Ss. Patrick & Andrew, Bascom

Crucifix at St. Patrick's in Bascom.

October, Month of the Rosary

October is traditionally the month of the Rosary, and Our Lady of the Rosary is the patroness of the Diocese of Toledo. Feast Day is October 7.

(Photo above, detail of stained glass window at Ss. Patrick & Andrew, Bascom)

Fr. Patrick Hennebery, C.PP.S.

Fr. Patrick Hennebery was the first English-speaking member of the Society of the Precious Blood in America. A native of Ireland, he came to the seminary in Thompson, Ohio, in 1847 after meeting the Precious Blood order in Wisconsin. After his ordination at New Riegel in 1853, he served many parishes/missions in the area, and started several, including Spencerville, Kirby and Bascom.

In 1865 he went to California, where he tried for years to establish a Catholic college -- details here.

Later he gave missions in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. There’s a chapter about his efforts in the book, "The Irish in New Zealand": Patrick Hennebery in Australasia, 1877-1882.

Upon his return to America, he continued his missions in the West Coast until his death in 1897. He is buried in Silver Terrace Cemetery, Virginia City, Nevada.

His full story can be found in the book “A Time to Sow and a Time to Reap,” by Paul Link C.PP.S.

Gong Show

Some time ago on this blog, we were wondering about an unusual object near the altar in old photos of Peru St. Alphonsus and Bascom St. Patrick. (See pictures HERE.)

Thanks to the online Benzinger Brothers catalog, we now know it is a gong, used similarly to the bells at consecration/elevation.

St. Patrick, Bascom

St. Patrick, Bascom

The photo above shows the altar of the original St. Patrick's Church, several miles outside Bascom. The priest is Fr. T.M. Kolb, who served as pastor from 1894 to 1898. This church stood from 1863 until it was struck by lightning and burned in 1913.

A close-up of Fr. Kolb. Perhaps he is the same Fr. Kolb mentioned by Alex in previous posts about St. Alphonsus in Peru.

This is the stained-glass window of St. Patrick above the entrance doors of the current church.

St. Patrick, Bascom

Excellent stencilling.

I'd love to get a closer look at those windows. Very well made, but the arrangement is unusual. I'm curious about the subjects of the center panels.

The font looks similar to the one at St. Alphonsus. My only problem? Another example of making the priest the center of the Mass, by the misplacement of chairs. Even so, it's better than the game of hide the tabernacle someone's played since.

Photos by Mike Doughty, by way of Alex Fries.