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Advent 1998 HISTORY COLUMN, [1ST in a series] A church is founded at
13th and Clay St. Marian Kirche, now fondly known as "Old St. Mary’s Church," was founded to serve the growing tide of German-speaking Catholics that moved into Cincinnati in the early half of the last century. Most were not acquainted with the English language, and were very tenacious to German customs. In order that they might be spiritually cared for, and by one of their own, special services were conducted for them on Sundays at the Cathedral Church, which at that time was on Sycamore Street, on the site of what is now St. Francis Xavier Church. In a few short years, however, the number of German Catholics in Cincinnati became so great that two new churches were erected to serve the German-speaking population. First, in 1834, Holy Trinity Church was built on Fifth Street, and once that church became too small to accommodate the numbers, a second church was planned for the corner of Thirteenth and Clay. In 1839 a boys school and a girls school were opened in separate buildings near that location and the church followed two years later. "Catholic as the Creed and German as the Rhine," as the church’s motto read, Old Saint Mary’s was created to shepherd its people through the difficult days of adjusting to life in the New World. On St. Patrick’s Day of 1841 ground was broken for the new German parish church and the cornerstone laid on the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) of the same year. About 10,000 people of many nationalities were gathered together that day to honor God, showing the unity of faith and worship which is so dear to our Church. The procession, which escorted Bishop John Baptist Purcell*, was composed of all the priests in the diocese and a band of seminarians. It was the first public procession by Catholics in the city. At the corner of Thirteenth and Clay Streets, during the cantation of a solemn hymn by the entire gathered crowd, the cornerstone of the oldest church still standing in Cincinnati was laid. Work on the building progressed rapidly, so that in July of the following year the church was completed. Impressive as Cornerstone Day had been, the Day of Consecration was many times greater. It was the first Solemn Consecration in the city of Cincinnati and the celebration reflected the magnitude of the occasion. The moment when a building becomes a church is always a solemn moment; but in a Solemn Consecration that particular building becomes a church forever. With splendid fanfare, the like of which the Church in Cincinnati had never before witnessed, Old St. Mary’s came into being. An enormous procession wended its way from Holy Trinity Church on Fifth St. diagonally across the city, to the new church, which at the time was just three blocks inside the city’s northern limits. The Catholic Telegraph, reporting on the occasion, wrote: "Nothing could exceed the order, regularity, Christian piety and decorum with which this numerous procession was conducted." The procession was led by an acolyte, bearing a beautiful gilt crucifix, accompanied by two torch-bearers. They were ceremoniously followed by the St. Peter Benevolent Society for Destitute Female Orphans, the St. Aloysius Orphan Society, priests in surplices, school children dressed in white, and finally the entire congregation, all marching four abreast through the streets. At the solemn ceremonies, Bishop Purcell was assisted by a group of distinguished priests, including Rev. Stephen Badin, the first priest ordained in the United States. The consecration service commenced at 9:30 a.m. and it continued until 2:00 p.m. In addition to the consecration blessing, the service included Mass by the bishop, a two hour sermon in German by Fr. Henni, pastor of Holy Trinity, and a short instruction in English by Bishop Purcell. At five o’clock the faithful returned for Vespers, a sermon by Fr. Badin on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, an instruction by the pastor on the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Confirmation of 362 candidates by the bishop, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and at eight o’clock, a final Te Deum. The long day finally concluded and the King of Kings had taken up residence at Thirteenth and Clay. Copyright © 2000-2006 Old St. Mary's
Church. All rights reserved.
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