Defining Moment

Two members of the Society of Mary arrive in Cincinnati to assist at the German parishes. Father Leo Meyer is soon sent to Dayton to assist at Emmanuel Church and purchases property for a school.

Ursuline Sisters arrive in Cincinnati from Le Havre, France. They chose to settle in Fayetteville in Brown County, a large Catholic settlement at the time. Led by Sister Julia Chatfield, O.S.U., they opened Ursuline academy and laid the groundwork for what is now Chatfield College.

Led by Father Francis Brunner, fourteen priests and brothers from the Congregation of the Precious Blood arrive in Cincinnati. Shortly after their arrival, Bishop Purcell sends them north to Maria Stein, Ohio. A group of women religious from the Sisters of the Precious Blood soon follow. The congregation grew and has been a mainstay in Auglaize, Mercer and Shelby counties, serving the parishes and schools.

Due to cholera outbreaks and a large orphan population, Father John Henni leads a group of German lay Catholics in the establishment of the St. Aloysius Orphan Society, which helped finance and manage the St. Aloysius Orphanage. After having several locations, the orphanage, which housed German boys, eventually settled in Bond Hill, Ohio. 

Layman Robert Conway is instrumental in bringing Father Edward Collins to Dayton to serve the needs of the local community. This led to the founding of Emmanuel Church, Dayton’s first Catholic church.

Given the large German population in Ohio, Father John Henni establishes Der Wahrheitsfreund, a German Catholic newspaper to complement The Catholic Telegraph. It ceased production in 1907.