Parish With A Rich Heritage
Mankind"s relationship with God, His family and his neighbor is dependent on many things: his home, his work, his church. These are the bonds that unite us as the family of man and the people of God everywhere in the world. Human failings, exalted ideals, love and compassion are brought to Him through our worldly and spiritual contacts. Faith and intellect meet at the door of God's House and there they are fused into the positive message of the soul's salvation. Priest and parishioner, working together, lay the foundation that becomes the parish church. How the church and parish then fare is contingent on the continued efforts of all to instill the labors of love and the fruits of these labors in present and future generations. St. Bonaventure's is such a parish. Since its inception in 1869, it has been blessed with diligent workers in God's vinyard. Only hard work, great faith and spiritual guidance could produce a parish that has not only given numerous sons and daughters to the religious, but also two bishops who were brothers as well. History records that the area surrounding St. Bonaventure Parish developed rapidly into one of the leading manufacturing centers of the country. Cincinnati, Ohio, with its employment opportunities in factories and industries and industries , attracted many of the early German settlers who had come to this country seeking a better life. As settlers poured in from the East, some moved into the surrounding hills and valleys of the Cincinnati area. One of the earliest of these sections acquired the name of "Lick Run," from the small stream which drained from the neighboring hills and emptied into the Millcreek. It was here, on New Year's Day, 1849, that Father Herman Luers celebrated the first Holy Mass in the area in a one-story schoolhouse that was soon to be devoted entirely to religious services. A house was then purchased at Branch and Lick Run Roads to serve as a school, and the 60 or more children of St. Peter's Church attended classes there until a two-story school building could be built in Petersburg, on property adjoining St. Peter's Church. From 1860 until 1868, the mission church at Lich Run was in charge of the Franciscan Fathers of St John and St. Francis Churches in Cincinnati.
For years, however, Father Jacob Menchen, O.F.M. , Pastor of St. Peters Church, saw that the prospects for a flourishing parish lay in Lick Run. How fervent his desire was is evident in a document signed by the Most Reverend John Baptist Purcell of Cincinnati dated February 21, 1862. It reads in part: "We approve of the plan to build a new school and church in Fairmount, near Cincinnati Ohio..." It was not until spring of 1868, however, that Father Jacob was able to purchase a property at Queen City Avenue. He formed a building committee and set to work to build a rectory and church that would merge with St. Peter's Church. The structures were completed by the fall of 1869 at a cost of $50,000 and on November 20th, the dedication of the new St. Bonaventure Church took place in a drizzling rain, certainly no day to foretell the next hundred wonderful years. Dedicated to St. Bonaventure, the Seraphic Doctor, the building was designed after the Germanic style of the 12th Century and had a seating capacity of about 550 persons. Father Jacob served his parish well and long. Long enough to watch it grow and flourish. From the beginning, church societies stimulated parish life and aided in its financial support. The parish school, first organized in the pastor's residence, became a reality by 1871 with the construction of a school building. The most formidable task that confronted Father Jacob at this time was paying for the parish debt. The parish was not only small, its faithful congregation was a poor one. Wages were scarce, but of their meager means the parishioners gave cheerfully, and their stead contributions eventually liquidated the entire original debt. The methods applied for the reduction of the parish obligation were not too different from those used today. Everyone contributed of time and money to picnics, fairs and socials, as well as Sunday Collections. |
