About St. Francis · Saint Henry, Ohio
St. Francis Catholic Church is a small historic parish situated in the rural Cranberry Prairie community of St. Henry, in Mercer County, Ohio. Founded in 1856 by German Catholic settlers as a daughter parish of St. Henry, it has served the surrounding farmland for more than 165 years and is best known for its striking 1906 High Victorian Gothic Revival church, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. Today the parish is part of the St. Henry Cluster (officially the NW-3 Family of Parishes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati), joining St. Aloysius (Carthagena), St. Bernard (Burkettsville), St. Wendelin, and St. Henry. A rotating Sunday Mass schedule, a Wednesday morning Mass, weekly Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) sports, Vacation Bible School, and the Casseroles of Kindness outreach keep the parish active and rooted in its Pioneer-era Catholic heritage.
- Established
- 1856
- Patron
- St. Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)
- Rector
- Fr. Andrew Hess (Pastor of the St. Henry Cluster; appointed effective July 1, 2021)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Why belong here
St. Francis is a tight-knit, historically rooted rural parish where neighbors still know each other by name and the same families have worshipped for generations. Weekly liturgies — the Wednesday morning Mass and the 7:30 a.m. Sunday Mass in the cluster's rotation — are paired with parochial-life outreach like Casseroles of Kindness, Vacation Bible School for ages 4 through grade 5 (held at St. Francis in late July), and CYO athletics for St. Francis and St. Aloysius youth. Surrounded by Cranberry Prairie farmland and worshipping in a National-Register-listed 1906 Gothic church, parishioners here find a faith community that is small in scale but rich in tradition, lay involvement, and continuity with the German-Catholic pioneer heritage of western Ohio.
Mass times at St. Francis
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Cluster-wide confessions are heard Monday through Friday after the morning Mass, Tuesday evenings 7:30–8:30 PM at St. Henry, Wednesday 11:15–11:45 AM at St. Henry, Thursday evenings 7:30–8:30 PM at St. Henry, Saturday 3:15–4:15 PM at St. Henry, and Sunday 7:30–8:15 AM at St. Henry (Advent sessions begin at 7:00 PM instead of 7:30).
Adoration times
- Cluster-wide: Adoration is available Monday at 8:00 AM through Friday at 5:00 PM (with closing Benediction) at St. Wendelin; parishioners may sign up for a regular hour.
Parish Identity & History
St. Francis Catholic Church sits in the Cranberry Prairie farming community of Mercer County, in rural western Ohio. It was established in 1856 by German Catholic settlers who had come from St. Henry, and the parish's first church was a brick structure of about 38 by 65 feet built on land donated by Christopher and Margaretha Schunck. The current church — a High Victorian Gothic Revival landmark — was dedicated in 1906, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It was originally served by Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.) traveling from Himmelgarten Convent near St. Henry.
- Founded 1856 as a daughter parish of St. Henry
- Named in honor of St. Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)
- Present church dedicated 30 September 1906
- 2008 sesquicentennial marker presented by the Karch and Bernard families
- Joined the St. Henry Cluster in 2004
Architecture & Historic Preservation
The 1906 church is the focal point of the parish. Its architect, William P. Ginther of Akron, designed a striking 54-by-99-foot Gothic Revival structure crowned by a 110-foot spire, and the Minster, Ohio contractor Nicholas A. Ley carried out the work. Inside and out, the church is richly detailed: a deep transept with large stained-glass windows by Cincinnati's Artistic Glass Company, Bedford limestone ornamentation on the exterior, three carved wood altars by the Hackner Company of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and a great bell named St. Michael cast by the Van Duzen Company of Cincinnati. Its historic and architectural significance earned the building a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
- Architect: William P. Ginther (Akron, OH)
- Contractor: Nicholas A. Ley (Minster, OH)
- Stained glass: Artistic Glass Company (Cincinnati)
- Altars: Hackner Company (LaCrosse, WI)
- Bell: Van Duzen Co. (Cincinnati)
Cluster & Archdiocese
St. Francis is one of five parishes in the St. Henry Cluster (within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati), grouped in 2023 as the NW-3 Family of Parishes alongside St. Aloysius (Carthagena), St. Bernard (Burkettsville), St. Wendelin, and St. Henry. The cluster shares priests, staff, and religious education, and in 2023 voted to formally merge into one St. Henry Parish family, with Fr. Andrew Hess having initiated the merger filing with Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr.
- Cluster parishes: St. Aloysius, St. Bernard, St. Francis, St. Henry, St. Wendelin
- Archdiocese of Cincinnati
- Family-of-Parishes designation: NW-3
Clergy & Staff
St. Francis is served by the cluster pastor, Fr. Andrew Hess, and the cluster parochial vicar, Fr. John Grusenmeyer, both reached through the cluster office. Day-to-day parish life is coordinated by St. Francis's Parish Life Coordinator, Mary Schmitmeyer. Deacons Randy Balster, Gregg Elking, and Jerry Buschur minister across the cluster.
- Pastor: Fr. Andrew Hess (effective July 1, 2021)
- Parochial Vicar: Fr. John Grusenmeyer
- St. Francis Parish Life Coordinator: Mary Schmitmeyer
- Deacons: Randy Balster, Gregg Elking, Jerry Buschur
Ministries & Outreach
St. Francis's small but active lay community supports the parish through Casseroles of Kindness (coordinated by Katie Huwer) for families in need, CYO athletics for St. Aloysius and St. Francis youth (Tom Marchal and Jennifer Ungruhn), and Vacation Bible School hosted right at the St. Francis church site each summer (Stephanie Stachler, ages 4 through grade 5). Religious education, Totus Tuus summer programs, music ministry (Karen Heath), evangelization (Josh Wendel), and administration are organized cluster-wide.
- Casseroles of Kindness — Katie Huwer
- CYO for St. Aloysius / St. Francis — Tom Marchal, Jennifer Ungruhn
- Vacation Bible School at St. Francis — Stephanie Stachler
- Music Ministry — Karen Heath
- Director of Evangelization — Josh Wendel
- Religious Education — Rachel Hess
- Basement Rental — Steve & Mary Watercutter
Contact & Visiting
The parish is located at 1509 Cranberry Road, St. Henry, Ohio 45883 — easily reached by turning west off State Route 127 onto Ft. Recovery–Minster Road until you reach the Cranberry Road intersection. Visitors will find restrooms in the basement (signs lead the way from the back and front of the church) and the confessional in the north-west corner of the church, inside the north (side) sacristy. The cluster office is open Monday–Thursday 8:00 AM–noon and 12:45–4:30 PM, and Friday 8:00 AM–noon; the office is closed on Holy Days and holidays. In severe weather, if Mercer County reaches a Level 2+ snow emergency, weekday Masses move to St. Francis, and weekend changes are announced on WSCM, social media, and by text.
- Address: 1509 Cranberry Road, St. Henry, OH 45883
- Cluster Phone: (419) 678-4118
- St. Francis Parish Life Coordinator: (419) 336-7745
- Restrooms: basement (west end), accessible from front or back
- Confessional: north-west corner, inside the side (north) sacristy
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.)1856 – early 20th century
Early pastors traveled from Himmelgarten Convent near St. Henry and from other neighboring C.PP.S. parishes rather than residing at Cranberry Prairie permanently.