125th Anniversary Celebration, June 4, 1977, Holy Trinity Church, Middletown, Ohio (1852-1977) April of 1852 saw the founding of the Middletown area's first Roman Catholic church. For two years previous to the laying of the cornerstone in 1853 of the original Holy Trinity church, local Catholics had met in family dwellings and Leibee Hall. Franciscan Fathers from St. Stephen Church in Hamilton served the small congregation as well as the communities of Trenton, Monroe, Franklin, and other villages north of Hamilton.

But the increasing number of Irish Catholic immigrants in this region necessitated the organization of a Catholic church to minister to the people of northern Butler County and a southern segment of Warren County. Land was secured in a prime location on the crest of what was commonly referred to as the "Clark Street Rise," overlooking the section of town inhabited by the Irish community.

An offspring of St. Stephen's in Hamilton, Holy Trinity Church itself was to become a "mother parish" and from it five other Catholic parishes were organized over the next 100 years. The other churches were Holy Name in Trenton, St. Mary's in Franklin, Seven Dolors in Monroe, and St. John's and St. Mary's of Middletown. The people who laid the cornerstone of the first Holy Trinity Church 125 years ago actually were laying the cornerstone for first Catholicism in the region.

Father Jeremiah O'Conner was the first resident pastor for the congregation. During his pastorate a Catholic cemetery was started on Clark Street approximately three small farms north of the church. In 1865 land located across the dirt road now known as Columbia Avenue was purchased at auction by Mathew Hepting for $1,900.

In 1866 Father O'Conner's successor, Father Thomas Boulger, hired Miss Emily Callahan to teach the school-age children of the parish. Classes were held in the gallery of the church. A new order of nuns from Baltimore was beginning to serve the Cincinnati area. In 1867, these nuns, the Sisters of Charity, assumed charge of the school. This event left it's scholastic imprint on the Middletown area for years to come.

The parish needed more space to accommodate an expanding congregation. Catholics organized their own church in the community of Franklin, St. Mary's. A frame structure in Monroe was purchased in 1868 and moved to the church grounds, where Father Boulger was having another building constructed. Together these two buildings provided larger and more practical facilities for Holy Trinity School. The conditions were rather crude compared to modern standards, but they served as a foundation for the first Middletown parochial school, which was to become an educational landmark.

As the years went by, the number of Catholics in the area increased in number and the ethnic population became more diversified: Germans, Italians, and Slovaks settled in this section of the Miami Valley. Thus St. John's Church became organized in 1872, followed by Seven Dolors in Monroe in 1887.

In April of 1890, the Rev. Daniel A. Buckley was assigned to Holy Trinity Parish. Both the school buildings and the church became inadequate. A rectory had been constructed next to the church and school buildings during Father Michael Hayes pastorate in 1886. Father Buckley's attention was first directed to the school. With the help of the men of the parish and $17,000, an imposing brick structure began to dominate the Clark Street neighborhood. The two-story school building consisted of several basement rooms where the local Ancient Order of Hibernians first started meeting, four spacious classrooms on the first floor, and a commodious auditorium on the second floor along with two other classrooms.
The property which was acquired for the church, on the north side of First Street, now Columbia Avenue, was to serve almost thirty years later as the site of Holy Trinity convent.

With the school and convent built, there was only one more project to be completed: replacing the original church. Mass was being held in the school auditorium to accommodate the parishioners more comfortably. It was Father Buckley's father, a noted Cincinnati architect, who came to Middletown and designed a Gothic structure that would replace the smaller obsolete church.

The original church was razed, and on that same site the new church was erected. In October of 1898, the cornerstone of this more imposing house of worship was laid.  The present structure was finished in the spring of the following year, and was officially dedicated in September of 1899. The men of the parish dug the basement themselves with picks and shovels. Mr. Buckley stayed in Middletown for approximately one year to supervise the construction. The only alteration made was that of shortening the church by twenty feet due to the economic recession plaguing the country at that time. Impressive stained glass windows were donated by families in the parish, except for the one on the south side of the sanctuary, which was donated by the school children in honor of the patron saint of Catholic schools, St. Thomas Aquinas. These colorful windows significantly added to the beauty of the church, since they could be viewed with clarity on the inside with the sun's rays filtering through them and on the outside, particularly at night, with the interior lights highlighting them in the darkness.
The original source of light in the present church was gas. Tall candelabras spaced throughout the church supported by stout metallic stands rising from the floor, were converted to electricity several years after they were installed. Holy Trinity, St. John's and Central School were the first school buildings in the city to be illuminated by Thomas Edison's marvelous invention that was beginning to sweep the country -- the electric light bulb.

A spired and decorative main altar graced the domed inset sanctuary and was complemented by two similar, yet smaller, altars which encompassed the statues of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph.  The present organ was installed in the church at the turn of the century. In the early years power was furnished by a water wheel located in the basement of the church. Miss Marguerite O'Malley was organist for several years succeeded by Miss Pearl Walburg. Miss Walburg was to remain organist and choir director for over forty years . . . After Miss Walburg retired, our present organist Mrs. Sue Fuller assumed this responsibility. Recently she is being assisted by Miss Mary Sulfsted.

The church bells were cast by the Buckeye Bell and Foundry in 1903. The small bell was dedicated to the church committee, Charles Kramer, Charles LaFayette, John Moher, Jr., William Meehan, John Mosler, in charge of the bells at that time. The middle bell was dedicated to all the pastors from Father O'Conner to Father Buckley. The large bell was dedicated to Archbishop Elder, Coadjutor Moeller, and Pastor Buckley.

It was at the turn of the century that Father Buckley sent Sister Rosetta Higgins to a commercial college to acquire secretarial skills and return to Middletown to establish the Holy Trinity Commercial School on the second floor of the school building. Popularity of the commercial classes increased to the point that the parish had to acquire the Mullin's house on the south side of the church building to accommodate the demand for classrooms. Sister Mary Gertrude McAtee was probably the best known of all Holy Trinity teachers and one of the most respected commercial teachers in the city's history.

Armco's expansion in the early 1900's increased the population of the city. The Catholic community was also increasing in size. The growing pains were relieved in 1910 when Father Edward Hickey, who replaced Father Buckley in 1904 as pastor, added to the school building by expanding the auditorium, renovating the rooms in the basement, building several other classrooms into the structure and including two high school grades in the curriculum. The convent was also expanded to house the extra nuns.

The spring of 1913 saw the most devastating natural disaster to ever hit Middletown -- the 1913 flood. The school and other church property had the geographical advantage of being located on the Clark Street rise. After the flood, Father Hickey had a $40,000 structure built behind the school which housed a swimming pool, gymnasium, and an elevated track. Outdoor handball courts had been constructed three years earlier.

In 1917 a central heating system was installed which supplied heat for the gymnasium and school buildings as well as for the convent, church and rectory.  In 1921 Father Hickey died and Father James Francis McNary, his successor, remained as pastor until 1958, when death ended his residency.

"Don't say anything about me, write about the congregation." These words were spoken by Monsignor McNary upon the celebration of his fifty years in the priesthood. These words typify the character of the man, his personal concern and care for the community. A little man with a fiery tongue, Irish wit, and a keen mind, Monsignor McNary won a place in the hearts of thousands of Middletonians of every faith.

Father Leo T. Herlihy assumed the pastorate after Monsignor McNary's death in 1958. During his nine years as pastor, he was active in the drive for building Catholic Fenwick High School in 1962. He also arranged for the redecoration of the interior of the church, replacing the old altars and pews with more modern ones. It is significant to note that modernizing the interior of the church coincided with Vatican II changes in the liturgy. Father Herlihy served the parish well during this transitional phase. Because of ill health he retired in 1967. He was succeeded by Father Paul Cornwell who also five years later retired because of his health.

The present pastor, Father Albert E. Schetter has shown his dedication to the church through his careful and thorough maintenance and renovation of the exterior and interior of the church, as well as through his interest in the organization of inter-parish social and service groups. Under his guidance, directed by Pope John XXIII, laymen have become more involved in parish life. There are both male and female lay communion distributors, as well as lectors assisting with the readings in the masses. The changes in the Liturgy provide for a complete participation of all those attending Mass.

In 1968 it also was directed that a lay parish council should be formed. The purpose of the Council was to alleviate some of the responsibilities shouldered by the parish priest, and include the laity in helping to make decisions in parish community affairs. The first parish council was appointed by Father Paul Cornwell and included Carl Burgemeir, Sister Renetta Couch (Principal), Miss Mary Dillon, Miss Irene Dineen, Joseph Flanagan, Charles Fuller, Robert Holzman, Raymond Kelly, Lawrence Long, Joseph Mulligan, Edward Quinn, Father Paul Cornwell, and Father John T. Burns (Assistant Pastor). They are now elected by the congregation from a slate of candidates.

Perhaps the most notable evidence of the new changes in our parish would be the ordination to the deaconate on September 26, 1976, of Reverend Mr. Thomas Coyle. This office serves a very important purpose and is an invaluable aid in assisting Father Schetter with the many duties he must perform.

Throughout the sixties, Holy Trinity was caught in the fast-changing atmosphere which was sweeping every Catholic community. The number of priests and nuns assigned to the parish declined as did the school enrollment. Because of this, Holy Trinity School consolidated with the other Catholic schools in Middletown and its building was torn down in 1972. The Sisters of Charity no longer serve the parish, but the church still stands nobly overlooking a changing neighborhood. The Gothic structure, now decorated in a green interior accented with white and gold, highlighted by the same ornate stained glass windows that have graced the church for the last seventy-eight years, is proof that Holy Trinity is still alive but, like everything else, is changing.

The history of Holy Trinity is not unique, but the parishioners are, and were always the heart of it. The have given unstintingly of their time, labor, and material means. It was their love of God and their community which built this church, our house of worship for 125 years.

Pastors:

Father Jeremiah O'Connor, first resident pastor, 1852-1860
Father Thomas Smith, 1860
Father Thomas Boulger, founded school in 1867, served 1860-1873
Father John Bowe, 1873-1874
Father Francis Mallon, 1874-1876
Father William O'Rourke, 1876-1884
Father Michael Hayes, 1884-1890
Father Daniel Buckley, built present church and school, 1890-1904
Father Edward Hickey, built gymnasium in 1910, served 1904-1921
Monsignor James F. McNary, 1921-1958
Father Leo T. Herlihy, 1958-1967
Father Paul Cornwell, 1967-1973
Father Albert Schetter, 1973-

Assistant Pastors:

Father Urban J. Vehr, 1917-1921
Father J. P. Trench, 1921-1927
Father Carl J. Lamott, 1927-1930
Father John Ahern, 1930-1937
Father Paul Golembiewski, 1937-1942
Father Henry Pulsowski, 1942-1944
Father Albert DeFrancesco, 1944-1946
Father Walter Sterwerf, 1946-1957
Father Joseph Keller, 1958-
Father Francis Monnig
Father John T. Burns
Father John Wilman
Father Robert Holzman
Father Bernard Bruening
Father J. J. O'Connor
Father Hugo Mentink, 1973-1975
Father Francis A. Weiner, 1977-
 

 © 2000 by the Butler County Historical Society