St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Maria Stein, announces that Freytag & Associates, Inc. of Sidney, Ohio has been selected as architect for the design of a new church building following the May 2025 fire and December 29, 2025 structural collapse and subsequent demolition of the historic church.

The collapse of the west wall, caused by high winds and structural instability after the fire, created immediate public safety concerns, including risk to State Route 119. Controlled demolition of the remaining structure was completed in early January under the direction of professional demolition and environmental teams. Salvage efforts preserved significant historical elements, including stained glass windows, organ pipes, the original cornerstone, sandstone façade elements, and historic markers. Additional site mitigation and material recovery efforts are ongoing and are expected to continue for several weeks.

Following an extensive national search process that began in August 2025, the parish Building and Architect Committees selected Freytag & Associates after multiple rounds of interviews, site visits, and proposal reviews in collaboration with the Archdiocese. Freytag will partner with William Heyer of Columbus, Ohio as liturgical consultant. Together, they will guide the design process in accordance with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ document Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture, and Worship.

A parish meeting for parishioners will be held on Sunday, February 22 at 6:30 p.m. at Marion Local High School Gym to introduce the architect team, provide updates, outline anticipated timelines, and receive parishioner input. This gathering is intended for parishioners and is not a media event. More information will be released to the media following the meeting as appropriate.

St. John the Baptist Parish remains committed to communication, stewardship of its heritage, and faithful planning for a future church home that honors its 175-year history while serving generations to come.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 45^th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with nearly 440,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with more than 41,000 students.  The 19-county territory includes 199 canonical parishes organized into 57 Families of Parishes, and 111 Catholic primary and secondary schools.