Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church (Columbus, Ohio)

Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church (Columbus, Ohio)
St. Mary Church or Grand Old St. Mary's
Saint Mary Church in the springtime
Location	684 South 3rd Street in Columbus, Ohio
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.stmarygv.com
Architecture
Heritage designation	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Designated	December 30, 1974
Architect(s)	Blackburn and Koehler[1]
Style	Gothic revival[1]
Groundbreaking	1866[1]
Completed	1893[1]
Construction cost	$40,000[1]
Specifications
Length	140 feet (43 m)[2]
Width	62.5 feet (19 m)[2]
Height	75 feet (23 m)[2]
Number of spires	1
Spire height	197 feet (60 m)[2]
Materials	Brick
Bells	3[1]
Administration
Diocese	Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus
Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
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Location	Columbus, Ohio
Coordinates	39°56′55.4″N 82°59′41.2″W / 39.948722°N 82.994778°W / 39.948722; -82.994778Coordinates: 39°56′55.4″N 82°59′41.2″W / 39.948722°N 82.994778°W / 39.948722; -82.994778
Part of	German Village (#74001490[3])
Designated CP	December 30, 1974

Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church (commonly known as St. Mary Church or Grand Old St. Mary’s^[1]) is the third oldest Catholic church building in Columbus, Ohio^[4] and is home to an active parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus. The church's name refers to the ancient Christian belief that the mother of Jesus Christ was "assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."^[5] The church spire towers 197 feet (60 m) above street level making it a prominent landmark and the tallest building in the historic German Village neighborhood south of downtown Columbus.^[6] With the rest of German Village, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 30, 1974.

Early History and Construction

Interior

In the year 1865, approximately one third of the Columbus population was ethnically German due to decades of immigration. Many German immigrants settled in the South End neighborhood (as German Village was then called).^[7] The Catholic population had outgrown nearby Holy Cross Church^[1] and the German-speaking South End residents wanted their own parish.^[2] It was in that same year, St. Mary's parish was formed with the newly ordained Fr. Francis X. Sprecht^[2] as its first pastor. Construction began in 1866 and the church was dedicated two years later by Bishop Sylvester Rosecrans on November 29, 1868. The spire was erected in 1893 at a price of $5000. The clock was installed the next year.^[8]

Interior

Chancel

The white walnut reredos behind the main altar is 20 feet wide and 45 feet tall. Carved by Allard Klooter in 1866 at a cost of $2,500, it was moved to St. Mary Church from another church in Cincinnati. As the church patroness, a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary stands in the center of the reredos. It is flanked on the left by a statue of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, and on the right by Saint Boniface. All of these statues are made of carved wood.

The crucifix hanging from the dome of the apse is 10 feet wide and 12 feet long, with a symbol representing one of the four Gospels at each extremity. Created by a parishioner, it was first hung in the church during the early 1930s.

Stained glass windows

The church's window of Thérèse of Lisieux was reportedly installed in 1932, only seven years after her canonization.^[2]

The original stained glass windows in the church building were composed of religious symbols and geometric designs. Some of these can still be found in stairways, the choir loft, the sacristy, and in the vestibule. The original windows along the north and south walls of the nave have been replaced with windows depicting saints and the life of Jesus Christ.

Subjects of the pictorial windows

• Our Lady of the Rosary presenting the rosary to Saint Dominic
• The Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary
• The Holy Family being serenaded by a cherub
• Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
• Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque’s vision of the Sacred Heart
• The Marriage of the Virgin
• Jesus Christ and Saint John the Baptist as children
• The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary^[2]

Paintings

"Adoration of the Magi" fresco

Ten painted ceiling panels depict images representing Marian titles from the Litany of Loreto. The ceiling was originally painted in the 1890s and restored in 1987. Munich native, Gerhart Lemars, executed the sanctuary paintings between 1930 and 1935. The apse ceiling depicts a Trinitarian rendering of the Eye of Providence. Oval symbols running vertically near the face of the apse represent salvation. Angels holding instruments of the Passion of Christ stand over a Latin phrase taken from the Adoration of the Cross portion of the Roman Catholic Good Friday liturgy. Translated, it says, “Behold the wood of the cross on which hung the salvation of the world… Faithful cross, most noble tree of all.”^[2]

Oil frescos are located over the side altars flanking the sanctuary. Painted by Wenceslaus Thein and William Lamprecht in 1867, the left painting shows the Adoration of the Magi, and the right painting shows the Holy Family with Saint Anne.^[9]

150th Anniversary

On August 14, 2015, the church undertook a motorcade featuring a mobile carillon as part of the celebration for the parish's 150th anniversary and its 90th Homecoming Festival. The current pastor, Father Kevin Lutz, regaled onlookers in downtown Columbus and German Village with hymns played on the 48-bell carillon. The motorcade reenacted the November 1868 procession which preceded the church's dedication.^[10]

Indefinite Closure

On Sunday, September 25, 2016, lightning struck the church building. On Friday, October 7, structural engineers recommended St. Mary Church temporarily close due significant damage to the roof trusses. Until repairs can be made, weekend Masses will be held in the St. Mary School gymnasium and weekday Masses will be held in the church chapel.^[11]

References

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