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St.
Mary Parish is the oldest continuous parish in the Diocese of Toledo.
It was founded on May 15, 1831 by Irish Immigrants who settled in the
Tiffin area.
The
Most reverend Edward D. Fenwick, O.P. D.D., the "Apostle of Ohio", the
first Bishop of Cincinnati, and founder of St. Mary Parish, appointed
Father Quin first pastor of Tiffin on January 1, 1831. He was
given charge of all the Catholics in northwestern Ohio, and arrived in
Tiffin on May 15, 1831. After Sunday services were over, fervent
pioneer Catholic men gathered with Father Quin and drew up plans for the
future; the discussion topic was the building of a church on the acre of
land in Tiffin, bought almost two years previous by Bishop Fenwick.
It must be borne in mind that the congregation numbered but few families
and single individuals. They were poor in this world's goods, and
money was scarce. The pioneer men and women of St. Mary Parish
were people of deep abiding faith. With the assurance of faith,
they knew God would be with them to assist them in the solution of the
problem of their temporary needs, (provide a home for the new pastor and
means for his support) as he had been in their spiritual needs. In
the Fall of the same year, three members of the parish, whose names
should be written in gold in the records of this parish: Patrick Kinney,
Philip Henessy and Mathew Delaney, personally contracted for the making
of sufficient brick to build a small church, approximately 30 by 40 feet
in dimensions. The Church, located near East Madison St., was not
dedicated until January 7, 1837. Father Zavier Tschenhens,
dedicated this church to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the
title, Help of Christians, the feast of which is celebrated on
May 24th. In
the mid 1800's St. Mary Church opened its doors to the influx of German
Immigrants. Because of Father Healy's insight that our Church
would have a rapidly growing congregation, his ambition was to construct
a new Church. Due to his untimely death, he was unable to realize
his dream. At the turn of the century, Italian Immigrants found
their home here also. Fr. Healy's successor, Father Conlon,
carried out the plans for building the new Church on the corner of Clay
Street and S. Sandusky Street. In August, 1905, Bishop Horstman,
of the Cleveland Diocese, laid the cornerstone for the new St. Mary
Church, and on Sunday, September 30, 1906, our church was dedicated.
Today,
St. Mary Parish, 85 S. Sandusky Street, consists of people from many
diverse backgrounds. |
