Did you know St. Ann Church, Hamilton, was in grave danger of being closed after just five years as a parish, when its construction debt was two years in arrears and amounted to a whopping $350 (almost $10,400 today) per parishioner? 1908 St. Ann organized as a mission of St. …

1819 Christ Church, the first church in Cincinnati city limits, built on the current site of St. Francis Seraph Church at Vine and Liberty Streets. 1821 The original church moved to Sycamore street on rollers and designated the cathedral of the new Diocese of Cincinnati. It was replaced within five …

Written by Gail Finke Illustrated by Emma Cassani Our Lord Christ the King Church, founded in 1926 in Cincinnati’s Mt. Lookout neighborhood, was the first parish named for Our Lord under the title “King.” Its school, Cardinal Pacelli, was named for a visitor who later became a pope. The interior …

1919 St. Bernard parish established. 1920 Current church, an unusual variation of Mission Revival design by JF Sheblessy, built. 1925 St. Bernard School, a more typical version of Mission Revival, but made of brick, built. Staffed by Franciscan Sisters of Oldenburg. 1932 Marian grotto built on what is now the …

St. John the Baptist Church, Dry Ridge, was named by parishioner Henry Kleine in return for his large pledge of $400.00 1846 One-room log schoolhouse built by area Catholics. 1860 First St. John’s Church built. New school constructed and staffed by Sisters of Divine Providence. 1866 Swiss priest Father Gebhard …

St. Robert Bellarmine at Xavier University is both a parish and a university chapel. As late as the 1940s, students (then all men) were not permitted at parish Masses, but attended student Masses as part of their Jesuit formation and education. 1831 The Athenaeum (men’s high school and college) in downtown …

“We are a very active parish, with people who come from all over—about a third come from the neighborhood, and the rest drive in. The most common comment we get is that we’re a very welcoming community.” – Brother Tim Sucher, OFM, pastoral associate. 1819 Irish Catholics built Christ Church. …

March 25, 1913 Little Miami River levees failed and the Great Dayton Flood began, engulfing most of the city and killing hundreds. Dayton then became one of the nation’s first major flood-control districts. Sept. 21, 1913 First Masses celebrated in the new St. Anthony of Padua parish, headed by Father …