About St. Peter · Fort Recovery, Ohio
St. Peter is a small Catholic parish in the rural St. Peter community northeast of Fort Recovery, Ohio, in Mercer County. Founded by German pioneer farming families in 1858 and dedicated on January 1, 1860, it has served the same farming community for more than 165 years. Today it is one of seven parishes in the Holy Cross Family of Parishes within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, sharing pastors, staff, and faith-formation programs with its sister communities while preserving its own identity, church building, and patron saint.
- Established
- 1858
- Patron
- St. Peter (Apostle)
- Rector
- Rev. Alexander T. Witt
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Why belong here
St. Peter is a small, multigenerational farming parish where the same family names that appear on the 1858 building committee (Gaerke, Roessner, Wendel, Vonderhaar) still worship in the pews today. The parish works closely with its neighbors — sharing CCD and CYO programs with St. Joseph, and participating in the wider Holy Cross Family of Parishes — while maintaining its own identity, church building, and Sunday Mass. Adult parishioners are invited into church history classes and Bible studies, the St. Peter Center is available for community events, and confession is offered before every Mass.
Mass times at St. Peter
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 10:25 AM – 10:45 AM (30 minutes before Mass)
- Monday: 5:45 PM – 6:30 PM (before Mass)
Adoration times
- Monday: 5:45 PM – 6:30 PM
History of St. Peter Parish
St. Peter Parish was established in 1858 when permission was granted by the Archbishop of Cincinnati to build a church, and the cornerstone of the original brick church was laid on October 6, 1858 by Archbishop John Baptist Purcell. Archbishop Purcell returned on January 1, 1860, to dedicate the church and celebrate its first Mass. The founding members were German pioneer farmers who wanted a church within walking distance of their homes — St. Joseph, two miles to the south, was the Mother Church in the area. The Society of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.) supplied the first priests, who initially came from Mary's Home in Trinity, Indiana. After sharing a pastor with Mary Help of Christians for a time, St. Peter received its own resident pastor after 1886. The present church was built in 1904–1905, the rectory in 1912, a basement with kitchen in 1964, and a lowered steeple in 1968.
- 1858 — parish established; cornerstone laid October 6 by Archbishop Purcell
- January 1, 1860 — first Mass and dedication of original brick church
- 1886 — parish received its own resident pastor
- 1904–1905 — present church built on the site of the original
- 1912 — rectory built
- 1964 — basement dug and finished with kitchen
- 1968 — steeple removed and rebuilt forty feet lower
- 1984 — St. Peter and St. Joseph began sharing a pastor
- July 1999 — joined with St. Anthony in a three-parish cluster
- July 2004 — became part of the Fort Recovery Cluster (St. Peter, St. Joseph, St. Paul, Mary Help of Christians)
- January 10, 2010 — celebrated 150th anniversary with Mass by Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr
- July 1, 2022 — became a member of the Holy Cross Family of Parishes under Beacons of Light
Founding Families and the Choice of Patron
When the time came to choose a patron saint for the new congregation, several saints were suggested. The deciding factor was the extraordinary willingness of one Peter Kerber to do whatever was needed to bring the parish into being — and so the church was named St. Peter. The original building committee (1858) included Wilhelm Wendel, Dietrich Gaerke, Jacob Roessner, Andrew Trautman, Jacob Braun, John Schoch, Joseph Studer and Henry Vonderhaar, and many of those family names are still found in the parish membership today.
- Peter Kerber — parish namesake
- Wilhelm Wendel, Dietrich Gaerke, Jacob Roessner, Andrew Trautman, Jacob Braun, John Schoch, Joseph Studer, Henry Vonderhaar — original building committee
Faith Formation and Youth Ministry
St. Peter partners with neighboring St. Joseph for its CCD religious-education program and offers a well-attended CYO youth program. CCD is coordinated through the Holy Cross Family of Parishes office; Ginny Fortkamp serves the cluster's OCIA and Bereavement Ministry, and Stephanie Rutschilling and Harlie Metzger oversee CCD at the cluster level. Adult parishioners also participate in church history classes and Bible studies.
- CCD program (combined with St. Joseph)
- CYO youth program
- OCIA for adults (Ginny Fortkamp)
- Adult Bible studies and church history classes
Music and Liturgy
Music at St. Peter is led by a small team of volunteer cantors and musicians from the parish — Anna Roessner, Mary Gaerke, and Paige Dysert — coordinated through the Holy Cross Family of Parishes music ministry.
- Anna Roessner — music
- Mary Gaerke — music
- Paige Dysert — music
St. Peter Center
The St. Peter Center is the parish's community hall, used for parish dinners, anniversary celebrations, CCD events, and is available for hall rental to the wider community. Inquiries and bookings are handled by Julie Gaerke.
- Hall rental contact — Julie Gaerke, 419-852-6474
Parish Staff and Leadership
St. Peter is led by the clergy and staff of the Holy Cross Family of Parishes. The current pastor is Rev. Alexander T. Witt; the parochial vicars are Rev. Ethan Moore, Rev. Joseph Kumar Pasala, and Rev. Barry Stechschulte. Deacons Daniel Kahlig and Roger Kaiser also serve the family of parishes. Amy Lennartz serves as business manager for MHC/SJ/SPL/SPT, Karen Timmerman as administrative assistant for SJ/SPT, Ginny Fortkamp as CCD/OCIA/Bereavement coordinator, and Natalie Ashbaugh as youth minister for MHC/SJ/SPL/SPT. Lisa Cowan is the Director of Communications for the cluster bulletin. Family Council representatives for St. Peter are Lynn Pleiman and Roger Roessner.
- Pastor — Rev. Alexander T. Witt ([email protected])
- Parochial Vicar — Rev. Ethan Moore
- Parochial Vicar — Rev. Joseph Kumar Pasala
- Parochial Vicar — Rev. Barry Stechschulte
- Deacon — Daniel Kahlig
- Deacon — Roger Kaiser
- Business Manager — Amy Lennartz (MHC/SJ/SPL/SPT)
- Administrative Assistant — Karen Timmerman (SJ/SPT)
- CCD/OCIA/Bereavement — Ginny Fortkamp
- Youth Ministry — Natalie Ashbaugh
- Director of Communications — Lisa Cowan
- Family Council — Lynn Pleiman, Roger Roessner
Holy Cross Family of Parishes
Since July 1, 2022, St. Peter has been a member of the Holy Cross Family of Parishes (Northwest Deanery, Family 1) under the Archdiocese of Cincinnati's Beacons of Light initiative. The family brings together seven parishes across the Fort Recovery and Coldwater area: St. Peter (Fort Recovery-St. Peter), St. Joseph (Fort Recovery-St. Joseph), St. Anthony (Fort Recovery-St. Anthony), St. Paul (Fort Recovery-Sharpsburg), Mary Help of Christians (Fort Recovery), Holy Trinity (Coldwater), and St. Mary (Coldwater-Philothea). The family is led by Father Alexander T. Witt with three parochial vicars.
- St. Peter (Fort Recovery-St. Peter)
- St. Joseph (Fort Recovery-St. Joseph)
- St. Anthony (Fort Recovery-St. Anthony)
- St. Paul (Fort Recovery-Sharpsburg)
- Mary Help of Christians (Fort Recovery)
- Holy Trinity (Coldwater)
- St. Mary (Coldwater-Philothea)
Visiting and Contact
The parish office is reached through the Fort Recovery office at 419-375-4153 or the Coldwater office at 419-678-4802. The general bulletin and communications email is [email protected]. The Mass is celebrated at 1477 Philothea Rd. in the unincorporated village of St. Peter, northeast of Fort Recovery. Visitors are warmly welcomed — the parish has been described by longtime members as a "close-knit" community rooted in faith, family, and farm.
- Fort Recovery Office — 419-375-4153
- Coldwater Office — 419-678-4802
- Bulletin email — [email protected]
- Address — 1477 Philothea Rd., Fort Recovery, OH 45846
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Thomas Dornaround 2008–2010
Pastor of the Fort Recovery cluster at the time of St. Peter's 150th anniversary (Jan. 2010); quoted in the Catholic Telegraph feature on the parish.
- Rev. Fred Falce, C.PP.S.1974–
Appointed pastor (over neighboring Mary Help of Christians) in 1974 to lead the discussion on whether to expand or replace the church; mentioned in cluster history.
- Rev. George Heinzen, C.PP.S.mid-20th century
Led the parish through its 75th anniversary (1956) and oversaw the construction of a new Sisters' Convent (1958) — referenced in the cluster history page.