About Saint Dominic · Columbus, Ohio
Saint Dominic Church is a Roman Catholic parish of the Diocese of Columbus located at 455 North 20th Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1889 to serve northeastern Columbus, the parish is now housed in a Roman Basilica-style church completed in 1916 and built of Bedford limestone with Carrara marble altars and granite columns. For roughly sixty years the parish has been the heart of central Ohio's African American Catholic community, a legacy inherited from the 1957 merger of Saint Cyprian Church; in 2024 the parish was further merged with the Community of Holy Rosary–St. John the Evangelist. Today Saint Dominic also serves Cameroonian and French-speaking Catholics with scheduled Masses in English and French and operates an extensive outreach program including a parish-center soup kitchen, food pantry, health and dental clinic, and adult-education center.
- Established
- 1889
- Patron
- Saint Dominic (de Guzmán)
- Rector
- Rev. Fr. Jude Esua Fongouck (Administrator, effective July 2025)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus
Why belong here
Saint Dominic offers a rare, openly multicultural Catholic community in central Ohio: a long-established African American Catholic heritage dating to the 1957 merger of St. Cyprian, an intentional outreach to Cameroonian and French-speaking faithful with English and French Masses each Sunday, and a living liturgical tradition that pairs classical Roman-Basilica architecture with a renowned gospel choir and (historically) jazz settings of the Mass. The parish runs an unusually deep social-outreach network—a parish-center meal program serving up to 240 guests three days a week, the St. John Food Pantry, the St. John Learning Center (GED, ESOL, business and mental-health workshops), and an Order of Malta health and dental clinic—making it as much a neighborhood anchor as a worship site. For anyone seeking a Black Catholic, bilingual, and service-minded parish home, Saint Dominic is hard to match in the diocese.
Mass times at Saint Dominic
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- First Friday of the month, following the 10:00 a.m. daily Mass until 12:00 p.m. (per directory listings)
Adoration times
- First Friday of the month, following the 10:00 a.m. daily Mass (in the Chapel)
Founding and Early Years (1889–1916)
In the spring of 1889 Bishop John Watterson appointed Father Thomas O'Reilly to organize a Catholic congregation in the northeastern part of Columbus, on three lots previously purchased at Devoise and 20th Streets. The first Mass was said in Benninghoff Hall on September 1, 1889, at an altar donated by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, and a parochial school began that same month for 125 pupils under the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden, Pennsylvania. Anti-Catholic controversy over the use of a public-school building prompted the Congregationalist minister Washington Gladden to publicly defend Catholic education. Bishop James Hartley laid the cornerstone of a combined chapel-and-school on August 17, 1890, and dedicated the finished building on February 2, 1891. A Queen Anne-style rectory was added in 1895 and a convent in 1901.
- Parish founded by Fr. Thomas O'Reilly, appointed by Bishop John Watterson, 1889
- First Mass: Benninghoff Hall, September 1, 1889
- Cornerstone laid by Bishop James Hartley, August 17, 1890
- Chapel-and-school dedicated by Bishop Hartley, February 2, 1891
- Queen Anne-style pastor's residence, 1895
- Convent for the teaching sisters, 1901
The 1916 Church Building
Construction of the present church began in October 1914 with D.W. McGrath as contractor; Bishop Hartley laid the cornerstone on May 9, 1915, and the Roman Basilica-style superstructure designed by the Pittsburgh architects John Comes and John Kauzor rose through the spring and summer of 1915. Bishop Hartley dedicated the completed church on November 26, 1916, with Bishop Peter Muldoon of Rockford preaching the sermon. The Bedford-limestone exterior, polished-granite interior columns, and Carrara-marble altars and rail remain the parish's most distinctive architectural feature, and the combined cost of church, school, rectory, and convent reached $140,000.
- Architects: John Comes and John Kauzor of Pittsburgh
- Contractor: D.W. McGrath
- Ground broken October 1914; cornerstone May 9, 1915
- Dedicated November 26, 1916 by Bishop James Hartley; sermon by Bishop Peter Muldoon of Rockford
- Exterior: Bedford limestone; interior: polished granite columns; altars and rail: Carrara marble
- Combined construction cost (church, school, rectory, convent): $140,000
Becoming an African American Catholic Parish
The relocation of the Pennsylvania Railroad's nearby facilities in the late 1910s and early 1920s dispersed the original Irish (and later Italian) Catholic population, and by the early 1940s Saint Dominic's had become predominantly African American. The trend was completed in 1957 when the historically Black Saint Cyprian Church—founded in 1912 with the support of Saint Katharine Drexel and her Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament—was merged into Saint Dominic by Bishop Michael Ready. The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament took over the parish school, while the Sisters of Charity moved to the newly opened Saint Matthias school. The parish hosted conferences on the welfare of Black Catholics and meetings of the Catholic Interracial Council of Columbus.
- Pennsylvania Railroad relocation reshaped the parish from the late 1910s onward
- From 1954–1957 the parish was administered by the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Merger of Saint Cyprian Church (founded 1912) into Saint Dominic, 1957
- Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament took over the school; Sisters of Charity moved to St. Matthias
- Hosted Catholic Interracial Council of Columbus and Black-Catholic welfare conferences
Schools and the Pope John XXIII Consolidation
The parish school, originally organized in 1889 in a borrowed public-school classroom, opened its own building in 1891 and reached an enrollment of 375 in 1924. A high-school department operated from 1925–1926 and again from 1937–1944. By 1943 enrollment had dropped to 206, reflecting the area's demographic change. A July 1960 fire caused $20,000 in damage; repairs were completed and auxiliary bishop Edward Hettinger rededicated the school in October. In 1970 Saint Dominic School merged with the schools of Holy Rosary and Saint John to form Pope John XXIII School (grades 4–6 hosted on the Saint Dominic campus); the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament ceased teaching at Saint Dominic as part of this consolidation. Declining enrollment and staffing cuts forced Pope John XXIII School to close at the end of the 1983–84 school year.
- Parish school organized 1889 with the Sisters of St. Joseph
- High-school department: 1925–1926 and 1937–1944
- July 1960 fire; $20,000 damage; rededicated by Bishop Edward Hettinger, October 1960
- Pope John XXIII School consolidation, 1970
- Pope John XXIII School closed, 1984
- Original 1891 school building demolished, 1990
Gas-Explosion Damage and 2024 Merger
A natural-gas explosion across the street from the campus in 2018 caused approximately $200,000 in damage to the church and rectory, leading to the demolition of the rectory in 2019. On July 1, 2024 Bishop Earl K. Fernandes announced the merger of the Community of Holy Rosary–Saint John the Evangelist (which had been merged themselves in 1979, with the Holy Rosary building sold to a Baptist congregation in 1983) into Saint Dominic Parish, effective when the administrator transitioned. Saint Dominic was designated the sole worship site for the combined parish.
- 2018 natural-gas explosion across the street: ~$200,000 damage
- Rectory demolished, 2019
- 2024 merger of Holy Rosary–St. John community into Saint Dominic
- Saint Dominic named the sole worship site of the combined parish
Parish Outreach and Social Services
Saint Dominic operates one of the most extensive neighborhood-outreach programs in the Diocese of Columbus. The St. Dominic Parish Center runs Cecil's Neighborhood Cafe on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (breakfast 8:30–9:30 a.m., lunch 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.), serving up to 240 guests a day. The St. John Food Pantry provides a three-day supply of food for those in need; the St. John Learning Center (housed at 640 S. Ohio Ave. in the former Columbus St. John School) offers adult-education classes including GED, ESOL, Start Your Own Business workshops, and a mental-health series. The Order of Malta Center of Care provides a health clinic, dental clinic, referrals, and care kits. AA meetings are held in the Parish Center on Friday evenings, and a Teen Spirit group meets on the third Sunday of each month.
- Cecil's Neighborhood Cafe — Mon/Wed/Fri
- St. John Food Pantry (640 S. Ohio Ave.)
- St. John Learning Center: GED, ESOL, business and mental-health workshops
- Order of Malta Center of Care — health and dental clinic, referrals, care kits
- Alcoholics Anonymous — Fridays 7–10 p.m.
- Teen Spirit Meeting — third Sunday of the month, 1–3 p.m.
Faith Formation and Community Life
Since the arrival of Father Fongouck, the parish religious-education program has been reoriented to be more family-oriented, and the parish continues to welcome new Catholics through OCIA (formerly RCIA). Adult faith-formation gatherings include a Men's Prayer Breakfast on the second Saturday of each month and a Women's Bible Study on alternating Wednesdays from September through May. A Pastoral Council meets virtually on the first Thursday of each month.
- OCIA / RCIA for adults
- Family-oriented Religious Education
- Men's Prayer Breakfast — 2nd Saturday, 9–11 a.m.
- Women's Bible Study — alternating Wednesdays, 6 p.m. (Sept.–May)
- Pastoral Council — 1st Thursday, 6–7 p.m. (virtual)
Sacraments
The parish prepares and celebrates all seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist (including First Communion through the family-oriented Religious Education program), Penance (with regularly scheduled First-Friday confessions), Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders (discernment supported), and Matrimony. Communion is brought to the homebound, and the parish assists families with funeral arrangements.
- Baptism (preparation required)
- Confirmation
- Eucharist / First Communion
- Penance — First Fridays following daily Mass
- Anointing of the Sick
- Matrimony
- Holy Communion to the Homebound
- Funerals
Buildings, Campuses, and Contact Points
Today the parish operates across two campuses. The historic Saint Dominic campus at 455 N. 20th St. houses the 1916 Roman Basilica-style church (Bedford limestone, Carrara marble altars, granite columns), the St. Dominic Parish Center (Cecil's Cafe, AA, Teen Spirit), and related offices. The Saint John campus at 640 S. Ohio Ave. contains the St. John Community Center, Champion Hall, the St. John Food Pantry, and the St. John Learning Center; the Bakhita Center at 648 S. Ohio Ave. serves as the in-person delivery point. The parish mailing address is P.O. Box 83572, Columbus, OH 43203. The original 1891 school building was demolished in 1990 and the 1913-era rectory was demolished in 2019 following gas-explosion damage.
- St. Dominic Church & Parish Center — 455 N. 20th St., 43203
- St. John Community Center & Champion Hall — 640 S. Ohio Ave., 43205
- Bakhita Center (in-person delivery) — 648 S. Ohio Ave., 43205
- Mailing address — P.O. Box 83572, Columbus, OH 43203
- 1891 school building demolished 1990
- 1913-era rectory demolished 2019 after 2018 gas explosion
Diocese of Columbus and Governance
Saint Dominic is a parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, currently led by Bishop Earl K. Fernandes. The diocese's official website is columbuscatholic.org. Clergy assignments announced by the diocese in April 2024 named Father Antony Varghese, CFIC, as administrator of Saint Dominic (and of Saint Francis of Assisi Church, Columbus), effective July 9, 2024, succeeding Father Ramon Macoy Cruz Owera. Father Jude Esua Fongouck was named to succeed him in July 2025.
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus
- Current Bishop: Earl K. Fernandes
- Diocese website: columbuscatholic.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Thomas O'Reilly1889–c.1900+
Appointed by Bishop John Watterson in spring 1889 to organize the new parish in northeast Columbus; celebrated the first Mass in Benninghoff Hall on September 1, 1889, and oversaw the construction of the 1891 chapel-and-school building, which Bishop James Hartley dedicated on February 2, 1891. Listed in the Diocese of Columbus Catholic Directory as 'St. Dominic's, Columbus, 1890–1900+'.
- Fr. Thomas Petry1987–1999
Introduced African dress, gospel music, and jazz settings of the Mass; hosted Martin Luther King Jr. commemorations and Juneteenth celebrations; oversaw the demolition of the 1891 school building in 1990.
- Rev. Ramon Macoy Cruz Owerauntil July 8, 2024
Administrator of St. Dominic Church and of the Community of Holy Rosary / St. John the Evangelist; reassigned as Pastor of St. Joseph Church, Circleville, effective July 1, 2024, continuing at St. Dominic until July 8, 2024.
- Rev. Antony Varghese, CFICJuly 9, 2024 – July 2025
Of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception; appointed Administrator of St. Dominic and of St. Francis of Assisi Church, Columbus, effective July 9, 2024; previously Parochial Vicar at St. Paul the Apostle Church, Westerville.
- Rev. Fr. Jude Esua Fongouckeffective July 8, 2025
A priest from Cameroon, recruited by Bishop Earl K. Fernandes at the suggestion of Bishop Jerome Feudjio of the U.S. Virgin Islands specifically to serve central Ohio's Cameroonian and French-speaking Catholics. Known to parishioners as 'Father Jude.'