St. Rose's Catholic Church (St. Rose, Ohio) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Rose Catholic Church Complex
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Front and western side of the church
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 Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Location | Main St., St. Rose, Ohio |
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| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1892 |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| MPS | Cross-Tipped Churches of Ohio TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 79002838 |
| Added to NRHP | July 26, 1979 |
The St. Rose Catholic Church is a very old and important Catholic church located in St. Rose, a small community in Mercer County, Ohio, United States. It's also known as "St. Rosa's Catholic Church." This church is a historic building that has been a central part of the community for many years.
Contents
History of St. Rose Parish
_-_interior,_sanctuary.jpg)
Catholic families in the St. Rose area started meeting for worship way back in 1837. Just one year later, in 1838, they built their first church out of logs. In 1842, they bought land for a cemetery and a bigger church.
By 1844, these families officially became a separate church group, called a parish. They named it after St. Rose. Back then, the St. Rose parish was much larger than it is today. Over time, five other parishes were formed from parts of the original St. Rose area. These included churches in nearby towns like Cassella, Sebastian, Chickasaw, Carthagena, and Montezuma.
For the first eight years, church services were not held very often. But in 1845, priests from the Congregation of the Precious Blood began to serve St. Rose and other nearby churches. This meant that the people of St. Rose could finally have regular church services.
By the 1850s, the log church building was too small for the growing community. So, a new church made of brick was built. It cost $6,000 and was finished in 1854. This brick church was 42 feet wide and 75 feet long. It was updated over the years, even getting acetylene lighting by 1907.
However, this second church also became too small. So, in 1911, work began on a third and even larger church building. This is the church you see today. It was officially opened in September 1912.
Today, St. Rose's is still a very active parish in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It is part of a group of churches called the Marion Catholic Community. This group includes churches in Chickasaw, Cassella, Sebastian, and Maria Stein. All these churches are part of the St. Marys Deanery, which is a larger church district.
Buildings of the Complex
The St. Rose Catholic Church complex has three main buildings right next to each other. These are the church itself, the rectory (where the priest lives), and a building that used to be a one-room school.
The Church Building
St. Rose's Church is built in a style called High Gothic Revival. It looks like a Latin cross from above. The church is made of brick and has one main floor. It sits on a strong foundation of blue Bedford limestone and has a basement. The roof is pointed, like a triangle, and covered with asphalt.
One of the most striking parts of the church is its tall, eight-sided steeple. At the very top of the steeple is a belfry with openings for sound to come out. The front corners of the church have tall, narrow windows and small square towers.
Inside, the sanctuary (the main worship area) is beautifully decorated with white reredos (decorated screens behind the altar) and many statues. Light shines into the church through tall, narrow lancet windows, which are found on the sides of the building. Throughout the church, you'll see high, pointed arches, which are a classic feature of Gothic architecture. There is also a small cemetery located behind the church.
Architectural experts often group the old churches in western Ohio into different "generations." St. Rose's Church, built in 1912, is considered a "fourth-generation" church. However, it looks a lot like "third-generation" churches because of its Gothic Revival style and its single tall tower in the middle. The DeCurtins family designed this church, and they designed two other similar churches from the same time period. The church building that came before this one (built in 1854) looked more like "second-generation" churches, such as the Holy Family Church in Frenchtown.
The Rectory
Next to the church, on its west side, is the rectory. This is a three-story building where the parish priest lives. It was built in 1905 and cost $6,000. The rectory is a rectangular brick building with a strong stone foundation and a slate roof.
The front of the rectory has three sections, and the sides have four. It has pointed gables on the front and sides. There's a large porch on the front, like a verandah, and two bay windows that stick out from the building. To enter the house, you go through a fancy front door. It has special details like a curved window above it, a beveled (slanted) window, and narrow windows on the sides. Before this rectory was built, the priests who served St. Rose lived in nearby convents like Gruenwald and Maria Stein.
The School Building
On the east side of the church is a one-story building that used to be a parish school. This school was built in 1892 and was the second school in St. Rose. The first school building was destroyed around 1900.
The 1892 building started as a one-room school. In 1941, it was changed to have two rooms. The school stayed open until 1957. It closed because a new law in Ohio required all school districts to provide a four-year high school education. Since then, local students have gone to schools in the Marion Local School District.
After the school closed, the building was changed again. It became a parish hall and a place for community activities.
Special Recognition
In 1977, the St. Rose Church, its rectory, and its old school were all looked at by the Ohio Historic Inventory. This is a program that helps protect historic places in Ohio. All three buildings were in good condition and were not in danger of being destroyed.
Because of their importance, the church was considered special enough to be added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1979, all three buildings were officially added to this list together. They were part of a larger group of over thirty churches and other religious buildings connected to the Precious Blood order that were listed at the same time. This included at least one building from each of the churches in the Marion Catholic Community.
Many churches in this part of western Ohio have tall, pointed Gothic Revival steeples. Because of this, the area has earned a special nickname: the "Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches."
