St. Mary Mother of the Redeemer Church

Infobox religious building
building_name = St. Mary Mother of the Redeemer Church
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caption = St. Mary Mother of the Redeemer Church
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location = Norwalk Ohio
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religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic
rite =
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consecration_year = 1894
status = Church
functional_status = active
heritage_designation = Irish
leadership = Father Francis Speier
website = http://www.stmarynorwalk.org
architecture = yes
architect = William P. Ginther
architecture_type = Church
architecture_style = Gothic
facade_direction = East
groundbreaking = May 29, 1889
year_completed = 1894
construction_cost = $35,000.00
specifications = yes
capacity = ~425
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materials = Sandstone
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Saint Mary Mother of the Redeemer Church is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo. The current church is located at 38 W. League Street, Norwalk Ohio.

Catholics in Norwalk

The first Catholic Church built in Norwalk was St. Peter's in 1841. It was located on west Main Street. Prior to the building of St. Peter’s church, the people of Norwalk had to attend Mass at St. Alphonsus, in neighboring Peru. St. Alphonsus had been established about 1828. (See website of St. Alphonsus...http://www.stalphonsusperu.org)

There were mainly two different ethnic groups of Catholics in Norwalk prior to the building of St. Mary's and St. Paul's Roman Catholic church: German and Irish. Shortly before the first railroad was built through Norwalk, which was in the early 1850’s, there was a large influx of Irish people into Norwalk. They came to work on the railroad. Most of the newcomers settled in the northwest section of town, and attended Mass at St. Peter’s. Separate services were held in English and German for the two nationalities attending the church. The English speaking Catholics wished to have a parish of their own and so on October 12, 1853 a tract of land was bought on Milan Avenue at what is now the corner of St. Mary’s Street and Milan Avenue.

As a result, the German Catholics remained at St. Peter's until their population grew to where they could no longer use St. Peter's church. They moved to build a new church in the later 1890s under the patronage of St. Paul the Apostle.

Current Information

As of the 2003 church census, there were 1010 members in the church. The church itself has a regular capacity of 425 people.

In 2004, St. Mary was twinned with a new parish, St. Anthony in Milan Ohio.(See St. Anthony's website...http://www.milanstanthony.org) Its ties with its previous sister church of 35 years, St. Alphonsus in Peru, Ohio, was broken by the Toledo Diocese in a mass "restructuring" of the diocese. The two parishes share a priest, Father Francis Speier.

Mass times are as follows...

January through June Mass Schedule
*Sunday: 8:30 am (St. Mary) & 10:30 am (St. Anthony)
*Monday: 9:00 am (St. Mary)
*Tuesday: 9:15 am (St. Mary)
*Wednesday: 9:00 am (St. Anthony)
*Thursday: No Mass
*Friday: 9:00 am (St. Anthony)
*Saturday: 4:30 pm (St. Mary)

July through December Mass Schedule
*Sunday: 8:30 am (St. Anthony) & 10:30 am (St. Mary)
*Monday: 9:00 am (St. Mary)
*Tuesday: 9:15 am (St. Mary)
*Wednesday: 9:00 am (St. Anthony)
*Thursday: No Mass
*Friday: 9:00 am (St. Anthony)
*Saturday: 4:30 pm (St. Anthony)

elect Photos

History

Below is the shorter, timeline version of the History of St. Mary Church. The complete history can be found on St. Mary's website. The history there also contains hundreds of photos to back up the words of the story. http://www.stmarynorwalk.org/history.htm

Timeline Church History

1850's-There was a great influx of Irish people into Norwalk to work on the railroad. Most of the newcomers settled in the northwest section of town. The attended Mass at St. Peter's on West Main Street. Fr. Ponchell, pastor of St. Peter's conducted separate services in English and German for the two nationalities attending the church. In the end he decided that another church should be built.

1856- The English speaking Catholics organized under the patronage of Mary, The Mother of Our Redeemer. A brick church was built at the corner of Milan Avenue and St. Mary's Street.

1860-Father Ponchell died without seeing the completion of his church. It was his request that he be buried under the church he worked so hard to build.

1861-Completion of the church under Fr. John Quinn.

1864-Fr. Thorpe was appointed pastor.

1865-A school was built at the rear of the church. There were eighty students at the start of the new school year.

1875-Our growing parish was in need of a larger church and school so land was bought at State and League Streets.

1878-A two story brick school was built. Church services were still held on Milan Avenue.

1889-St. Mary's church was too small and was no longer near the school, the people of the parish decided it was time to build a new and larger church. In the spring of 1889 plans were prepared and approved by the Bishop. The cornerstone was laid on September 22, 1889.

1904-Father P.J. Quinn undertook the building of a new rectory, next to the church. This two story stone residence later became the Sister's home, now known as "The Century House".

1913- The two-story school was condemned and torn down. At this time students were sent to public schools.

1919-A two room wooden school was built and run by the Sisters of St. Dominic.

1933-Fr. John Malone, a member of the parish, was ordained in June. He offered his first Mass at St. Mary's on June 11, 1933.

1935-Sisters of Notre Dame took charge of the school.

1937-Fr. Charles Sanger, of St. Mary Parish, was ordained in May, and Reverend Carmen Nardecchia also from the parish was ordained in May 1938.

1952-Mary Ellen Frey entered the convent of the Sisters of St. Dominic in Caldwell, New Jersey.

1953-Renovation to the church began.

1957-Ground breaking for the new school took place in May. The new building was dedicated in June 1958.

1963-A gymnasium was added to the school.

1964-A new rectory was built and the old rectory was remodeled into a convent for the sisters. Today that building is known as the Century House.

1970-A four room addition was made to the school.

1977-Storm windows were installed on the church windows, the sacristy was remodeled and the steeple was reslated.

1982-A new organ was installed and the Diocesan RENEW program began at St. Mary's.

1988-Jack Bleile was ordained as permanent deacon in December.

1989-Sisters of Notre Dame began living at St. Paul's in the fall. The convent was now renamed as the Century House, and used as a meeting and conference facility.

1991-Work began on the stained glass windows in church. The windows were restored and re-leaded. Five sanctuary windows were reopened and restored. Plans for the church renovation proceeded

1996-Renovation of the church began. The interior of the church was repainted and new flooring was installed. The sanctuary area was made smaller to make room for the choir on one side and the baptismal font and flexible seating on the other side. Benches were refinished at this time.

200l-The church was air conditioned.

2002-A new playground and Enrichment center were installed and a committee was appointed by the Leadership of the parish to study Stewardship. After meeting for several months it was decided that St. Mary's would become a Stewardship parish.

2003-Church roof was replaced.

2004-A new beginning; St. Mary's was assigned a new Pastor and twinned with St. Anthony's in Milan.

2005- The school roof was replaced and during the summer of 2005 a steering committee was formed to study the future of Catholic Education in the Norwalk area. The decision was made to turn the St. Mary's Campus into the Early Childhood Center, which would include Preschool, Kindergarten and after care for the Norwalk Catholic School.

2008-The former Covent, known as the "Century House", was torn down. Its upkeep was no longer an option and it was no longer used for anything in the parish.