Through the Years

1989

St. Maximilian Kolbe parish founded to serve about 500 families. Masses were held at Freedom Elementary School during initial construction.

1990-92

Rectory and parish center built. Masses were moved to the parish center basement (a gym and auditorium space) while money was raised for the church.

1994

Franciszek Gajowniczek, the prisoner for whom St. Maximilian gave his life, visited the parish as part of his quest to visit all churches named for the saint.

2001

Current church completed after a $5.5 million capital campaign. Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk celebrated the dedication Mass on Dec. 23. Designed in a modern style by Ruetschle Architects, Dayton, the interior recalls classic, cross-shaped church architecture and features: a semicircle of pews surrounding a wooden altar set on a curved dais, a wood-paneled sanctuary wall, an ambry and altar made by parishioner Greg Jensen, skylights under peaked “clerestory window” openings, and art glass windows by BeauVerre Riordan Studios.

2003

Parish expanded, with new offices adjoining the gathering space.

2018

Twinning relationship with St. Patrick Parish in Soroti, Uganda, began.

2024

New community and meeting rooms built after a $1.3 million capital campaign. Asphalt tile roof replaced with a custom metal roof designed to look like Spanish tile.

By the Numbers

1 Life-size crucifix above the altar, commissioned from Weberding’s Carving Shop, Batesville, Indiana.

1 Statue of St. Michael, purchased by parishioners as the result of a grassroots, three-year St. Michael Prayer devotion and installed recently over the baptismal font.

1 Marian stained glass window in the new Immaculata Room, made in 1937 for the St. Peter Canisius Convent Chapel in Chicago. Like other pieces, including the statues from Our Mother of Good Counsel Parish in Felicity, Ohio, it was purchased from a church that closed.

2 Major art glass windows in the transepts. One features St. Maximilian Kolbe in his Franciscan habit standing by his discarded striped Auschwitz uniform as the Virgin Mary offers him the crowns of purity and martyrdom. The other features the image of Mary from the Miraculous Medal.

Quotes

Prayer, reverent liturgies, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament are the foundation of everything here. About seven or eight years ago, we began celebrating the Mass more reverently, and the response has just been fantastic. People accepted the invitation to pray, and now, so many are finding a place in ministry work to give from what they received.” – Mary Ella Wielgos, Director of Worship and Sacraments

“St. Max opened at a time when other parishes were struggling and closing down. Seeing the statues and other art that came from parishes that had closed, it’s moving to witness the adaptability and universality of Catholicism in action. These ‘hand-me-down’ pieces reveal a powerful truth: Catholicism endures.” – Dr. Annie Huey, Sacred Heritage Tours

“We have a Pieta donated by parishioners that weighs thousands of pounds, and somehow a guy and his son moved it in themselves. I don’t know how they did it! John the Baptist, in the window by our baptismal font, was modeled after one of our parishioners, the father of one of our deacons. The Virgin Mary in the art glass on the East wall is modeled after the [high school picture of the artist’s wife]—he asked parishioners to model, but no one would volunteer.” – Tom O’Rourke, Facilities and Maintenance Manager

This article appeared in the September 2025 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.