Built 1841 Opened 1841 Phone +1 513-721-2988 | NRHP Reference # 76001439 Area 7,700 m² Added to NRHP 13 March 1976 | |
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Location 123 E. 13th St., Cincinnati, Ohio Part of Over-the-Rhine Historic District (#83001985) Address 123 E 13th St, Cincinnati, OH 45202, USA Architectural styles Greek Revival architecture, Victorian architecture Similar Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral, St Francis Xavier Church, Immaculata Church, Saint Francis De Sales Cat, St Rose Church Profiles | ||
Old St. Mary's Church is a parish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati in the United States. It is located at 123 E. Thirteenth Street in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. This Roman Catholic parish was organized in 1840 by German immigrants, at a time of dramatic growth in the city's population.
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Designed in the Greek Revival style by Franz Ignatz Erd, it is the second-oldest German-Catholic parish in the city and the oldest standing church in Cincinnati. The church is 142 feet long, 66 feet wide and with a steeple 170 feet tall. When built, it was the largest church in the Ohio Valley. The original church was dedicated on July 3, 1842.
History
In 1840, German immigrants were arriving in Cincinnati at the rate of 200 per day. Many of the men donated their own labor to build the church, making the bricks by hand. The number of German immigrants increased in mid-century, with many arriving after the 1848 revolutions in various principalities. The German Catholics built a strong community, with St. Mary's at the heart of it. They also built a parish school and, later, a second school as the number of children increased. In May through August 1849, during the cholera epidemic in Cincinnati, 796 parishioners of St. Mary's died. There were 345 funerals in July.
The term "Old" was added to the name of this church in 1904 after St. Mary's in Hyde Park (Cincinnati) was founded.
The parent parish was Holy Trinity Church (Heilige Dreieinigkeit), which was located at West Fifth Street and Barr Street/Mound Street, in Cincinnati's Old West End. Organized in 1834, Holy Trinity was the first German parish and second Roman Catholic parish in Cincinnati. The Holy Trinity Parish was closed in 1958 because of changing demographics.
The three buildings of the Old St. Mary's parish complex were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Seven years later, they were among more than two thousand Over-the-Rhine buildings listed on the Register together as contributing to the Over-the-Rhine Historic DistrictHistoric District.
Joseph H. Albers D.D. was ordained a priest in 1916. Father Albers' first appointment was in Cincinnati as an assistant pastor at Old St. Mary's Church, School and Rectory. As an armed forces chaplain in World War I, Father Albers was decorated and received the Silver Star (presumably the Citation Star which was its predecessor) for bravery and valor. Thereafter, he was assigned to establish the new Diocese of Lansing, Michigan in 1937, and was its first bishop (1937–1964).
Current services
The parish, which today draws parishioners from some 50 different zip codes, practices a full range of the rich liturgical, musical and cultural heritage of the Roman Catholic tradition. The Church offers Masses in Latin and English every weekday, and in Latin, German and English every Sunday. The Latin Mass sometimes features a Gregorian chant choir.
The parish complex includes a rectory and building that once served the parish as a Catholic girls’ grammar school. At present St. John Social Services leases the building from the parish to house several of their outreach programs for the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.