St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church History
Catholicism in Wayne County dates to 1812, when a few Catholic families from Maryland and Pennsylvania settled in the area. In 1817, Fr. Edward Fenwick, OP, was the first priest to visit the area. He later became the first Bishop of Ohio.
In 1826 the parish began to form as more families arrived, although without a church building to call their own. Prior to 1849, Wooster was a mission station, visited by priests on horseback, from Canton and later, Massillon. Masses were held in homes or in public halls rented for the purpose.
On August 20, 1847 the cornerstone was laid for the first church building on Madison Avenue with Bishop John B. Purcell present for the ceremony. It took two years to enclose the structure and several more to complete the interior. There were 15 Catholic families in Wooster at this time.
A tragedy occurred on March 19, 1913, when the Madison Avenue church burned to the ground at 2:00 pm. The fire started from a spark from a locomotive passing nearby.
The Bishop permitted the building of a new church, but at a new location. The property on Beall Avenue and Bowman Street was acquired from the August Imgrard Family heirs for $11,500 on October 5, 1914. Construction cost about $50,000.
Ground was broken for the new church on May 24, 1915. On August 1st the cornerstone was laid. The first Mass was celebrated April 22, 1916. On June 16, 1918 the new church building and altar were dedicated by Bishop John B. Farrelly of Cleveland.
On October 7, 1947 Bishop Edward F. Hoban celebrated a solemn Pontifical Mass of Jubilee and Thanksgiving to mark the hundredth anniversary of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church.
Major renovations or expansions occurred in: 1946, 1975 (Roofing), 1977 (Refinish pews, new kneeling benches, painting, and carpeting), 1981 (Parish Hall), and 2000 (Major renovation to restore the eighty-three-year-old church building to its original beauty, widening of the north and south transepts, first time parishioners experienced air conditioning, elevator installed for the handicapped and pallbearers to bring a casket into the church with ease).
December 5, 1964 marked the beginning of the gradual use of English in the Mass. December 8, 1981 marked the liquidation of the church’s debt with a “mortgage burning” ceremony.
On December 8, 2000, the Most Reverend Anthony M. Pilla re-dedicated the church on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Father John J. Mueller, pastor, along with former pastors, associate pastors, and seminarians concelebrated the Mass.
On June 10, 2003, Father Stephen Moran, was named as the pastor of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception. Fr. Stephen, ordained in 1992, served in two other pastoral assignments prior to coming to St. Mary, at St. Brendan, North Olmsted (1992-1997) and St. Charles Borromeo in Parma (1997-2003). Within the past two decades, St Mary has seen substantial growth in outreach and faith formation ministries. Local “chapters” of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Gabriel Project (ministering to expectant moms) are two examples.
The Year 2020 will not go unremembered. Due to the global pandemic, our Live Stream Mass was implemented and still continues today.
The year 2022 marked 175 years of St. Mary parish proclaiming Jesus Christ. To honor this milestone, several celebratory events were held throughout the year. On July 23, 2022, Our Heritage was shared with memories and food. On August 27, 2022 Our Harvest was recognizing and honoring our Journeys of Faith. On September 25, 2022 Our Hope was celebrated with an Immaculate Conception Inspired Musical Concert. And on October 30, 2022, Auxiliary Bishop Michael G. Woost of the Diocese of Cleveland celebrated the 175th Anniversary of St. Mary.
In Spring of 2023 a Dedication Mass was held to mark the completion of the Luminous Mysteries windows in the choir area. St. John Paul II introduced these mysteries in October of 2002. St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception now has all twenty mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary beautifully represented in our stained-glass windows. At one time this church was known as a Rosary Church.