Parish History
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Tuesday, 30 December 2008 19:31

A HISTORY OF SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS PARISH ZANESVILLE, OHIO

by Rev. Robert Justin Hennessey, O.P. (1991)
Minor Emendations and Updates by Rev. Pius Pietrzyk, OP (2008)

Beginnings

Catholics were few in number at the birth of our nation. They were only about six-tenths of one percent - 25,000 out of 4,000,000 of the population. Most of these were clustered in Maryland and Pennsylvania. However, soon after the Revolutionary War ended two great migrations affected the new nation.

The treaty ending the Revolutionary War clarified American claims to vast territories outside the thirteen colonies. Soon large numbers from the eastern seaboard began to cross the mountains into Tennessee, Kentucky and the Northwest Territory (i.e., the territory north and west of the Ohio River). The other factor was increased immigration from Europe into the United States - first a trickle, later a flood.

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Tuesday, 30 December 2008 19:14

Church of Saint Ann in Philo, Ohio

The congregation of Saint Ann in Philo, Ohio, developed as a Catholic community at about the same time the present Church of Saint Thomas Aquinas was constructed. The history of the two has been intertwined through much of their history. Philo, then known as Taylorsville, had been laid out in 1833 by James Taylor, a leader of the Catholic community. It seems that he was related by marriage to John S. Dugan, the great benefactor of the Catholic Church in Zanesville. It was in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor (in Duncan Falls) that Mass was celebrated until a small church, a frame structure measuring 25 x 40 feet, was built in 1836 and dedicated by Bishop Purcell. This building, about the same dimensions as the original Trinity Church in Zanesville (the brick warehouse) served the needs of the local community for nearly a century and a half. Saint Ann Church was the first church in Philo although a Methodist Church was built that same year. It has been a continuing sign of Catholicism in an area where Catholics are a minority.

In the early nineteen seventies the community recognized the need for more adequate facilities. On April 7, 1975, ground was broken for a new church and parish hall. On November 30, 1975, it was dedicated by Bishop Edward Herrmann, Bishop of Columbus. Saint Ann has never had a resident pastor. In the early days of the congregation, the Dominican priests from Saint Thomas Aquinas in Zanesville cared for the pastoral needs of the community. At times through its history, priests from Saint Nicholas in Zanesville fulfilled that role. For much of its history however, the resident priest at Saint James in McConnelsville went regularly to Saint Ann in Philo. In 1944 this arrangement was modified because of the creation of the new Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio, which placed McConnelsville in a different diocese from Philo: the division was along county lines and McConnelsville in Morgan County was included in the new Diocese while Philo, in Muskingum County, remained in the Diocese of Columbus. Once again the Dominican friars from Saint Thomas Aquinas in Zanesville began to provide priestly ministry to the congregation of Saint Ann in Philo. For nearly fifty years, this happy relationship has continued. Perhaps the most memorable priest of this period was the late Stephen B. Jurasko, O.P., a gentle and powerful influence especially in leading the community in building their new church and parish hall.

The mission church of St. Ann in Philo is now closed.

 
Tuesday, 30 December 2008 19:16

Pastors of St. Thomas Aquinas Church (1842-2008)

1842-1842 Fr. G.A. Wilson, OP (later Provincial)

1843-1857 Fr. C.P. Montgomery, OP (ex-Provincial)

1857-1859 Fr. J.A. Bokel, OP

1859-1860 Fr. C.P. Montgomery, OP (ex-Provincial)

1860-1861 Fr. J.T. Jarboe, OP

1861-1862 Fr. N.R. Young, OP (ex-Provincial)

1862-1865 Fr. F.J. Dunn, OP (later Provincial)

1865-1869 Fr. B.A. Brady, OP

1869-1872 Fr. J.V. Edelen, OP

1872-1873 Fr. Stephen Byrne, OP

1873-1876 Fr. C.L. Egan, OP

1876-1877 Fr. J.V. Edelen, OP

1877-1880 Fr. P.C. Coll, OP

1880-1881 Fr. J.A. Bokel, OP

1881-1883 Fr. F.J. Dunn, OP (ex-Provincial)

1883-1886 Fr. J.C. Kent, OP

1886-1890 Fr. J.H. Slinger, OP

1890-1893 Fr. William Quinn, OP

1893 Fr. E.V. Flood, OP

1893-1894 Fr. T.S. McGovern, OP (acting Pastor)

1894-1897 Fr. L.F. Kearney, OP (later Provincial)

1897-1901 Fr. J.C. Kent, OP

1901-1907 Fr. E.J. Farmer, OP

1907-1908 Fr. F.D. McShane, OP

1908-1911 Fr. J.A. Shiel, OP

1911-1924 Fr. L.F. Kearney, OP (ex-Provincial)

1924-1930 Fr. Paul Roach, OP

1930-1936 Fr. W.G. Cummins, OP

1936-1941 Fr. J.P. Aldridge, OP

1941-1945 Fr. L.P. Johannsen, OP

1945-1948 Fr. H.J. McManus, OP

1948-1957 Fr. C.M. Mulvey, OP

1957-1963 Fr. J.B. Briggs, OP

1963-1969 Fr. C.A. Musselman, OP

1969-1975 Fr. P. J.D. Scanlon, OP

1975-1981 Fr. J.R. Scordo, OP

1981-1984 Fr. J.P. Gerhard, OP

1984-1990 Fr. M.A. Ciccone, OP

1990-1992 Fr. J.A. McMahon, OP

1992-1994 Fr. G.  Keeler, OP

1994-1998 Fr. T.J. Ertle, OP

1998–2001 Fr. M. DeTemple, OP

2001-2008 Fr. Jordan McConway, OP

2008- Fr. Jordan Turano, O.P