Immaculata Church

Coordinates: 39°6′27.36″N 84°29′47.81″W / 39.1076000°N 84.4966139°W / 39.1076000; -84.4966139
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Holy Cross-Immaculata Church
Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Clergy
Minister(s)Father Jeff Bacon
Immaculate Conception Church, School, and Rectory
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates39°6′27.36″N 84°29′47.81″W / 39.1076000°N 84.4966139°W / 39.1076000; -84.4966139
ArchitectPicket & Sons and John Toby [1]
Architectural styleGothic Revival[1]
NRHP reference No.78002079[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 29, 1978[1]

The Church of the Immaculata, or Immaculata Church, is a

Cincinnati, Ohio. The church commemorates the Immaculate Conception and serves the Holy Cross–Immaculata Parish in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Located at 30 Guido Street, it allows a scenic view of the Ohio River below from one of the highest points in Cincinnati.[2]

History

Newport Southbank Bridge
.
The church interior.

The limestone church was built in 1859, just before the American Civil War, for the German congregation in the city's Mt. Adams neighborhood. Archbishop John Baptist Purcell decided to build the church while praying during a severe storm at sea. He promised God that if he survived, he would build a church on the city's highest point.[3]

The nearby

Holy Cross parish primarily served Irish immigrants. When the Holy Cross monastery closed in 1977, the parishioners joined with Immaculata to become the Holy Cross–Immaculata parish. The Mt. Adams Preservation Association raised enough funds to commission the restoration of seven paintings by Johann Schmitt. The paintings were mounted over the main altar and side altars between 1863 and 1870. [1] A painted scroll stretches above the main altar across a depiction of the Immaculate Conception. In German
, it reads:

O Maria, ohne Suende empfangen, bitte fuer die Bekehrung dieses Landes, Amerika.
(O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for the conversion of this country, America.)

On December 29, 1978, the Immaculate Conception Church, School, and Rectory was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.[1] The school and rectory have since been closed.

In August 2005, workmen began chipping out bricks and glass block where a rose window once stood. The original had been lost in a storm. The new window came from

stained-glass rose window that had stood over the altar. Neiheisel then raised $44,000 to have the window reinforced, enlarged with an 18-inch ring of additional glass, and ultimately set into the Holy Cross-Immaculata wall behind a layer of strong, protective glass. [2]

Traditions

The church's statue of St. Patrick.

The Immaculata Church has served since 1860 as a pilgrimage church, where on

Columbia Parkway connecting the two paths.[4] The steps were originally made of wood, but in 1911, the City of Cincinnati helped the church build concrete steps.[3]

Each year in February members of the

St. Patrick. The Priest invokes the intercession of St. Patrick. With bagpipes leading the way the six-foot statue of St. Patrick leaves the church and starts his Mini Parade through Mt. Adams
.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. June 30, 2007.
  2. . Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  3. ^ a b Eigelbach, Kevin (2002-09-25). "Church of Steps seeks donations". The Cincinnati Post. E. W. Scripps Company. Archived from the original on 2005-02-28.
  4. ^
    Gannett Company
    . Retrieved 2009-10-17. The project also includes a mostly forgotten segment of the steps at the base of Mount Adams, where the most ardent faithful start. ... The upper and lower stairways are connected by a pedestrian bridge over Columbia Parkway, which was rehabilitated as part of a 2004 road project.

External links