Good Shepherd's Statues at St. Joseph, Maumee

 

Just recently, the pastor at St. Joseph, Maumee acquired 5 statues from Good Shepherd Church in Toledo. Currently, the St. Michael, St. Joseph and Blessed Virgin Mary statues are in storage waiting to be restored and preserved. However, the Pieta and Good Shepherd statues are on display with the Pieta statue in the family center and the Good Shepherd statue in the new school addition. 

The Good Shepherd statue, which used to be on the main high altar, seems to be very well preserved, however his staff is missing

The Pieta statue is also well preserved, however there are many paint chips on the statue.  

Good Shepherd, Built to Last

Cleveland Quarries, in existence since 1868, provided the "Berea Sandstone" used in construction of East Toledo's Good Shepherd church.  The sandstone is quarried in the Amherst and Birmingham areas near Lorain.  An interesting list of landmarks constructed from this stone can be found HERE. 

Postcards from the Past

Immaculate Conception parish in Bellevue, previous church.

Aerial view of Rosary Cathedral in Toledo.

Students in front of the old school at Good Shepherd, East Toledo.

Pilgrimage service at Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue, 1959.

The photos above are a little sample of postcards available at Barnard's Post Cards ebay store. To search the store, click HERE. (For example, if you search for "Toledo church", you will see some great views.) Thanks to Nadya and Joe in Dublin, Ohio, for letting me use some images.

Good Shepherd, Toledo

A view from 1910. Some recent views HERE.

Good Shepherd, Toledo

Photo from a Cleveland diocesan history book, about 1900.

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

Pictures from Genoa, Oak Harbour, Port Clinton, and Marblehead whenever I can deal with all the fussing and fiddling.

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

Quite a Find

This photograph turned up on E-Bay, just after a fortuitous donation from one of my other blogs arrived at my PayPal account. It was made by North and Oswald, "Photographic Artists" in the Hall Block, at Jefferson and St. Clair. The Hall Block was built in 1875 and destroyed by fire in 1882. That provides a convenient way to assign a date.
Now, the question of who the priest might be. Judging by the nose and the shape of the face, I'm 90% certain it's Fr. Patrick O'Brien, founder of Good Shepherd Parish and second pastor of Immaculate Conception. Two people I asked agree. Fr. O'Brien was ordained in 1872, and was at Good Shepherd and Immaculate Conception throughout the period between 1875 and 1889, so the time frame fits as well.
The mystery of the matter? Where's it been since? I bought it, for less than I ever would have expected ( 99 cents ) from a dealer on the West Coast.

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

The Purloined Letter Award

....for a treasure hidden in plain sight, goes to Good Shepherd, in East Toledo. Everyone notices it, but not nearly enough look closely enough to find out that it's one of the most beautiful churches in the diocese.

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

From the Amtrak station in the Old South End.

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

Identical

These three statues show an aspect of church design that tends to be forgotten. In older churches, the altars, ambos, etc., were often commissioned. The statuary, however, was often mass produced, and sold through supply houses like the Tiffin Manufacturing Company.
These three statues are identical, except for variations in the color.
This one is at St. Mary, Norwalk. While your at it, look at the wainscoating in the background. It's fantastic. I'll have to ask Alex Fries, who took this picture and was the first to point out the similarity between the statues, to get a close-up of it.
This one's in one of the towers at Good Shepherd, in East Toledo. The gate is from the old baptistry, and is a masterpiece of its period. Excellent work.

This one is in one of the transepts at St. Patrick's. The candlestand, at the right, is a gem. If I hadn't been on sensory overload at the time, I'd have gotten a picture of it.

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

Good Shepherd, East Toledo

One of the side altars. This is usually covered.