About Saint Leo Oratory in Columbus, Ohio:
Saint Leo Oratory is a historic Catholic church and active oratory , operated by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP). It’s known for its preservation of the classical Roman Liturgy, the “Latin Mass,” in its traditional form according to the liturgical books promulgated in 1962 by Pope Saint John XXIII. During his pontificate, Pope Saint John Paul II exhorted bishops to be generous in allowing its use. It was with his blessing that the Institute began to celebrate the Traditional Mass.
The original parish church located here, Saint Leo Church, was founded in 1903 to serve the growing Catholic population on Columbus’s South Side. The current Romanesque Revival building was completed in 1917. Due to declining membership and priest shortages, the Diocese of Columbus suppressed the parish in 1999, merging it with Saint Mary Church. A community effort, the St. Leo Preservation Society, fought to save the church from demolition, and it saw sporadic use until 2020. That year, Bishop Robert J. Brennan invited the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP) to establish it as an oratory, with its opening Mass celebrated on October 2, 2020
It’s now a thriving center for the Traditional Latin Mass (Tridentine Rite), staffed by ICKSP canons.
The church features buff brick construction, an Italian marble sanctuary, a high altar with a baldachin, and a restored 2,700-pipe organ. The altar rail, dismantled in the 1970s, was reinstalled in 2021, reflecting its return to traditional liturgy.
Saint Leo Oratory serves as an example of a parish revived by a traditionalist order after closure, drawing a dedicated community.
Bishop Earl Fernandes, Brennan’s successor, visited in 2023, offering a Pontifical Mass for Candlemas.
Traveling to Saint Leo Oratory in Columbus, Ohio:
Saint Leo Oratory is located in the Merion Village neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio.
Address: 221 Hanford Street, Columbus, OH 43206.
Phone: +1 614-443-7685
Email: stleo@icksp.org
Click here for the official website of Saint Leo Oratory in Columbus, Ohio