St. Peter, Mansfield

St. Peter parish in Mansfield has a portion of their website dedicated to the history of the church and schools.  Great photos and details - click HERE.

Elsewhere ...

A symposium on the legacy of Irish-American architect Patrick Charles Keely (designer of Toledo's St. Francis de Sales and Sandusky's St. Peter & Paul churches) will be held Friday, March 21, 2014 in New York City at the Time-Life building.  For full details, contact Donald M. Reynolds of the Monuments Conservancy, phone (212) 643-8730.  This is a sequel to last year's Keely conference.

And in Buffalo, New York, the "Buffalo Mass Mob" brings together groups of people to attend Mass at historic Catholic churches which might otherwise be overlooked.  Their website is HERE.

St. Joseph, Fremont

St. Mary, Sandusky

A photo gallery of Christmas Eve mass, courtesy of the Sandusky Register.  Click HERE.

The Catholic Photographer

Click HERE to see a gallery of 80 photos of Rosary Cathedral in Toledo, taken by Bob Mullen, "The Catholic Photographer" of Vernon, CT.  Especially good: photos of Jan de Rosen's murals in the side aisles.  There are photos of many other churches as well.

St. Josaphat's Damaged Spire in Detroit

Storm damage seems to be our theme lately . . . above is an amazing video of the damaged spire of St. Josaphat's church in Detroit.  If you've driven through Detroit on I-75, you have probably seen the landmark.

Storm at Cloverdale

The small parish of St. Barbara's in Cloverdale (between Defiance and Lima) had their church almost leveled in yesterday's storm.  From their Facebook page:

Please pray for the Cloverdale community and our St. Barbara's parish. For those of you who have not heard exactly what happened, our church has been almost completely leveled by the storm and the rectory badly damaged (the parish hall is still standing). The front entrance of the church is still standing but the rest is gone. The back shrine with the holy family and St Barbara statue is still intact and the votive candles are actually still burning. The tabernacle with Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament has been buried in the rubble, so pray that we will be able to get it out so Fr. Jerry can make sure the Eucharist is not lost. Again, please pray for the community, as there is much sorrow and grief over the loss of such a great temple

Link to video: click HERE.

Storm Damage - St. Mary Norwalk

In the recent storms that moved their way through Ohio, Norwalk was hit particularly hard, with many damaged buildings and homes. The First Baptist Church (Oasis of God) had one of it's turrets blown off (see picture from wkyc.com). It was reported that winds of up to 100 mph blew through the area.


St. Mary's in Norwalk was also damaged. Much of the masonry at the top of the tower was disturbed. Some even fell to the ground and onto the church roof, causing damage to the roof and plaster ceiling inside. The damage is severe enough that the streets surrounding the church are closed in case of further structural failure, and all masses and other events have been moved to the school gym. See the Norwalk Reflector article below:

http://www.norwalkreflector.com/article/3743856

Interestingly enough, this is not the first time the steeple has suffered wind damage. A wind storm in the 50's damaged the original ornamentation at the base of the steeple. See the below blog post for a picture.

http://catholictoledo.blogspot.com/2007/04/st-mary-norwalk_20.html

Plans for the future of the steeple and tower are to be determined. See below for pictures of the exterior damage. Note the masonry that is shifted, missing or pulling away from the structure. Extensive interior damage was also noted by engineers. I do not have any pictures of interior damage at this point in time.

I will post an update once further plans are outlined. Until then, updates of the situation can be followed on the parish's Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Mary-Mother-of-the-Redeemer-Catholic-Church/188089864270

(Photo: Mike Doughty)

(Photo: Mike Doughty)

(Photo: Janotta & Herner)

(Photo: Janotta & Herner)

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In other news, this is what it looks like when a steeple starts to come down:

St. James Catholic Church, Chicago IL. (After a long delayed promise of posting, here is one picture. I will make a detailed post when demolition is completed.)

Ecclesiastical Architects & Artists

Pittsburgh writer Delma Tallerico has just released the third edition of her book, Ecclesiastical Architects, Artists, and Artisans in America: 1860-1920: A depository of names, dates, projects, locations and biographical sketches.  It's a real treasure trove for anyone exploring the beauty of Catholic churches throughout the United States.  Delma has spent some time perusing this blog, so she's added more than a few of our local favorites to her listings.  

 

You can find full details and ordering information HERE.

Caravaggio in Detroit

 Caravaggio's St. Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy will be displayed at the Detroit Institute of Art until January 12, 2014.  It will be shown alongside Caravaggio's Martha & Mary Magdalene.

150 Years at St. Michael's, Kelleys Island

There's an interesting video about St. Michael's parish on Kelleys Island at the Catholic Chronicle website.  Click HERE.

"Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life"

A wonderful music video from the Dominican Province of St. Joseph. (Historically, they were very influential in spreading Catholicism in Ohio, and have parishes in the Columbus and Cincinnati areas.)

Help an Artist

Chicago area artist Daniel Mitsui has been creating incredible prints on Christian themes and other subjects for several years.  He and his wife have a new baby girl who was born at 25 weeks and faces many health challenges.  You can view his artwork HERE.

St. Mary, Assumption

Now named Holy Trinity.  Image is from about 1910.  Assumption was previously known as Caraghar or Caraghar's Corners as early as 1840.

Rossford Churches

Over at the Ohio Memory Project website, there are many photos of Ss. Cyril & Methodius, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Michael Ukrainian churches and events.  Click HERE.  (Search term was "Rossford church", so there are other items as well.)

Holy Angels, Sandusky

Holy Angels church in Sandusky, the oldest of the three parishes in that city.  Read more about its history in previous posts -- click HERE.

Meanwhile in Akron . . .

St. Sebastian's parish is inaugurating the Academy of Culture & Arts, with the purpose of helping "young people as well as adults climb to the next level of cultural engagement so as not to merely be spectators or instruments of culture, but to be the instruments of influence; to use arts and culture to lift the human spirit, build up human dignity, give glory to God, and use truth and beauty to bring about the Good in the shaping of our world."  Click HERE for details.  St. Sebastian's pastor, Fr. John Valencheck, writes more about the idea for the academy HERE.

Dedication of Little Flower, Toledo

The renovated sanctuary and altar at Little Flower parish was dedicated by Bishop Blair on Sunday, Sept. 8.  You can see some fine photos of the event by Shari York Stowell  - click HERE.

Prayers for Peace

The Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey will host a time for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament on Saturday, Sept. 7 in solidarity with Pope Francis' call for prayer for peace in Syria.  Details HERE.

Immaculate Conception, Port Clinton

 Built in 1902.

 

Marian shrine in honor of longtime pastor Fr. Karl Brand.

Quotation from Northwest Ordinance on the school.