. A few years later he worked as a clerk at Alcott, Horton & Co., a dry-goods store in Cleveland. While working, he met Bishop Amadeus Rappe and told him that he wished to be a priest. Bishop Rappe encouraged him, and after several years Bihn had saved enough money to enter the seminary.

Bihn's grave at St. Francis in Tiffin

Rev. Seraphin Bauer, a classmate of Fr. Bihn, eulogized him as follows:
“When Joseph Louis Bihn, at the impulse of the Holy Spirit, bade farewell to the counter in the dry-goods store at Cleveland, he was scarcely able to read and write English though already 30 years of age. Despite this fact, he began his studies A.D. 1852 with truly apostolic courage…
His task resembled that of the decrepit old man we read of who had to clear a large tract of woods, yet he shunned not the burden but on the contrary, like St. Ignatius Loyola he attended school at a similar age, for the purpose of mastering a difficult foreign language and the science of sciences – theology.
Many a time I admired his courage, his close application, and his iron-clad endurance and perseverance, and now that I see his life’s work before me I am still more astounded …”

St. Bernard, New Washington

A general view of the complex, with the church and school to the left and the convent to the right. The rectory's on the other side of the church, but I understand it's not much to look at.
The entrance to the convent, dated 1917. The inscription says "l'abri des soeurs", which translates to something like "sisters' home." I rather like the sound of that.

St. Bernard, New Washington

If you want to put an addition in front of a church of this sort, this is the right way to go about it. They added to both sides of the tower, instead of projecting out in front of it.

St. Bernard School, New Washington

I love that cupola.
A later addition, tucked in the back where no one has to look at it. That's as it should be.

St. Bernard, New Washington

I overlooked this one when I posted pictures of the altar, the other day.

I took this in Carey. One of my most favorite pictures.

Our Lady of Consolation, Carey Ohio (Upper Basilica)

St. Bernard, New Washington

Notice the vine and wheat patterns on the base. The relief on the tabernacle is impressive.
There's plenty to be posted tomorrow, from several sources, but I just haven't felt up to it today.