Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation

Morning fog in the Shrine Park.

 12th Station of the Cross.

 13th Station of the Cross.

14th Station of the Cross.

Divine Mercy Sunday, 2017

Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue will have Divine Mercy devotions at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 23, 2017.  Their Facebook page with details is HERE.

EWTN will be airing the documentary, "The Original Image of Divine Mercy" on Sunday, April 23 at 5 p.m. See a preview HERE.

Fr. Gene Wilson, 1928 - 2017

Fr. Gene Wilson, a familiar face for many years at Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue, passed away on March 30, 2017, in Sandusky.  A full obituary can be found HERE.

Good Friday Walk to Carey 2017

For details on the Good Friday walk from St. Nicholas, Frenchtown to Our Lady of Consolation shrine in Carey, please see the OLC church bulletins:  click HERE.

St. Wendelin Documentary

A film crew from Germany is traveling the United States and other countries to document the cultural influence of St. Wendelin, on the 1,400 aniversary of his death.  They stopped at St. Wendelin parish in Fostoria -- you can read about it HERE.

Coloring Sheets & More from Artist Daniel Mitsui

Catholic artist Daniel Mitsui is offering free downloads of some of his works for coloring -- Click HERE.  And be sure to look around the rest of his website to see some amazing works!

Video: Museum of Divine Statues, Lakewood

Website: http://www.museumofdivinestatues.com/

Old Photos: Genoa, Custar, Clyde & Swanton

Click on links to see....

Genoa old church

St. Louis Custar interior

First church of Clyde St. Mary

Swanton tornado - church damage in 1920.

Defiance Churches, 1912-1914

Some great historic photos of Defiance Catholic churches are cataloged at the Ohio Memory Project.  Permission is required to post them, but you can see them by clicking on each link below.

Father Gloden

St. Mary's

St. John's

Shrine Park, Carey

St. Anthony with the Child Jesus

St. Francis

First Station of the Cross

St. John the Baptist, Glandorf

Photo from a post card, uncertain of date.

Ecclesiastical Architects & Artists -- 5th Edition Available

The fifth edition of "Ecclesiastical Architects, Artists, and Artisans in America: 1860-1920" by Delma Tallerico has been released.  It's available in a variety of formats.  You can get more information and see a Preview HERE.  Several churches in the Toledo Diocese are included in the listings.

Calvary Cemetery, Toledo

Entrance gate.

St. Hyacinth, Toledo

Album cover from early 1970s (I think).

Architect W.R. Dowling

William R. Dowling designed many buildings in the Toledo diocese, including Tiffin St. Mary church, Shelby Most Pure Heart of Mary church, and Archbold St. Peter church (in addition to those mentioned in the above obituary).  Obituary is from March 3, 1954. (Click image to enlarge.)

Saints Louis & Zelie Martin

Tile portrait of Saints Zelie and Louis Martin (parents of St. Therese of Lisieux), at Little Flower church in Toledo.

Canonization of Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa will be declared a saint on September 4, 2016.

The Diocese of Toledo will hold an event that day at Lourdes University, "Let Your Light Shine."  Details are HERE.

Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue will be dedicating a shrine to Mother Teresa on September 10, at the 4 p.m. mass.  Information HERE.

To read an earlier post about her 1976 visit to Toledo, click HERE.

Video of Assumption Vigil at OLC Shrine

Sorrowful Mother Shrine on Facebook

Wonderful photos of Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue on their Facebook page -- check it out HERE.

Celebrating Arabic Culture at the Feast of Assumption in Carey

For 100 years, families of Arabic heritage have gathered at Our Lady of Consolation shrine in Carey for the Feast of the Assumption.  In 2016, there will be a celebration of Arabic music and dancing at Carey's Waterworks Park:

CAREY, OHIO PREPARES FOR ANNUAL FESTIVAL

FEATURING ARABIC HERITAGE MUSIC AND DANCING

100^TH YEAR AT CAREY’S WATERWORKS PARK

AUG 12 – 15, 2016

IS THIS THE LAST HURRAH FOR THE PARK FESTIVAL?

MANY HOPE THIS WILL NOT BE AND GO ON FOR MORE YEARS

  

The annual Festival at Shrine Park at Carey, Ohio is held annually during the National Shrine Church of Our Lady of Consolation – in honor of the Feast of the Assumption.  Visitors come from all over the U.S. praying at the Shrine Church, and later participating in the entertainment at Waterworks Park.

The park itself will feature Arabic music, entertainment and dancing – a vibrant experience for all.

In past years, entertainers and musicians included Derwood Anter, Sammy Jacobs, Phil Sahadi, Francis Saad, Ed Deeb, Al Joseph, Tommy Abraham, Joe Budway, Al Mansour, Joe Balady, and many others.  They turned Shrine Park into an annual Festival of Arabic heritage.  People come from all over the U.S. for both the entertainment as well as to pray at Our Lady of Consolation Church

Again, the dates are:  Aug. 12, 2016 to Aug. 15, 2016

Waterworks Park, Carey, Ohio – honoring

Our Lady of Consolation Church in Carey

This reunion is coordinated by Derwood Anter and Ed Deeb - For more information, contact Derwood at (602) 500-6161 or Ed at (586) 393-8801

Ss. Peter and Paul, Sandusky

The church is a Patrick Keely design.

Historical Marker at Holy Angels, Sandusky

A historical marker has been placed at Holy Angels church in Sandusky, telling the story of the oldest church structure in the Toledo Diocese.  The William G. Pomeroy Foundation provided funding.  Read more in the Sandusky Register HERE.

Most Pure Heart of Mary, Shelby

Murals by German native Gerhard Lamers.

Tiffin Manufacturing Company: an 1897 Profile

From Tiffin's 75th Anniversary Souvenir book, published in 1897: 

"The business of this firm extends into every part of the United States. … Besides manufacturing pews, pulpits, confessionals, altars, altar railings, station frames, pedestals, prie-dieus, vestment cases and baptismals, they also import thousands of dollars’ worth of statues for altar purposes direct from France."

Some earlier posts about Tiffin Manufacturing Company -- click HERE.

St. Aloysius, Bowling Green

Confession

Mercy is for saloon-keepers, gamblers and criminals too!   (Illustration from a 1895 anti-Catholic book published in Toledo.)

Bishop Schrembs Defends the Church

In 1914, the first bishop of Toledo, Bishop Joseph Schrembs, gave a series of four lectures to refute common criticisms of the Church.  The lectures were printed in a booklet, which you can access HERE.

Cathedral's Cleveland Cousin

A color postcard of the former St. Agnes church in Cleveland, which shared with Toledo's Rosary Cathedral the architectural designs of John T. Comes and artwork of Felix Lieftuchter.  The church was torn down in 1975 after a devastating fire.

Another view of the interior HERE.

UPDATE: another photo on Churches of Ohio Facebook site:  click HERE.

The Cassidy Home in Sandusky

Before any Catholic churches were built in Sandusky, the Cassidy family opened their home for services.  Read the full story at the Sandusky History blog HERE.

St. Joseph, Tiffin Documentary

A short documentary about the 1934 fire at Tiffin St. Joseph church and its rebuilding will premiere at the parish on Sunday, April 10 at 12:45 pm.  Soon you will be able to watch it online, or purchase DVDs.  Click HERE for full details. 

Mother Angelica's Ohio Roots

Mother Angelica of EWTN passed away on Easter Sunday; the Cleveland Plain Dealer has some interesting background HERE.

Mother's roots in Canton:  click HERE.

Fostoria native Bishop Robert Baker of Birmingham will lead a vigil service for Mother on March 31.  Schedule HERE.

1986: Live at the Sports Arena:  Mother Angelica.

For St. Joseph's Day

 

"The Second Dream of St. Joseph" by artist Daniel Mitsui.

Most Blessed Sacrament, Toledo

Above is a photo of the interior of Most Blessed Sacrament in Toledo, when it was built in 1954.  It looks a bit stark in black and white, but does not appear so in person.  Parish website is HERE.

Pioneer Priests from Ireland

The Irish American Archives Society in Cleveland has produced an online publication, "Pioneer Irish Priests of the Early Cleveland Catholic Diocese."  As the territory of the Diocese of Toledo was once part of the Cleveland Diocese, many of these priests served in parishes in Northwest Ohio. Also included are several immigrant priests from other nations.  You can view the publication HERE.  (If you view it through a browser, some of the content does not show up properly.  If you download the PDF, it should be OK.)

Historic Photos from Sandusky

The Sandusky Library has launched a local history archive, "Past Perfect," with many photos online.  If you do a keyword search for "Catholic", you'll see photos from the area parishes.  Or hit the "Random Images" button if you want to kill a few hours...  Click HERE.

Fr. William F. Murphy, Sandusky

Over at the Sandusky History blog, you can read about Fr. William F. Murphy, pastor of Ss. Peter & Paul parish from 1905 - 1942.  One noteworthy event was the marriage of Knute Rockne to Bonnie Skiles, pictured above.  For full article, click HERE.

St. John, Delphos

Some great photos of St. John's church in Delphos at the website of Anthony Fabro; click HERE to see (and be sure to click on the photos to see the full detail.)  Sound clips of St. John's pipe organ too!

Divine Mercy: In Search of The Original Image

A Soft Little Voice

Many patients and visitors of Mercy Hospital in Tiffin will remember Sister Mary Agnes Procopio, small in stature and voice, but full of caring.  Her obituary is HERE.

St. Joseph, Monroeville

Early 1900s

St. Mary, Kirby

Early 1900s

Sad News

The brother of Toledo's Bishop Daniel Thomas has passed away after a battle with cancer.  Details HERE.  Full obituary HERE.

St. Barbara, Cloverdale

St. Barbara church in Cloverdale was destroyed by a tornado in 2013, but parishioners have rebuilt.  Dedication took place December 19.  You can see more photos and coverage at their Facebook page HERE.

All Around the Diocese

As Bishop Daniel Thomas visits parishes throughout the diocese, there are many fine photos of churches posted on his Facebook page -- including Edgerton, Mansfield and Norwalk recently.  Click HERE to see.

Fr. M.J. Smith

A reader of this blog from Canberra, Australia, wrote with information about Fr. M.J. Smith, a native of Ireland who served as a chaplain in the Australian Army, then came to the Diocese of Toledo.  Above is his obituary in the June 2, 1949 Toledo Blade.  More information in a previous post -- HERE.

Link to his military record HERE.

Toledo Photo Series

The Lorain County Sacred Landmarks Initiative has a series of photos of Toledo churches on its Facebook page -- Click HERE to see them.

Window Uncovered at New Washington

During a renovation process, parishioners at St. Bernard in New Washington discovered the stained glass window shown above, depicting the Holy Spirit.  Words are in German, probably describing the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  It is estimated the window was hidden for more than 100 years. 

St. Mary Renovations Near Complete

The interior renovations are complete at St. Mary's in Norwalk. The ceiling has been fixed, everything painted, and new floor. All that is left is some work on the exterior (tuck pointing, etc.).

Mother of Sorrows, Put in Bay

A fine photo of the South Bass Island church, courtesy of Tess at the Little House In Chicago blog.  Many thanks!

From the Toledo Museum Collection...

This painting, "Saints Catherine, Margaret, and Barbara," was featured as the "Artwork of the Week" on the Toledo Museum of Art website. The artist is Lucas Cranach the Elder (German, Wittenberg, 1472–1553). For a more detailed description, click HERE.

Immaculate Conception, Ottoville

A fine collection of photos of the Ottoville church -- click HERE.

St. Bernard, New Washington

St. Bernard parish in New Washington is remodeling / restoring its church.  You can follow along with the progress at their website, HERE.