Immaculata Church

Holy Cross-Immaculata Church
Holy Cross-Immaculata Church
Location	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Denomination	Catholic
Website	http://hciparish.org
History
Founded	1859
Founder(s)	John Baptist Purcell
Administration
Diocese	Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Clergy
Minister(s)	Father Jeff Bacon
	Immaculate Conception Church, School, and Rectory
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates	39°6′27.36″N 84°29′47.81″W / 39.1076000°N 84.4966139°W
Architect	Picket & Sons and John Toby
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.	78002079
Added to NRHP	December 29, 1978

The Church of the Immaculata, or Immaculata Church, is a Roman Catholic church atop Mt. Adams, a neighborhood in 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

Holy Cross-Immaculata Church sitting atop Mt. Adams as seen from the Newport Southbank Bridge.

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 Saint Bonaventure Church, which was closed and torn down in 2003. Fr. Neiheisel and Holy Cross Immaculata pastoral assistant Bill Frantz salvaged a colorful, round, 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 Immaculata Church has served since 1860 as a pilgrimage church, where on Good Friday the faithful ascend 85 steps^[4] to the church's front door from the neighborhood below while praying the Rosary. An additional 65 steps start at the base of Mt. Adams, with a pedestrian bridge over 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 Ancient Order of Hibernians knock on the church door and ask permission to remove the statue of 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

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. June 30, 2007.
^ Federal Writers' Project (1943). Cincinnati, a Guide to the Queen City and Its Neighbors. p. 263. ISBN 9781623760519. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
^ ^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.
^ ^a ^b Korte, Gregory (2006-04-13). "Church steps to get new life". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 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

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. June 30, 2007.

[2] Federal Writers' Project (1943). Cincinnati, a Guide to the Queen City and Its Neighbors. p. 263. ISBN 9781623760519. Retrieved 2013-05-04.

[Post_Eigelbach-3] 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.

[Enquirer_Korte-4] Korte, Gregory (2006-04-13). "Church steps to get new life". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 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.

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v t e Churches in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Cathedral	Cathedral Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains
Parishes	Cincinnati Church of the Annunciation Immaculata Church Old St. Mary's Church St. Aloysius on the Ohio St. Francis De Sales Church Saint Francis Seraph Church St. Francis Xavier Church St. Lawrence Church St. Pius X Church St. Rose Church Dayton Holy Cross Church Sacred Heart Church St. Adalbert Church St. Mary's Church Springfield St. Joseph's Church St. Raphael's Church Other Immaculate Conception Church, Botkins St. Aloysius Church, Carthagena Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Cassella Immaculate Conception Church, Celina Precious Blood Church, Chickasaw Our Lady of Victory Church, Delhi Township St. Joseph's Church, Egypt Holy Family Church, Frenchtown St. John's Church, Fryburg St. Patrick's Church, Glynwood St. John the Baptist Church, Maria Stein Sacred Heart Church, McCartyville St. Michael's Church, Mechanicsburg St. Augustine's Church, Minster St. Louis Church, North Star St. Nicholas Church, Osgood St. Anthony's Church, Padua St. Remy's Church, Russia St. Henry's Church, St. Henry Holy Rosary Church, St. Marys St. Rose's Church, St. Rose St. Sebastian's Church, Sebastian St. Joseph's Church, Wapakoneta
Former parishes	All Saints Church, Cincinnati Holy Trinity Church, Cincinnati St. Augustine Church, Cincinnati St. George's Church, Cincinnati St. Michael the Archangel Church, Cincinnati St. Paul Church, Cincinnati St. Philomena's Church, Cincinnati St. Patrick's Church, St. Patrick
Shrine	Shrine of the Holy Relics

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