Home Church

Here is the reason I guess I started this blog, the love of old rural churches and the people that inhabit them this is my family parish, how many can say that today? The church grounds were donated by my Great-Great-Grandfather Johann Adelhard (Alard) Osterloh, from the original homestead, see the accompaning scan from a parish history, by Fr. David Hoying click on the text to enlarge . the window is one of the ones that I spent countless Sundays studing as a child, still believe they are the most beautiful in the area. The parish still survives as a sister paris of St Augustine, in Minster, sharing a priest, following are some pictures from various parish histories also included are some pictures of the interior before Vatican II and some current, unfortunately cannot locate any from my youth maybe later.

somebody please tell me how to move the pictures and text around to get them to stay put were I want them

Christmas

May Christ be in Your Christmas

Too busy wth family to blog so

Peace on Earth to men of Good Will

The Egyptian

I knew as soon as I published the St Augustine pics the one I wanted would show up, so here it is, the goldie oldie

This is Saint Augustine Parish in Minster, Ohio, the "mother church of most of the 30 some parishes in southern Mercer county (technically located in the south-west most part of Auglaize county) . This structure has gone through many remodelings on the outside, the twin spires are unique, they survived Vatican II, the inside was recovated before Vatican II hence all the marble, however in the last several years further renovation has resulted in the shunting of the Blessed Sacrament to a side alter and the placement of a baptismal fount in his place, since this picture a nice repaint job has been done (really nice I'm not kidding) but now the communion rail is gone, sigh.........someday hope to find some old pictures to publish, still when the main alter was intact it was an impressive sight, will scan in the ceiling pictures later

Former Convent of the Precious Blood Sisters, and relic Chapel

The National Marian Shrine of the Holy Relics was founded in 1875 when Father J.M. Gartner entrusted his collection of relics to the Sisters at Maria Stein.

Housed in a beautiful chapel built in 1892, the collection, with over 1000 relics on display, represents the second largest collection of its type in the United States (after St. Anthony's Chapel in Pittsburg). The Shrine was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The primary display of relics is in an altar that was hand-carved especially for this purpose. Four beautiful stained-glass windows imported from Munich, Germany and hand- carved woodwork also adorn the Relic Chapel.

bet you don't see this very often, this is under the main chapel of Saint Charles Seminary, Motherhouse of the Society of the Precious Blood, pre Vatican II priests said individual masses each day, since this was a working seminary, with over 30 priest and over 100 students in residence, the retired priests that live here today said it was like O'Hare on a bad day, seminarians were on call 24-7 to act as servers, since Vatican II, priests concelebrate mass so this area is vacant. the entire facility was wreckmodeled shortly before Vatican II, hence all the Marble, still the prayer cards are in the pictures