Pope John Paul II in Ohio, 1969

At the Cleveland Memory Project website, you can view some photos of then-Cardinal Karol Wojtyla on a visit to Cleveland in 1969. Click HERE.

Stations of the Cross, Shrine Park, Carey

I. Jesus is Condemned to Death.

II. Jesus Carries His Cross.

XI. Jesus is Nailed to the Cross.

XII. Jesus Dies on the Cross.

First Communion, 1888

A certificate for a First Communion from 1888. Text is in German, and the lithograph is by Benziger. I could not read all of the writing at the bottom of the certificate, but it was signed by Fr. J. Heidegger, Pastor, who is likely Rev. James J. Heidegger -- he was a pastor at Fort Jennings and St. Mary, Sandusky. You can see a brief biography of him HERE.

Fr. Joseph Williams

A reader left a comment asking for information on Fr. Joseph Williams -- above is his obituary from the 1968 Diocesan Directory. His brother Leo, also a priest, apparently looked after him during his illness. Interesting how many sets of brothers are priests.

Precious Blood Sisters, New Riegel

A photo of a Jubilee celebration at the Precious Blood convent in New Riegel. Sister Euphemia Gosche (in the center) was marking 50 years as a sister with other sisters, family and friends. Not sure of exact date, sometime in the late 1940s.

Open Wide the Doors . . .

St. John the Evangelist parish in Indianapolis decided to open its doors during a youth convention, and most recently during the Super Bowl. Not many parishes will have a convention or Super Bowl nearby, but what would happen if the doors were open a little more often?

St. Martin de Porres Concert

Toledo St. Martin de Porres, the Diocese of Toledo and The Toledo Symphony present the 22nd Annual Neighborhood Concert in honor of Black History Month on Feb. 26, 2012 at 5 p.m. at St. Martin de Porres. Full information HERE. (Photo by Shari York Stowell.)

St. Mary Cemetery, Tiffin

Stations of the Cross.

Close up of the Ninth Station.

A grouping of statues: St. Joseph, St. Anthony, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Francis of Assisi.

St. Francis of Assisi.

St. Anthony with the Child Jesus, with St. Joseph in the background.

St. Michael, Gibsonburg

A few photos left over from an earlier post . . .

Historic St. Patrick's, Toledo

A post card from 1910, St. Patrick's in the Warehouse District.

St. Aloysius, Bowling Green

Comes and Lieftuchter in Johnstown

Toledo's Rosary Cathedral was initially designed by architect John T. Comes, and the massive mural in the apse was painted by Felix Leiftuchter. Their work can also be seen at St. Columba in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.


Lieftuchter completed the mural in 1918, and it features imagery of World War I, as well as steel mills and industrialization. St. Columba's is no longer open as a parish, but you can read about plans for re-use HERE. St. Agnes in Cleveland was also a collaboration of Comes and Lieftuchter; see a previous posting HERE.

St. Mary, Vermilion

Post card of St. Mary in Vermilion, mailed in 1965.

Church Lithograph Collection

Villanova's Digital Library has a wonderful collection of Catholic church lithographs by the Philadelphia lithography firm of Packard and Butler (later Packard, Butler and Partridge). There are over 400 prints of interior or exterior views of Catholic churches throughout the United States and parts of Canada.

There are several churches from the Toledo Diocese, in Fremont, Norwalk, Fostoria, Tiffin, Upper Sandusky, Peru, and Toledo. Many of these churches are the previous building of a parish. Well worth your time to take a look. Click HERE.

(Apparently the lithographs are from the 1880s, more detail HERE at the Philadelphia Archdiocese history site.)

St. Wendelin, Fostoria

A lithograph of the old St. Wendelin church in Fostoria, sometime before 1903 when towers were added. Pastor is Fr. M. Arnoldi.

A Country Church Tour

Author Jane Ware has written two volumes on Ohio architecture, "Building Ohio." The second volume is a guide to Ohio rural architecture, and she has a good itinerary for seeing majestic churches in the southwestern part of the diocese:

- Begin at St. John the Baptist in Glandorf (west of Findlay on US 224).
- Continue west on US 224 to St. Michael's in Kalida.
- Still further west on US 224, visit Immaculate Conception in Ottoville.
- Turn south on St. Rt. 66 to see St. John's in Delphos.
- From Delphos, go west on St. Rt. 697, then turn south on St. Rt. 116 for Salem Presbyterian Church in Venedocia, a village of Welsh heritage.

The book has a lot of detail regarding the "Land of Cross Tipped Churches" further to the south as well. More information on the book HERE.

Symbols in Your Parish

Over at the Adam's Ale blog, Fr. John Valencheck of St. Sebastian in Akron writes about how to analyze and document the artwork and other visual symbols in your parish. You can read it HERE.

St. Joseph, Plymouth

Postcard showing north window of St. Joseph church in Plymouth. Caption says, "God the Creator is portrayed by a large hand stretching forth into space emanating rays of light and bringing into being the burst of creation."

St. John, Delphos

A post card from 1907. There is a cross, it just missed the photo I guess.

Museum of Divine Statues, Lakewood

Over to the east, the Museum of Divine Statues has opened in Lakewood, Ohio, in the former St. Hedwig's church. Artist Louis McClung restores statues, and many items from closed churches in the Cleveland area are on display. More information at their website HERE.