Saint Mary

Parish History

St. Mary, Groveport was founded in 1871 by Irish-American families who had settled along the Ohio & Erie Canal a generation earlier. In 1870 Michael Corbett and the Fagan brothers petitioned Bishop Sylvester H. Rosecrans; Father Nicholas Gallagher (later Bishop of Galveston) organized the purchase of a former 1856 United Brethren brick church on the southwest corner of Blacklick and Front Streets, which was blessed as 'St. Mary's' in the summer of 1871. A special fourteen-car excursion train brought hundreds from Columbus for the dedication. For its first sixty years the parish had no resident pastor — priests from St. Patrick's and the Cathedral in Columbus, including Fathers Gallagher, Kiernan, Campbell, Anderson, Lane, Kuhn, Clarke, Matte and Hanna, traveled down the interurban traction line every fourth Sunday. Corbett's Hotel on Front Street (still standing at No. 110) became the priests' breakfast stop before the return streetcar. The Vincentian Fathers (Congregation of the Mission), headquartered in Germantown, Pennsylvania, accepted Bishop James J. Hartley's invitation in 1932 to send Father Jeremiah Tracy, C.M. to build a mission house and become St. Mary's first resident pastor. The Mission House was completed in February 1933; Tracy died March 28, 1938, beloved across the community. His successor Father Francis McDonnell, C.M. led a doubling of Masses and the building of a proper new 225-seat church designed by Ramsey & Groce, dedicated June 11, 1950 by Bishop Michael J. Ready. Father Joseph S. Lawler, C.M. succeeded McDonnell in September 1950 and oversaw the conversion of the 1871 church into a parish hall — done entirely by volunteer tradesmen. St. Mary's was the 'mother church' for the Canal Winchester parish, Columbus Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, and several other congregations. By 2000 it covered 90 square miles of southeast Franklin County and parts of Pickaway and Fairfield counties with roughly 1,200 families. The Vincentians withdrew in 1982; diocesan priests then served the parish until its closure. The current third church at 5684 Groveport Road was dedicated in 1977; the 1949 and 1871 buildings were joined and converted into Groveport's municipal building, where they remain today.

Sacraments

St. Mary offered the seven sacraments through its typical small-parish sacramental program. Records show Baptism, Marriage, First Holy Communion (the parish's June 18, 1950 First Communion class was the first in the new church), Faith Formation, and traditional Lenten devotions. After the December 2024 merger these sacramental programs continue through Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish; weddings and funerals are now coordinated via the St. John XXIII campus.

• Baptism — preparation required; contact parish office
• First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion
• Confirmation — through diocesan Faith Formation program
• Marriage — preparation and notification required; now handled by merged parish
• Anointing of the Sick — available on request
• RCIA — Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (Faith Formation director on staff)
• Funerals — coordinated through the merged parish office

Parish Ministries and Outreach

Although St. Mary's was always a comparatively small parish in organization, its two flagship societies — the Altar Rosary Society and the St. Vincent de Paul Society — covered a remarkable range of parish service. The St. Vincent de Paul conference handled direct financial and material assistance; the Altar Rosary addressed many devotional and social needs that in larger parishes required several groups. The parish also supported the Groveport Food Pantry, a Columbus homeless shelter with food contributions, and the wider Groveport Madison school district community.

• St. Vincent de Paul Society — financial and material aid
• Altar Rosary Society — devotional and social outreach
• Parish Choir (Lisa Leonard, Organist/Choir Director)
• Faith Formation program (Andrea Maier, Director)
• Arts & Crafts Club — monthly meetings
• Liturgical ministers — Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, Servers
• Building and Grounds — Jim Fonzi, Maintenance

Community Life and the Smorgasbord

The parish smorgasbord, begun in 1951, is one of the longest-running parish fundraisers in the Columbus area. 'Many people know the familiar red, white, and black sign that pops up in town announcing the event each year.' It is the parish's signature public event — drawing Catholics and non-Catholics alike from Groveport, Obetz, Canal Winchester, and Lockbourne. Generations of the same families have attended St. Mary across its 153-year history, including direct descendants of the original Fagan and Corbett clans; William Fagan, a great-grandson of the original James Fagan, remained a parishioner into the 21st century.

• Annual Smorgasbord — since 1951
• Stations of the Cross garden open to the public during daytime hours
• Multi-generational parish families (descendants of founding families still attending)
• Bishop Earl Fernandes' August 15, 2022 visit at 5:30 PM — public reception

Architecture and Buildings

Three successive buildings have housed St. Mary's parish. The 1856 brick United Brethren church (southwest corner of Blacklick and Front Streets) became the first Catholic church in 1871 and later the parish hall. The 1949–1950 church designed by the Columbus firm Ramsey & Groce, with 225 seats, served as the main church for a generation until the current 1977 church at 5684 Groveport Road replaced it. After 1977 the two older buildings were joined and converted into Groveport's municipal building — where they still stand — preserving an architectural footprint of all three eras of the parish's life.

• 1856/1871 — first church (former United Brethren brick; parish hall after 1950)
• 1949/1950 — second church by Ramsey & Groce of Columbus (225 seats; dedicated June 11, 1950 by Bishop Ready)
• 1977 — present church at 5684 Groveport Road (third to serve the parish)
• Old 1949 and 1871 buildings now form Groveport's municipal building

Merger into Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

As part of Bishop Earl Fernandes' multi-year 'Real Presence, Real Future' diocesan consultation, St. Mary, Groveport was paired with Canal Winchester's St. John XXIII Catholic Church and ultimately merged into a new parish titled Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Bishop Fernandes was the celebrant of the final 4:00 PM Mass on Saturday, December 7, 2024; the last-ever St. Mary Mass was the regularly scheduled 8:00 AM Mass on Sunday, December 8, 2024. The decree notably altering parish boundaries was promulgated by Bishop Fernandes on December 2, 2024. Worship, sacraments, and administration are now housed at the St. John XXIII campus in Canal Winchester.

• Final Mass — Sat Dec. 7, 2024, 4:00 PM (Bishop Fernandes)
• Last Eucharistic celebration — Sun Dec. 8, 2024, 8:00 AM
• New merged parish: Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Pastor: Rev. Brian J. O'Connor
• Diocesan boundary decree promulgated Dec. 2, 2024 (Catholic Times, Dec. 15, 2024)
• Real Presence, Real Future — diocese-wide consultation launched 2021