Palm Sunday

Courtesy of St. Mary parish in Appleton, Wisconsin, many instructions for braiding palms, a custom of many ethnic groups. Click HERE.

Another custom . . . burning a piece of dried palm during storms for protection.

For many in the Toledo area, Palm Sunday calls to mind the Palm Sunday tornadoes of 1965. You can see a 1965 WTOL documentary on the tornadoes HERE.

O Sacred Head Now Wounded

A song for Holy Week, with views of Rosary Cathedral.

Stations of the Cross, St. Wendelin

These large paintings of the Stations of the Cross date from the early 1900s, from the previous St. Wendelin church in Fostoria.

Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. Mary is in the upper right background.

Jesus Falls the Third Time. Note the two prisoners in the background; I'm assuming they are the two thieves.

St. Joseph, Fremont

An interesting look at the renovation and restoration of Fremont St. Joseph church, at the Conrad Schmitt Studios website: Click HERE.

Mary Manse College, Toledo

The auditorium, from a 1944 post card.

The college is now the Collingwood Arts Center.

St. Mary, Millersville

Above, "Jesus is Stripped of His Garments." The Stations of the Cross at Millersville are paintings from Cologne, Germany, according to the parish history.

The church was dedicated in 1921.

The architectural style is Flemish-Gothic.

Nativity window above the main altar. The parish was first called "the Nativity church of Greensburg" in 1859. (A road nearby is Greensburg Pike.)

Many of the pews are from the previous church building.

Just north of the church is a new winery, Chateau Tebeau. If you look in the photo above, you can see the steeple in the middle above the grape vines. There is a limestone quarry across the road, and limestone makes for happy grapes (so I've read).

Something for St. Patrick

Bagpipes at Historic St. Patrick's in Toledo's Warehouse District.

From several years ago, click HERE for a post about how the crucifix at St. Patrick's inspired one man to become Catholic.

Millersville St. Mary Cemetery

A beautiful cemetery, with old cedar trees planted in rows throughout. Surrounding the cemetery are pastures and farms.

This cross was erected in 1891; the cemetery was dedicated in 1887. Previous burials from the parish are at Ludwig Cemetery.


The Lehman family marker.

Defining Your Parish

Over at the Adam's Ale blog, Fr. Valencheck has finished his series on "Defining Your Parish" -- hints for analyzing and documenting the symbolism and history of a church. Click HERE.

Shrine Park, Carey

Holy Family -- Joseph, Jesus and Mary.

Jesus awaits crucifixion.

St. Anne with Mary as a child.

The Organ in Church Design

In the 1957 book "The Organ in Church Design" by Joseph Blanton, there are photos of two churches in the Diocese of Toledo. Above is the organ at Sacred Heart church in East Toledo (Renisch organ from 1912).

Above is a Holtcamp organ at St. Mary's in Millersville.