Saint Leo Oratory
39°56′10″N 82°59′21″W / 39.936243°N 82.989067°W / 39.936243; -82.989067
Location221 Hanford Street, Columbus, Ohio
DenominationCatholic Church
TraditionTraditional Catholicism
Religious instituteInstitute of Christ the King
Weekly attendance375[1]
Websiteinstitute-christ-king.org/columbus-home
History
DedicatedMay 16, 1917
Architecture
Architectural typeRomanesque
GroundbreakingMay 26, 1903
Specifications
Capacity812 [2]
Length136 feet
Width60 feet
Width across transepts70 feet
BellsThree
Administration
DioceseDiocese of Columbus
Clergy
Bishop(s)Earl Fernandes
RectorCanon David Silvey
Laity
SacristanAbbé Lance Gerbig

Saint Leo Oratory is a historic Catholic church and active oratory operated by the Institute of Christ the King in the Diocese of Columbus, located in the Merion Village neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The historic parish was founded in 1903, the current Romanesque Revival church building was finished in 1917, the parish was suppressed in 1999, and the current ICKSP oratory was founded in 2020.

History

Founding

Because of the rising Catholic population on the South Side of Columbus in the early 1900s, Bishop Henry K. Moeller called upon Father Charles Kessler, then the assistant pastor of St. Joseph Cathedral[2]: 221–222  to organize a new parish from the territory of St. Mary Church[3] under the patronage of St. Leo the Great. In November 1903, a tract of land was purchased at the corner of Hanford and Seventh Street from Henry Noltemeyer,[4] and a combination school and chapel was built there, the former being staffed by the Sisters of St. Francis and being the first free parochial school in the state of Ohio. The sisters continued to staff the school until its closure.[5][6] The parish was declared debt-free in 1910, and the current church building was dedicated by bishop James Hartley on May 16, 1917.[7] After the completion of the new church, the chapel in the first floor of the school was converted into classrooms.[2]

Decline and Preservation

Original building from 1903

In 1972, the parish school, which previously had been free, began charging tuition due to declining contributions and increasing costs.[7] Because of declining parish support, volunteer efforts, and financial resources, the school closed in 1997[8] and its buildings, including the original parish building dating to 1903 was demolished in October 2001.[9]

Ciiting priest shortages and declining parish membership,[10] the Diocese of Columbus suppressed the parish and merged it back into neighboring Saint Mary on July 1, 1999.[2] However, congregants and the greater community banded together to form the St. Leo Preservation Society to keep the church from being demolished. The group appealed the decision to the Apostolic Signatura, which upheld the decision of the Diocese.[11]

The church saw occasional use for weddings, funerals, and Masses for Korean Catholics in the Diocese, as well as a worship location for parishioners of St. Mary during its 2019 restoration.[12] [13] A volunteer caretaker, Mike Wolfe, restored much of the interior of the church and repaired the 2,700-pipe organ in the church, and the Diocese paid for a new roof in 2004 to protect his work.[14][15]

Institute of Christ the King

On the 16th of September 2020, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a traditional Catholic order of secular canons announced that it would establish an oratory at the church and celebrate Mass there according to the Tridentine Missal.[16] The opening Mass was said on October 2, 2020, with Bishop Robert Brennan preaching the homily and heralding the opening of the Oratory as a 'great day' for the diocese.[17]

Brennan's successor, Earl Fernandes, visited the Oratory for the first time in February of 2023, offering Pontifical Assistance from the Throne for the feast of Candlemas.[18]

Architecture and buildings

The marble high altar at Saint Leo. The old versus populum altar can be seen in the right-hand corner.

The church is built in the Romanesque style out of buff brick. The floor of the main sanctuary is of Italian marble, as are the high altar and baldachin.[19] Major repairs to all portions of the church commenced following the closure of the parish. The altar rail, portions of which had been used to build a new versus populum altar in 1976,[7] was restored and re-installed in November 2021.[20] The rectory attached to the church is also in the process of being renovated to provide housing for the canons and oblates staffing the parish.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "November 13 2022 Bulletin, St. Leo Oratory" (PDF).
  2. 1 2 3 4 Clarke, D.A. (1918). Diocese of Columbus: the History of Fifty Years, 1868-1918. Columbus: Diocese of Columbus.
  3. ↑ Catholic Record Society of Columbus (February 2000). "Parishes" (PDF). Barquilla de Santa Maria - Bulletin of the Catholic Records Society of the Diocese of Columbus. XXV (2): 14.
  4. ↑ "Parish Histories of 1903 and 1907" (PDF). Barquilla de la Santa Maria - Bulletin of the Catholic Record Society - Diocese of Columbus. XXX (2): 207. February 2005.
  5. ↑ The History of the Diocese of Columbus, Volume II: 1918-1943. Columbus, OH: Catholic Diocese of Columbus. 1943. pp. 1–6.
  6. ↑ The Catholic Times (29 September 2023). "Departing Stella Niagara sisters leave legacy of faith, service in diocese". The Catholic Times of Columbus.
  7. 1 2 3 "Save Saint Leo: History". 2020-01-27. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  8. ↑ Edwards, Mary Mogan (7 June 1997). "ST. LEO PARENTS, PUPILS SAY GOODBYE". The Columbus Dispatch. pp. 01B. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  9. ↑ Richards, Kirk (12 October 2001). "DEMOLITION OF ST. LEO SCHOOL HEARTBREAKING EVENT FOR MANY". The Columbus Dispatch. pp. 01C. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Hoover, Felix (16 October 1998). "ST. LEO CHURCH TO CLOSE JULY 1". The Columbus Dispatch. pp. 01A. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  11. ↑ Mahoney, Dennis (1 September 2001). "CLOSING OF ST. LEO DONE DEAL, DIOCESE SAYS". The Columbus Dispatch. pp. 01B. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  12. ↑ "Saving A Church Without A Parish". WOSU News. 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  13. ↑ Puet, Tim (14 April 2019). "St. Mary German Village: Looking like new after a century and a half" (PDF). Catholic Times of Columbus. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2023.
  14. ↑ Harden, Mike (26 July 2005). "VOLUNTEER IS ST. LEO'S GUARDIAN ANGEL". The Columbus Dispatch. pp. 01D.
  15. ↑ Cross, David (26 July 2009). "Work on organ earns hymns of praise". The Columbus Dispatch. pp. 09B.
  16. ↑ "Diocese of Columbus Welcomes Institute - New Oratory to Open in October". www.institute-christ-king.org. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  17. ↑ Puet, Tim (11 October 2020). "Bishop says opening of oratory is 'great day' for diocese" (PDF). The Catholic Times of Columbus. pp. 3, 25, 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022. Alt URL
  18. ↑ The Catholic Times (February 8, 2023). "Bishop Fernandes makes first visit to St. Leo the Great Oratory". The Catholic Times of Columbus. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023.
  19. ↑ "Save Saint Leo: The Art and Architecture of the Church". 2020-01-26. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  20. ↑ "July 25, 2021 9th Sunday After Pentecost [Bulletin]" (PDF). institute-christ-king.org. Columbus, OH: Saint Leo Oratory. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  21. ↑ Bean, Doug (7 November 2021). "Latin Mass community flourishing at St. Leo the Great Oratory" (PDF). The Catholic Times of Columbus. pp. 8–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022. Alt URL
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