Holy Trinity Church (Heilige Dreieinigkeit) was the first

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-speaking

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. It was located at the intersection of West Fifth Street and Mound Street in Cincinnati's historic West End. The parish was founded in 1834 and the church was dedicated on October 5, 1834. The parish school building served as the first home of the

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...

of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Saint Gregory Seminary, when a

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...

delayed the construction of its campus in

Mount Washington Mount Washington is an ultra-prominent mountain in the state of New Hampshire. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorio ...

. Miller, Francis Joseph (2006). ''A History of the Athenaeum of Ohio: A History of the Seminaries of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati''. pp. 115, 116, 118, 122, 125, 179, 181, 195, 211, 212, 214. John Albrinck, a son of the parish, went on to serve as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, as well as pastor of Holy Trinity and founder of Saint Gregory. Holy Trinity was founded to serve the growing tide German-speaking Catholic population in Cincinnati. It became the mother church of many German Catholic Churches in Cincinnati. By 1840, 30% of the population was German-speaking, leading to the publication of ordinances in both German and English. Out of the city's 12,000 Catholics, 8,000 were German. Some of the Cincinnati German parishes were: Old St. Mary's Church (1840), St. John the Baptist Church (1844), St. Philomena (1846), St. Paul Church (Over the Rhine) (1847), St. Michael the Archangel Church (1847), St. Augustine (1852), Immaculata Church (1859), and St. Anthony (1860) and St. Stephen (1867). Records for this Parish are located at: Chancery Office of the Archdiocese, 100 East Eighth Street,

45202 This was the second parish founded in Cincinnati and was closed in 1958. The building was torn down for

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

and the construction of

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

. Lost with this church were the

Frank Duveneck Frank Duveneck (né Decker; October 9, 1848 – January 3, 1919) was an American figure and portrait painter. Early life Duveneck was born in Covington, Kentucky, the son of German immigrant Bernhard Decker. Decker died in a cholera epidemic whe ...

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

, which were painted on each side of the main altar.

References

External links

Holy Trinity Church, from the Souvenir Album of American cities: Catholic Churches of Cincinnati and Hamilton County edition, 1896Holy Trinity Church, InteriorRev. John C. Albrinck, Ph.D., Vicar-General, Rector, Holy Trinity ChurchRev. Francis Roth, Assistant Rector, Holy Trinity Church, circa 1896
Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Ohio Roman Catholic churches in Cincinnati German-American history German-American culture in Cincinnati Demolished churches in Ohio Buildings and structures demolished in 1958 West End, Cincinnati Demolished buildings and structures in Cincinnati {{Ohio-RC-church-stub