Revelation

1973: “New view of Cincinnati's famed “spires of Eighth Street” shows what St. Peter in Chains Cathedral looks like from Seventh Street, to the south. Demolition of a five-story tenement building on Seventh Street brought the hidden side to light. City Hall tower is at left and Isaac M. Wise Temple is at right. Building at lower left marked by cross is headquarters of the Catholic Telegraph.” (The Catholic Telegraph, January 5, 1973)

Precious Blood Nun Develops Skill as Bookbinder

1960: “Bookbinder at the Regina Heights mother-house of the Sisters of the Precious Blood in Dayton is Sister Mary Engelbertha, who is an expert in handling every operation in the binding process. Here, Sister trims the pages of a volume of periodicals in this large electrically-powered paper cutter, one of about six pieces of power machinery in the bindery.

“Sister Mary Engelbertha took over operation of the bindery when it was established 10 years ago. To acquire knowledge necessary for operation of the plant, she first studied printing and book binding at St. Joseph’s College, Rensselaer, Ind.

“Now she serves as bookbinder for five libraries of the Precious Blood Community in Dayton, for the Maria Stein Retreat House in Mercer County, and for the Precious Blood Cloister at New Riegel in the Diocese of Toledo

“Sister’s work at the bindery has been interrupted in the past decade by some teaching duties, but at present she is turning out about 30 bound volumes every two to three weeks with the assistance of one of the postulants. In the summer months, other sisters give assistance in the bindery.

“She binds periodicals for libraries, repairs tattered books, and even revamps worn out prayer books and Missals highly valued by the members of the community.

“Visitors at the bindery are usually surprised at the amount of work required to convert a collection of periodicals into bound volumes for permanent library records. The process includes assembling and trimming the magazines, careful sewing, glueing, production of covers, and printing.

“Sister Engelbertha entered the Precious Blood Community from Immaculate Conception Parish, Celina, in 1914. Three years later, she began a career as a teacher. In addition to her work at the mother-house, she has taught in Cleveland, Celina, Ottawa, and Cincinnati.” (See The Catholic Telegraph-Register, December 23, 1960)

A Christmas Tradition

1959: “Followers of a tradition inaugurated by their founder, St. Francis, the friars of St. Leonard's College, Centerville, are shown fashioning the first creche at the friary. Shown above, left to right, are Friars Declan Thompson, Arthur Meyer (kneeling), Mario Wagner, and Blaine Grein. (The Catholic Telegraph-Register, December 25, 1959)

Mission Seminary Crib Scene

1969: “Students and staff members at Sacred Heart Mission Seminary, 8108 Beechmont Avenue (Ohio 125), Forestville, have prepared a lifelike scene of the birthplace of Jesus. The model uses motorized figures and special lights to produce a realistic effect. The seminary is U.S. headquarters of the Verona Fathers.” (The Catholic Telegraph, December 18, 1969)

Three Milestones for Archbishop Pilarczyk

1984: “A simple straightforward liturgy attended by more than 250 family members, friends and coworkers marked the public celebration of Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk's triple jubilee Dec. 16 at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral. The archbishop, center, was principal concelebrant of the afternoon Mass, with his auxiliaries, Archbishop Nicholas T. Elko, behind the archbishop, and Bishop James H. Garland, right.” (The Catholic Telegraph, December 21, 1984)

The following editorial appeared in The Catholic Telegraph, December 14, 1984:

“In exercising his office of father and pastor, a bishop should stand in the midst of his people as one who serves . . . Let him so gather and mold the whole family of his flock that everyone may live and work in the communion of love . . . Ready for every good work and enduring all things for the sake of the chosen ones, a bishop should arrange his life in such a way as to accommodate it to the needs of the time . . . He should regard his priests as sons and friends . . . He should manifest his concern for all, no matter what their age, condition or nationality, be they natives, strangers or foreigners . . . He should preserve for his faithful the share proper to them in church affairs . . . He should deal lovingly with the separated brethren . . .

“These are some of the prescriptions for those called to the episcopal office as spelled out by the bishops who assembled 20 years ago for the Second Vatican Council. It is a catalogue that can be recalled comfortably as the people of the Cincinnati archdiocese prepare to celebrate an occasion of joy and pride — the 25th anniversary of Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk’s ordination to the priesthood, the 10th anniversary of his ordination as bishop and the second anniversary of his installation as the chief bishop of the archdiocese.

“Archbishop Pilarczyk does indeed stand in the midst of his people as one who serves. As priest, pastor and prelate he manifests daily his concern for all the people. He presents Christian doctrine ‘in a manner adapted to the needs of the times’ and with a freshness of style not always found in episcopal teaching. And he exemplifies the council’s exhortation to ‘give an example of holiness through charity, humility and simplicity of life.’

“[This] will be an opportunity for ‘his people’ to congratulate their archbishop, to thank him and wish him well — and to thank God for the leadership and example with which he has blessed the archdiocese in times past as well as now.”

Priestly Ordination Held in Rome

1959: Cardinal Gregoire Agagianian, Pro-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, ordained Father Daniel Pilarczyk on Dec. 20.

The Catholic Telegraph-Register of December 18, 1959, reported:

“Mr. Pilarczyk, who has been studying at the College of the Propagation of the Faith, will be ordained in the college chapel along with 33 other ordinands from 21 different countries. The ordaining prelate will be Cardinal Gregoire Pierre Agagianian, Pro-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.

The son of Daniel Pilarczyk and the late Mrs. Fredericka Pilarczyk of Dayton, Mr. Pilarczyk was born in that city Aug. 12, 1934. He attended Our Lady of Mercy and St. Anthony’s Grade Schools and Sacred Heart Latin School in Dayton and began his studies for the priesthood at St. Gregory’s Seminary in 1948. Five years later he was sent to Rome to study philosophy and theology at the Propagation College. After three years of philosophy he received a licentiate in that subject. He is expected to receive a licentiate in theology at the end of the current school year.

The newly ordained priest will celebrate his First Solemn mass in the college chapel on Dec. 21. Father Giles Pater, Cincinnati priest studying in Rome, will be the subdeacon of the Mass. Father Arthur Leen, another Cincinnatian studying in Rome, will be the assisting priest during the ordination ceremony.” (The Catholic Telegraph-Register, December 18, 1959)

Note: Read more about Archbishop Pilarczyk's 50 years of service in the priesthood in the December 18, 2009, issue of The Catholic Telegraph and online at www.thecatholictelegraph.com.

2 Wings of Maria-Joseph Home to be Usuable Before Christmas

1959: “Christmas present for the sisters and elderly residents of Maria-Joseph Home in Dayton will be the completion of two new wings of the home for the aged. The new facilities provided by the additions are expected to be in use at Christmastide.

“Shown here in a panoramic view taken from the rear of the home are the new wings extending left and right from the central chapel wing. The west addition, left, will be occupied Dec. 21. It contains dining room and kitchen, sisters’ quarters, an infirmary, and residents’s rooms.

“The east wing, right, contains an auditorium and residents’ rooms. The completed building, with the addition of the final two wings, is in the shape of a pentacle, with five wings extending from the central main lobby.” (See related story, The Catholic Telegraph-Register, December 11, 1959)

Church in Zimmerman to be Blessed

1957: “Dedication of the new Church of St. Luke the Evangelist, Zimmerman, east of Dayton, will take place Dec. 15. Archbishop Karl J, Alter will officiate at the dedication rite and then celebrate a Solemn Pontifical Mass.

“The new edifice, designed along contemporary lines, will have a seating capacity of 600 in the body of the church. The full basement will be equipped to serve as a catechetical center. Future expansion of the church will be possible through an addition that will form a Latin cross when it is annexed to the main building.

“Monsignor Martin T. Gilligan was appointed to organize the new parish in the Beavercreek area June 15, 1955. The parish center is located on a 15-acre tract on the east side of Bellbrook-Fairfield Road, one-fourth of a mile north of its intersection with old route 35 in Greene County in the unincorporated village of Zimmerman. The archdiocese purchased the land in 1953.

“A farmhouse on the property was converted into a rectory, with a small chapel, by volunteer work of the men of the new parish. The building served as the parish center until recently when it was sold and moved to make room for the spacious front approach to the new church.

“A new rectory, bordering the north end of the property, on Lantz Road, was purchased in May of 1956, and the former rectory was remodeled to provide accommodations for the Sisters of Notre Dame of Covington, Ky., who conduct the parish’s summer camp and religion school.

“A new parish center, Bishop Ford Hall, was formally dedicated in June of 1956 to provide a catechetical center and recreation center for the parish. The hall was remodeled from an old barn by the men of the parish.

“Ground was broken for the church edifice in September, 1956, and the cornerstone was laid by Monsignor Martin M. Varley, dean of the Springfield Deanery, May 30, 1957. (See The Catholic Telegraph-Register, November 29, 1957)

Holy Name Parish Marks Golden Jubilee

1954: “When Holy Name Parish, Cincinnati, was established in 1904, its enthusiastic pastor, the late Father Joseph Denny, was so deeply impressed with the prospects of the church’s location that he believed it might some day be the site of a Cathedral.

“The priest’s dream has not materialized but the parish he founded has flourished. The extensive parish property is now the site of a new church, an 11-classroom school, and a rectory, the latter a 95-year-old residence in which the first Mass was offered on Christmas Day 50 years ago.

“The golden jubilee will be celebrated Dec. 12 when Auxiliary Bishop Issenmann will offer a Solemn Pontifical Mass, assisted by a former pastor, Monsignor Francis S. Reardon.

“Church services were conducted in the old residence until the end of 1907 when a new building, which was to serve as a combined church and school, was completed. Archbishop Henry Moeller blessed the new church on Christmas morning, 1907.

“Father Denny died after only six and a half years as pastor, but the parish roster had grown from about 30 families to more than 400 during his brief administration.

“In the 1920s the parish property was extended with the acquisition of two houses immediately south of the rectory. One of these buildings became headquarters for the Catholic Telegraph-Register in 1941 and served that purpose until the two buildings were torn down in 1949 to provide space for the present church.

“The church was completed in 1951 and dedicated by Archbishop Alter.” (See The Catholic Telegraph-Register, December 10, 1954)

Queen of Martyrs' New Church Ready

1989: “The shortest walk between the Queen of Martyrs rectory and its new school is now through the parish’s new church. Parishioners will begin their dedication festivities with a Mass Dec. 8, a little more than a year after the official ground breaking. Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk will be the concelebrant.

“Its location forms the connector between the other parish buildings and the parking lot; its existence means students and parishioners will be able to use the former church area in the school basement for students and community functions.

“The parish used many furnishings from the old church which was remodeled 10 years ago. The altar, pulpit, tabernacle, presider’s chair and stations of the cross, for example, have all found a new home in the spacious surroundings.

“Queen of Martyrs has about 500 families and a school with about 170 students. The parish was started in 1948 and moved into adjacent McAuley Hall at Christmas that same year. The school was started in 1949 and dedicated in September 1950. The church was added to the school building in 1953.” (See The Catholic Telegraph, December 8, 1989)

Santa Maria to Note Golden Jubilee

Headquarters of Santa Maria Institute at 21 W. 13th Street, Cincinnati

1948: “Santa Maria Institute will mark the achievement of a half century of eventful and fruitful work as a Cincinnati Catholic social agency on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8.

“The Sisters of Charity, who established the agency and who still direct it, have seen its activities multiply to include all the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Some of the institute’s undertakings have been Americanization centers; handling of juvenile court cases; probation work; a free employment bureau, day nursery, and kindergarten; housing of homeless women and girls; visitation of the sick, imprisoned, and poor; distribution of food; reclamation of unfortunate women and girls; instruction classes for adults and for children; scout troops and clubs; transcription of reading material into Braille for the blind; and Cana conferences for couples who are married or who plan to be married.

“The two sisters who began the work 51 years ago (Dec. 8 actually will mark the 51st anniversary of the incorporation of ‘The Santa Maria Italian Educational and Industrial Home’) owned only $5 working capital and had no headquarters. Now the institute is housed in a five-story building at 21 W. 13th Street, the fourth it has occupied in its colorful history.

“In 1897 Mother Mary Blanche Davis, superior of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, assigned Sister Justina Segale and Sister Blandina Segale, members of an Italian immigrant family, to offer their services to Archbishop William H. Elder as home missionaries to Italians living in Cincinnati.

“With the blessing of Archbishop Elder, and with $5 carfare in their pockets, the two sisters began making a survey of the city’s basin area. They readily confirmed reports that the Italian immigrants, a hardly favored minority in the rapidly growing metropolis, desperately needed opportunities for religious worship and instruction, as well as for material improvement.

“Two years after Santa Maria Institute was organized, the sisters obtained a building already a landmark in Cincinnati Catholic history. It was the former home of Mrs. Sarah Peter at Third and Lytle streets. Mrs. Peter, a wealthy convert, had brought to Cincinnati the first American foundation of the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis and had turned her home over to them.

“When the Franciscan Sisters built a new mother-house at Hartwell, they placed the Lytle Street property at the disposal of Sister Blandina and Sister Justina.

“Meanwhile, the two nuns organized three schools for Italian children. These were conducted at Springer Institute, at Holy Trinity School, and at their own headquarters. And Mother Mary Blanche assigned another nun, Sister Agnes Cecilia, to help the two pioneers.

“Lay women volunteered their help in a society of ‘Willing Workers’ and made the rounds with the sisters. According to Anna C. Minogue, who in 1922 wrote ‘The Story of the Santa Maria Institute,’ ‘They never went empty-handed, and their gifts to the patients or victims of justice often made a way for the ministrations of the sisters.’

“In 1904, after the Third and Lytle streets property had been marked for destruction by the city, the sisters begged and borrowed $6,700 to buy a brick house at 534 W. Seventh Street. The trustees of Sacred Heart Church on Broadway voted to contribute $250 annually to assist Santa Maria Institute.

“In 1908 Archbishop Henry Moeller granted approval to the Santa Maria Home Missionary League, whose members promised ‘to take an interest in lapsed Catholics and in young people who have not made their First Communion.’

“In 1912 the sisters took possession of the building at 640 W. Eighth Street, formerly occupied by Seton hospital. In the 14 years they remained on Eighth Street the sisters added three adjacent buildings to the institute. In 1926 they sold the buildings and moved to their present headquarters in the former Sun building on 13th Street west of Vine.

“The Eighth Street era of Santa Maria Institute saw the Sisters of Charity expanding and intensifying their mission work. Santa Maria Institute served as the first center of Catholic charities and social activities in Cincinnati, and it was the first Catholic society to affiliate with the Council of Social Agencies when that was organized about 30 years ago.” (See The Catholic Telegraph-Register, November 26, 1948)

“After some years in a small house on Seventh Street the Sisters of Charity purchased the property pictured above, at 640 W. Eighth Street, formerly occupied by Seton hospital.”

100 Years in the Valley

1987: “Little did 6-year-old Frank Hoffman know the significance of his actions when, in 1887, he pulled a slip of paper out of a box of suggested names for a new parish in Elmwood Place, Frank’s selection, St. Aloysius, has become a well-recognized name, not only in Elmeood Place, but also throughout the entire Millcreek Valley.

“On Dec. 13, Father Carl Moeddel, a son of the parish, will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving in honor of the centenary.

“St. Aloysius traces its roots back to the time when Elmwood Place was in the heart of the thriving Millcreek Valley. Seventy-five Catholic families in Elmwood had to travel either to St. Charles Borromeo in Carthage or to St. Clement in St. Bernard for Mass — quite a journey in the days prior to the automobile.

“With the blessing of Archbishop William A. Elder, they formed the St. Aloysius Men’s Society and the St. Clara Altar Society to raise funds for the building of a church. The archbishop appointed Father Charles Druffner, then pastor of St. Charles, to assist the two groups in their efforts.

“Under his direction they purchased land at the corner of Township Avenue and Vine Street and built a combination church, rectory and school building. On Easter Sunday, April 21, 1888, Father Druffner celebrated the first Mass in the new building.

“The following year, St. Aloysius received its first full-time pastor, Father Bernard Dottmann.

“The parish’s first century mirrors Elmwood Place’s transition from a rural town to a thriving suburb to a stable, older community. Its location on the main rail line attracted many small industries as well as their employees and families to the Millcreek Valley community in the early 1900s.

“By the parish’s silver jubilee, St. Aloysius was in a 10-year process of building a new $60,000 church with a seating capacity of 800. Soon after the construction of the church, plans were made for a new school building.

“A booklet published in 1918 for the dedication of the new St. Aloysius Church reported the belfry clock was to be the town clock, testimony of the church’s commanding presence in the center of the community. The booklet’s author also noted that the brick selected for the church ‘will not show the smoke stain from the railroads in the vicinity.’ ” (See The Catholic Telegraph, December 11, 1987)

Maronite Catholic Church

1958: “Maronite Catholic Church of St. Anthony of Padua, Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, is receiving a new facade, shown in the sketch above. The design will conform to the church's interior, which was remodeled recently.

“The church, first a synagogue and later a Protestant church, was acquired by the Maronite congregation to replace its Third Street church after it was razed to make way for street improvements.

“A distinctive feature of the new facade will be a statue of St. Anthony above the doors. The area between the church and street will be regraded. New stairs and walks will be installed and planting areas will adjoin the main entrance.

“The church's new aluminum spire will contain a bell taken from the Third Street church.

“The architects are Gartner, Burdick, and Bauer-Nilsen, Cincinnati. The pastor of St. Anthony's is Father Joseph A. Abood.” (The Catholic Telegraph-Register, December 5, 1958)