The year was 1909.

  Pius X was pope. Archbishop Henry Moeller presided over the Metropolitan See of Cincinnati. William Howard Taft was President of the US. Judson Harmon was governor of Ohio. John Galvin was mayor of Cincinnati.

  A Catholic Church Committee approached Archbishop Moeller claiming to represent about 20 families asking for a new parish to be established. This historic event took place in 1909 in College Hill which at the time was not part of the City if Cincinnati.

St. Clare Church now numbers 530 families.

  Archbishop Moeller proposed the name of St. Clare for the College Hill parish and appointed a scholarly young priest, Fr. John G. Stein, a former professor at St. Gregory Seminary, as its first pastor. Ordained seven years, Fr. Stein then was chaplain of the Good Shepherd Sisters at their convent on North Bend Road and presumably was familiar with the College Hill area. Parishioners were "pleased," a parish journal noted, that their young pastor could speak to them both in English and in German.

  They discovered this talent when Fr. Stein celebrated the first Mass for St. Clare Parish Sunday October 3, 1909 at 9:00a.m. at Town Hall. It was noted that "the weather was clear and warm" and the temporary altar was "decorated with beautiful flowers and ferns of the season." The collection amounted to $19.13. About 125 persons attended the Mass.

  That collection total was misleading, for a special committee was busy raising funds for the purchase of property and the building of a church. Within a week of the first Mass women of the parish had organized an auxiliary group.

  Early in 1910 Fr. Stein asked Archbishop Moeller to relieve him of the responsibility of parish organization because of his failing health. The archbishop granted his request and named as his successor a seminary classmate of Fr. Stein's, Fr. Charles Diener, who remained our pastor for 46 years.

  Fr. Diener, who had been pastor of St. Malachy Church in Morrow "took hold" of St. Clare Parish as noted in the parish journal, and enthusiastically endorsed the parishioners' preliminary plans for a temporary church. Meanwhile a temporary altar was set up in Town Hall every Sunday and Holyday.

  A parcel of land measuring 50 by 317 feet, adjacent to the present school building, had been purchased in November, 1909, for $2000 from Newbold L. Pierson, a College Hill real estate broker. Within a month of his arrival in January ,1910, Fr. Diener was meeting regularly with the new church committee on details of the proposed church and on May 29, 1910 the white frame church capped by a modest steeple was dedicated by Monsignor John B. Murray, vicar general of the archdiocese. The building measured 35 by 75 feet. (photo in article)

  Dedication of College Hill's first Catholic Church (the village was 70 years old) was an occasion of high celebration. More than 1,000 people took part in a parade prior to the ceremonies despite heavy rain. Uniformed knights of several orders added color to the line of march, which proceeded south on Belmont from Town Hall, took a sharp turn to go north on Hamilton Avenue to Cedar, east on Cedar to the church. Fr. Diener celebrated Mass; Fr. George Schmidt preached in English and Fr. John Bussman in German.

  Before the temporary church was completed additional property had been acquired on Cedar Avenue measuring 100 by 175 feet. A house on the lot nearest Salvia served as a residence for the pastor who had been living in a rented house near Town Hall; a house on the other segment was to provide quarters for the Sisters of St. Francis of Oldenburg, who first came to St. Clare in 1911. With their help 63 children of the parish were prepared to receive Holy Communion for the first time on April 23, 1911. On September 11, 1911 Archbishop Moeller administered the sacrament of Confirmation for the first time.

  By this time the church committee was known as the board of Trustees, meeting weekly with the pastor to carry on parish business... budgeting, repairs, construction bids, fund-raising events, long range planning. To promote monthly reception of Holy Communion and support the church the trustees cooperated with Fr. Diener in organizing four lay groups... Men's, Young Men's, Ladies, and Young Ladies societies all of them functioning by midsummer of 1910.

Building The School

  Growth of the parish was steady, and the establishment of a parish school and building of a permanent church were foremost in the minds of the pastor and trustees. By the end of the first year, Fr. Diener could count 110 families ... 94 English (presumably this meant English speaking) 15 German and 1 French. Five years later there were more than 200 families belonging to St. Clare with a total of more than 200 families with a total of 1000 persons. Those numbers had doubled by the early 1930's, and in 1943 the number of families peaked at 1,016. In 1984 there were 842 families on the parish rolls. Sociologist will be interested to find that 808 families in St. Clare in 1942 included 4,050 persons, whereas the 809 families reported in 1982 included a total of only 2,062.

  St. Clare Parish School formally opened September 9, 1912 with a High Mass of the Holy Ghost in the temporary church. There was no school building but there were nearly 50 pupils ready to begin and several Oldenburg Franciscan Sisters ready to greet them. Classes were conducted in the Sisters' residence and in the temporary church.

  With the school well launched and additional property acquired for eventual expansion, the three year old parish turned its attention to plans for a permanent building to serve as church and school. The result was a brick and stone structure, which still serves as the core of the parish school. Mass was first celebrated in the "first floor church" from October 3, 1915 until August 5, 1930, when a new basement church was opened for religious services. School classrooms were on the second floor of the two-story building, which has been a College Hill landmark for over 80 years.

  Parish records indicate that this building cost "about $42,000" and that furniture and fixtures cost an additional $3,000. Classes were begun a week late, September 14,in the fall of 1915 to allow builders to apply the finishing touches. Enrollment was 116, but in the following year it was over 140 and in 10 years it had risen to 170. A four-classroom addition was built onto the south side of the building in 1961 at a cost of about $80,000 including furnishings. At that time 475 pupils were enrolled. In the 1960's enrollment remained high peaking at 536 in 1963, or about 12 times the 1912 total. In 1999 enrollment was 165 students.

Principals who have served St. Clare students and families are:

Sister Gonzaga Daller 1922-1923
Sister Cupertina Grundler 1923-1926
Sister Sulpitia Worland 1926 -1929
Sister Avelline Grassman 1929-1930
Sister Mary Alfred Feldkamp 1930 -1936
Sister Angelique Schrimpf 1936 - 1942
Sister Lorenzo Jaspers 1942 - 1955
Sister Mary William Tausch 1955 - 1957
Sister Carol Ann Angermeier 1957- 1959
Sister Rose Helen Bosse 1959 - 1965
Sister Mary Agnes (Kathleen) McCarthy 1965 - 1977
Sister Mary Willard (Miriam) Kaeser 1977 -1983
Gretchen Osner 1983 - 1984
Elaine Haas 1984 - 1993
Carol Graler 1993 - 1999
Mike Kirry 1999 -

Building The Church And School

  Continued steady growth in parish membership and school enrollment in the 1920's brought new discussions of expansion at the meetings of Fr. Diener and his advisors, who were called "wardens" for a time instead of trustees and later became "consultors." By 1930 there were about 400 families in St. Clare Parish and school enrollment was well over 200. On January 30,1930, Father Diener called a "congregational meeting" at which records show, parishioners "appeared in large numbers" and a proposal to build a rectory and a new church "was approved unanimously."

  Work on the two structures began within a month. The basement (upgraded to "undercroft" in later years) of the church was completed in August 1930, and the rectory in November. But the Great Depression, a cloud no larger than an adult's hand when the contracts were signed, deepened rapidly and retrenchment was deemed necessary and prudent. Plans for the main body of the church were set aside, the basement was roofed, the altar brought over from the church-school building and the first Sunday Masses in the new basement church were celebrated August 10,1930. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Albers blessed the church October 5, 1930.

  Nobody was more disappointed than Fr. Diener at the postponement but he tried to remain optimistic. In a message to parishioners January 1, 1931, he said: "A basement church has been completed which will serve us until we can eliminate the debt, which is not large and well within our power to wipe out completely within a comparatively short time. A large and solidly built priests' house is complete. This large house is built to last years and years ... The intention is that the parish be served by three resident priests.

  Prosperity wasn't just around the corner, however, and in a report to the Archdiocesan Chancery at the end of 1933 the pastor ruefully termed it "the worst financial year the parish has experienced." Parish life went on however. The number of families in the 1930s fluctuated between 400 and 700 but the number of pupils in the parish school held steady in the area of 250.

  Fr. Diener never saw the completed new church. On September 17, 1949 he was hospitalized because of a fractured hip and he spent the rest of his life in a wheel chair. He returned for the laying of the cornerstone of the new church on September 11, 1955. He died May 12, 1956 at the age of 83. Fr, George Gude who had been stationed at St. Clare for eight years, was named pastor May 18, 1956.

  To Fr. Gude, pastor from 1956 until his retirement in 1975, fell the tasks of completing the new church, it was dedicated on May 26, 1957, and of overseeing the changes in worship style and other aspects of Catholic life proclaimed by the second Vatican Council.

  Plans for the new church were modified before work was begun early in 1955; the most conspicuous change was elimination of a massive tower included in the 1930 plans. Built to accommodate 700 to 800 persons, the stone edifice measures 99 feet in width and 118 feet across the area of the transepts. With a modest metal spire instead of a tower, the church reaches a height of 108 feet. Total cost of the church and furnishings was a little more than $500,000.

  Stained glass windows were installed in 1964 at a cost of $24,700. In 1982 a modern computerized electronic organ was installed at a cost of approximately $40,000 as a prelude to the parish's 75th anniversary.

  In 1964, a house on Saranac adjacent to the parish parking area was purchased for $14,000. In the following year a Sister's convent was erected on the site at a cost of $89,019.

The Post Vatican II Years

  St. Clare was one of the first parishes to establish a parish council in accordance with the Second Vatican Council. Vatican II was concluded in 1965; the St. Clare Parish Council was formed in 1966. Broadly representative of the entire parish, the council shares with the pastor responsibility for the quality of parish life, for policies and programs of the parish, for setting priorities and evaluating results and for consultation with the pastor on financial matters. Commissions of the Parish Council operate in the fields of worship, social justice, education, finance, and various services - pastoral, social, and charitable. This tradition continues today.

  For more than two years, from June, 1975 to October, 1977, St. Clare parish was administered by co-pastors, Fr. Thomas Axe and Fr. Robert B. Buening. That time saw the introduction of transitional deacons at St. Clare and the establishment of the "pastoral team." Sr. Luke Prickel became a pastoral minister at this time. She felt that the seniors, were being underserved by the church. This became the focus of her ministry. St. Clare at this time had a very large senior population.

  In 1977 Fr. Axe was named pastor of St. Raphael Church Springfield, and Fr. Buening was named pastor of St. Clare. Fr. Buening continued to develop the pastoral team concept with weekly meeting of the pastor, associate pastor, director of religious education, school principal, and lay pastoral minister.

  Smooth functioning of the pastoral team and responsible leadership in parish organizations and activities enabled our parish to weather a time that otherwise might have been one of anxiety and tension. In the summer of 1983 Fr. Buenning was called to be the pastor of a larger parish, St. Jude, Bridgetown. Fr. Carl Birarelli, hospital chaplain stationed at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral was appointed to succeed him at St. Clare. Fr. Birarelli in his first role as pastor quickly captured the affection of parishioners. But he also quickly exhausted himself, was hospitalized twice and asked to be relieved of the responsibility. At the beginning of 1984 he returned to the cathedral as an associate pastor.

  Two interim pastors have served St. Clare Parish since then, Fr. Ed Grattsch, former St. Mary Seminary professor, from January to June, and Fr. Terrance Schneider, in July.

  Fr. John Civille served as pastor from August 1984 until June 1994. In 1984 the 75th anniversary of the parish was celebrated. Sports teams blossomed at the adult and youth levels. Other social events were added such as the Evening for Excellence, the Golf Outing and the Fish Fry. St. Clare became an even more inviting place.

  Fr. Bob Hater came to reside in our rectory and become a part of our parish family in 1985. He adds new dimensions to our spiritual lives through his homilies and his kind presence at our parish functions.

  In the late 80's the sanctuary of the church was renovated. The communion rail was removed and the altar was elevated. A new organ was purchased and the choir moved from the choir loft to the left wing. As a sign of the times, Sr. Luke was the only Sister of St, Francis Oldenburg that was ministering to our parish. She moved to an apartment and the Friars, who have been an asset to our parish, rented the sister's convent.

  Sr. Luke ministered to the sick, the elderly, and has been an invaluable nurturer to all of us for 23 years. III health forced her to retire in 1999.

  Fr. Dale Peterka served as pastor from June of 1994 - May 1998. During this time an elevator was added to make the church and church hall handicap accessible. Land was acquired on Saranac for future expansion. Three houses were razed and the land was cleared and graded. A steering committee was appointed to explore options for a new school or a parish center, which would include a gym. The church hall was renovated and new restrooms were added.

In The New Millennium

  Fr. George Jacquemin became pastor in June of 1998. The parish has developed a five-year plan, which involves all aspects of parish life. Currently we are pursuing the options of renovating the school and building a parish center. Lay involvement continues to be a critical factor in the joy and vision of our parish. Visit our ministry site to read about the ministries that are active at our parish. "It is a good place to bee ..."

  St. Clare has a living history. Our thanks to Jim Shea who documented and researched our parish so thoroughly for the 75th anniversary. If you have comments, corrections, or additions to our history. Please e-mail us, we would love to hear from you!