St. Philomena's Church was a

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 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located 619 East Third Street at East Pearl Street, in downtown

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 ...

. The church was named in honor of St. Philomena, a popular saint of the period. This parish was founded to serve the growing tide of German-speaking Catholic population in Cincinnati, it was the fourth

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 ...

Catholic Parish in Cincinnati. The

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

was laid August 23, 1846. Rev. Louis Huber, O.S.F., and after him, Rev. B. Hengehold, directed the building of the church. The dedication ceremonies were performed by Archbishop

John Baptist Purcell John Baptist Purcell (February 26, 1800 – July 4, 1883) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Cincinnati from 1833 to his death in 1883, and he was elevated to the rank of archbishop in 1850. He formed the b ...

, May 21, 1848, though services had been held since the January previous in the uncompleted building. The school house was erected in 1865, the parsonage in 1872. The congregation numbered 200 families in 189

Services were no longer held in German after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

began. Because of the church's location near the riverfront, St. Philomena's

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...

was a well-known landmark on the Cincinnati skyline. On July 7, 1915 a tornado damaged the steeple. The steeple fell on a building across Pearl Street. (See link) The Parish was closed in 1954. Records for this Parish are located at the Chancery Office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, 100 E. 8th St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. In the late 1950s much of Cincinnati's historic riverfront including St. Philomena's Church was cleared for the construction of the

Fort Washington Way Fort Washington Way is an approximately section of freeway in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The eight-lane divided highway is a concurrency (road), concurrent section of Interstate 71 in Ohio, Interstate 71 (I-71) and U.S. Route ...

and later the Lytle Tunnel.

External links

Parish profileSt. Philomena's Church, East Pearl Street
{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, state=collapsed Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Ohio Roman Catholic churches in Cincinnati German-American history German-American culture in Cincinnati Demolished churches in Ohio Religious organizations established in 1846 1954 disestablishments in Ohio 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 1954 1846 establishments in Ohio Demolished buildings and structures in Cincinnati