About Saint Mary’s Church in Cincinnati, Ohio:
Old Saint Mary’s Church is the oldest continually used house of worship and the oldest standing church building in the city, serving as a vital cultural and spiritual landmark for the German immigrant community that shaped the area. The church was organized in 1840 by German immigrants in response to Cincinnati’s booming population, which saw up to 200 new arrivals daily. It spun off from the parent parish of Holy Trinity Church (Cincinnati’s first German Catholic parish, established in 1834). Land was purchased from the St. Clair estate, and the cornerstone was laid on March 25, 1841, by Bishop John Baptist Purcell. Construction relied heavily on parishioner labor, including handmade bricks, and the church was dedicated on July 3, 1842, with Father Clemens Hammer as its first pastor (1842–1860).
The “Old” prefix was added in 1904 to distinguish it from a newer St. Mary’s in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
In 2017, it became the home of The Cincinnati Oratory, a community of priests and brothers from the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.
Notable features include Cincinnati’s oldest clock tower (clock installed in 1842) and the city’s first church bell (blessed in 1843, it doubled as a fire alarm) and organs added in 1846 and 1929 by Austin Organs.
Traveling to Old Saint Mary’s Church in Cincinnati, Ohio:
Address: 123 E. Thirteenth St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: +1 (513) 721-2988 Fax: +1 (513) 721-0436
Click here for the official website of Old Saint Mary’s Church (Oratory) in Cincinnati, Ohio.