St. Henry's Catholic Church is an historic

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church in St. Henry,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Built in the late nineteenth century, it remains the home of a functioning congregation, and it has been recognized as a historically significant building because of its architecture.

Early history

St. Henry Parish was established in 1839,Brown, Mary Ann. ''Ohio Historic Inventory Nomination: St. Henry Catholic Church''. Ohio Historical Society, n.d. two years after the village of St. Henry was founded.Scranton, S.S. ''History of Mercer County, Ohio and Representative Citizens''.

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

: Biographical, 1907. Served by the

Missionaries of the Precious Blood The Missionaries of the Precious Blood ( la, Congregatio Missionariorum Pretiosissimi Sanguinis) is a Catholic community of priests and brothers. The society was founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815. The Missionaries of the Precious Blo ...

, it was named for Henry II, who reigned as

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

during the eleventh century. At that time, there were few Catholics in St. Henry and the surrounding Granville Township; consequently, the congregation's first church building (erected in 1840) was a small

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

structure. It was replaced by a brick church that was completed in 1854 at a cost of $7,000.

Current structure

By the 1890s, the membership of St. Henry's Church had grown to the point that a new church building was necessary. Construction began on the new structure in 1895; while much of the construction work was performed by parishioners, the design was the responsibility of German-born architect, Adolphus Druiding of Chicago. The contractors were the DeCurtins Brothers. Construction was finished in 1897, at a cost of approximately $100,000. An estimate in the early twentieth century pronounced the church the most costly in northwestern Ohio. The church is a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

structure, built in the shape of a

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

. Its exterior consists of brick walls and a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d roof, upheld by a stone foundation. The most prominent aspect of its exterior is a massive belfry and

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

, approximately 200 feet (60 m) tall. Large

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

s illuminate the interior, which features painted and

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

ed walls; the distance from the floor to the apex of the ceiling vault is 62 feet (19 m). The exterior design is similar to two other churches by Adolphus Druiding; St. Patrick (1891) in Toledo, OH and St. Michael (1890) in Rochester, NY. A major renovation project in the 1970s led to significant changes in the sanctuary, including the removal of frescoes by Austrian-born artist, Joseph Vittur, statues and its High Gothic

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

., designed by the E.Hackner Co., LaCrosse, WI. Architectural historians have divided the Precious Blood-related churches of western Ohio into four generations. St. Henry's is typical of the churches of the third generation, which are generally Gothic structures with a single central tower.Brown, Mary Ann and Mary Niekamp. ', 2.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, July 1978. Accessed 2010-02-01.

Stained glass windows

The church interior is adorned with

Munich-style stained glass Munich-style stained glass was produced in the Royal Bavarian Stained Glass Manufactory, Munich, in the mid-19th century. King Ludwig I, opened the glassworks in 1827 which continued production of high quality glass until the early 20th century. ...

windows. ;Subjects of the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

rose windows *

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

of Jesus *

Immaculate Heart of Mary The Immaculate Heart of Mary () is a Roman Catholic devotional name used to refer to the Catholic view of the interior life of Mary, mother of Jesus, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love ...

;Subjects of the pictorial windows *

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

as the

Good Samaritan In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

Saint Francis St. Francis or Saint Francis may refer to: Roman Catholic saints *Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), Italian founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) *Francis of Paola (1416–1507), Italian (Calabrian) founder of the Order of the Minims * ...

beholding a vision of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

*St.

Gaspar del Bufalo Gaspar Melchior Balthazar del Bufalo (January 6, 1786 – December 28, 1837), also known as Gaspare del Bufalo, was a Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest and the founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Canonization, Cano ...

preaching *A vision of

Saint Agnes Agnes of Rome () is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches. St. Agnes is one of several virgin martyrs com ...

* Saint Aloysius receiving a vision of the

*The

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

Saint Cyriacus Cyriacus ( el, Ἅγιος Κυριακός, fl. 303 AD), sometimes Anglicized as Cyriac, according to Christian tradition, is a Christian martyr who was killed in the Diocletianic Persecution. He is one of twenty-seven saints, most of them mart ...

*Saint Henry interceding with Jesus and the Virgin Mary in

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

on behalf of

parishioners A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

*The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Associated buildings

A brick

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

lies next to the church's eastern side. Built in 1901, it combines a range of architectural styles into an elaborate house. Located behind the rectory are a

catechetical Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christian ...

center and a public elementary school. An older parochial school was once located on the church's western side; built in the Italianate style in 1905, it served as a public

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

after the church discontinued its use.

Recent history

An architectural survey performed in 1977 rated the exterior of St. Henry's Church in good condition. Two years later, the church was recognized for its architecture and its high quality of preservation when it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Thirty-three other buildings related to the Society of the Precious Blood, including twenty-six churches, were added to the Register at the same time. Today, St. Henry's remains an active parish of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It is part of the St. Henry Cluster, along with St. Aloysius Parish in Carthagena,

St. Bernard Parish St. Bernard Parish (french: Paroisse de Saint-Bernard; es, Parroquia de San Bernardo) is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of ...

in Burkettsville, St. Francis Parish in Cranberry Prairie, and St. Wendelin Parish in St. Wendelin. The entire cluster is a part of the St. Marys

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

.The Futures Project
Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Accessed 2010-02-02.

References

External links

St. Henry Cluster website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Henry's Catholic Church, Saint Henry, Ohio Roman Catholic churches completed in 1897 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Churches in the Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches Gothic Revival church buildings in Ohio Churches in Mercer County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Mercer County, Ohio Religious organizations established in 1839 Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati 1839 establishments in Ohio