Sacred Heart Family of Churches

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With the cornerstone laid on August 24, 1837 by Bishop Purcell and Father Martin Kundig, St. Patrick is one of the oldest churches in the area. The original building was completed in October 1841.
In 1860, the then Pastor, Fr. Cornelius Daly invited the Sisters of Charity to found and run a parish school which was established in September 1860. St. Patrick's Academy was a boarding school for boys and girls aged 5-14. The tuition for ten months of room, board and tuition was $125.00. In 1891, the Sisters of Charity began a new school called St. Vincent Academy. St. Patrick's Academy closed in 1931 due to the effects of the Great Depression. St. Vincent Academy lasted until 1953.
Between 1875 and 1877, the bell tower, balcony and entrance were completed.
The sacristy and rectory were built between the years 1906-1907.

St. Michael School is located in Ripley, a quant Ohio village rich in Ohio River History. The first Catholic school in Ripley was taught in a small frame building that occupied the site on Second St. where the Methodist Church now stands. The building was moved to a lot on N. Second St. below the old shoe factory.
The second Catholic school was held in a small brick building on North Main St., south of the first church. This building also still stands.
In 1864, a two-story brick building was erected on a lot next to the church on Fourth Street. When the present church building was put into use in 1890, the former church building below it, on Fourth St. was divided by a partition to provide two rooms and used as a school. It was the school for 35 years. Beginning in September 1961, it has been used as a parish hall and school cafeteria. The present modern school is now at the head of Market St. The cornerstone was laid on September 23, 1923. The modern building contains six classrooms, a library, a computer lab and a copy room.

There have been many teachers over the years; some lay men and women and some sisters. Mr. Christian Trapp was the very first schoolteacher. The Sisters of St. Francis from Rochester Minnesota taught in our school from 1884 until 1904. Then, for the school year 1904-1905, Miss Lorena Schwallie· and Miss Rose Schreckler were the teachers. The Benedictine Sisters from Erie, Pennsylvania, taught from 1905-1908. Mr. John Schiffer was the teacher from 1908-1910. In 1912, the Sisters of Divine Providence, from Melbourne Kentucky, came to Ripley, and stayed for many years. The Sisters of St. Francis from Oldenburg Indiana were at St. Michael School in the 1990's. After they left, the school was in the hands of lay teachers and a lay principal.
In 2007, there was a possibility that St. Michael School might close. Many St. Michael parishioners as well as members of the community came together to make sure that the school would remain open. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati Education Commission recommended that the school remain open and set ten benchmarks to be met by March 15, 2009. Under the leadership of Sister Carol Ann Mouse OSF, a Franciscan Nun from Oldenburg Indiana as Principal and Fr. James Schmitmeyer as Pastor, all of the benchmarks were met. St. Michael school is still the only Catholic school in Brown County.

Ground was broken for a Catholic church in Georgetown in May of 1902 on a lot at Apple and Plum Streets. It had been deeded, on September 17, 1831, by John Rooney to Fr. Martin Kundig who had established a parish at St. Martin. The new church was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, under the title of the Assumption, by Archbishop Elder on October 1, 1902. The cost of building was provided by the friends and benefactors of six families: $2,488.01. This church served the parish until 1952. It still stands and is now the Apple Street Christian Church.
On Sunday, May 18, 1952, approximately 300 people attended the laying of the cornerstone for a new church that was to be built on Route 125 (State Street) on property purchased in 1935 from Mrs. Anna Thompson. Fr. Clarence J. Meyer O.S.B. celebrated the first Mass in this new church on October 15, 1952. More than 400 persons attended dedication services on Sunday, November 2, 1952. Archbishop Karl J. Alter consecrated the church and dedicated it to St. George.
For 52 years, until January of 1954, priests of the Benedictine Community served the Catholic Church in Georgetown. Fr. Clarence J. Meyer was the last of these.
A house for a rectory was bought from Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Moyer at 320 E. State Street on November 19, 1954. On June 27, 1955, Fr. Roland E. Flinn was installed as pastor and took up residence in the rectory. Fr. William Hacket followed Fr. Flinn and purchased a house on Elm Street from Robert and Lily Frodge in 1959 for a new rectory closer to the church. At this time the parish consisted of about 100 families.
Fr. Hackett died in July of 1965, just three days before being transferred to a new assignment. A new altar was added to the church in his memory. Fr. Alfred J. Powers succeeded Fr. Hacket.
In 1983 work began on an addition to the church: classrooms, a social hall and a bell tower. The cost was $224,000. The carillon included a bell taken form old St. Mary and one from Mt. St. Mary Seminary. In 2007, the bell tower had to be dismantled in 2007 when it became unsafe. The addition included a stained glass window of St. George, designed and executed by parishioner, Jerry Blum, Sr. Memorial donations paid for all other stained glass windows in the old and new sections of the church. A memorial garden with a fountain was created between the church and social hall. A new confessional was built and the old confessional space was converted into a baptistery. At this of St. George Parish and also of St. Michael Parish in Mt. Orab. time, the parish was about 170 families. On February 10, 1987, Fr. Earl O. Metz became the Pastor
In February of 1955, the Archdiocese purchased property on State Street to be used as a catechetical center for Brown County. The Glenmary order of Sisters lived there for ten years. Sisters of St. Ursula then provided instruction for the children and were followed by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1966. In 1988, the property on State Street was sold. The Director of Religious Education and parishioners provide religious instruction for the children today. There is also an active RCIA, a program for anyone interested in learning about the Catholic Faith. Other groups currently active within the parish: Pastoral Council, Finance Council, Worship Commission, Education Commission, Knights of Columbus, St. Vincent de Paul Society and Altar Society.
In 2001, St. George and St. Michael, Ripley became sister parishes with Fr. John P. Fischer as pastor. St. Michael, Mt. Orab was now paired with St. Mary, Arnheim and St. Elizabeth, Angela Merici in Fayetteville. Sardinia. In 2007, Fr. Fischer was succeeded by Fr. James M. Schmitmeyer. Then, in 2009, Fr. Dohrman W. Byers became pastor of St. George Parish, St. Michael Parish and St. Mary Parish, Arnheim. St. Elizabeth Parish was closed and St. Michael Parish, Mt. Orab was paired with St. Angela Merici in Fayetteville.

St. Mary Parish in Arnheim is one of the oldest parishes in the state of Ohio. As early as 1827, Catholic families settled in the area around Arnheim. Missionary priests celebrated Mass in the home of Wendel Klein. In 1835, his daughter, Appolonia, married John Ernst, Jr. (Their descendants are still members of the parish.) The first child of this couple was the first Catholic baptism in the area. When that child died in 1837, Wendel Klein donated a half acre of land for a cemetery and the building of a church. In 1838 the parish was founded and a church erected on the Brownstown-Arnheim Road, a half mile north of the village of Arnheim. This first church was a log structure, named in honor of St. Wendelin. The cemetery, which was expanded in 1901, still serves the parish and is one of the oldest cemeteries in the area.
By the 1850's, the original church was too small for the growing congregation. In 1858, the present church was built in the village of Arnheim. It is a brick structure, raised on a foundation of limestone taken from nearby Straight Creek. The bricks were handmade and fired on the farm of Jacob Kelch on Purdy Road. In 1863, Morgan's Confederate Raiders swept through Arnheim, destroying many of the buildings. The church was spared, but the town never fully recovered from this devastation. Finally, on January 9, 1865, Bishop Sylvester Rosecrans blessed the church under the title of St. Mary.
Throughout this period, the parish continued to be served by missionary priests, who would celebrate Mass once a month and spend the week following giving religious instruction to the area children. It was not until 1882 that St. Mary received its first resident pastor. From 1896 until 1954, the parish was served by Benedictine priests from St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama. In 1898, the present sanctuary was added to the church and the original plain glass windows replaced with the present stained glass windows, which bear the names of the donors-families still represented in the parish.
In 1916, the present rectory was built and the church stuccoed. At that time, a German artist named Theodore Brasch painted the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary on the ceiling of the church, as well as the large murals in the sanctuary.
In 1932, the Sisters of St. Ursula began coming to Arnheim to instruct the children. In 1934, the parish bought the old one-room Arnheim District School #5 (built in 1884) to use for religion classes. In 1944, parishioners dragged this building to its present location. Now known as St. Wendelin Hall, it still serves as a religious education center for the parish. At this time, too, the buttresses and vestibule were added to the church. In 1955, the Glenmary Sisters took over the religious education program of the parish.
In 1958, the church was refurbished for its 100th anniversary, and new chandeliers were added. In 1972, the rectory was badly damaged by fire and extensively remodeled. In 1977, parishioners built a large storage barn behind the rectory. A new spire was added to the church in 1984. The church was renovated in 1988 for the 150th anniversary of the parish, and in 1989 St. Mary Hall was erected to serve for both religious education classes and social functions.
In 2005, new carpet and pews were installed in the church. In 2007, a neighbor, Frank Schirmer, donated two acres to St. Mary Cemetery, nearly doubling the size of the cemetery and allowing for the construction of a driveway through the cemetery for the first time. Mr. Schirmer also donated a granite statue of the Blessed Mother, in memory of his wife Marilyn. Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk blessed the new cemetery and statue in a colorful rite on September 9, 2007. In the fall of that same year, the parish purchased the property at the corner of Arn Alley and expanded its parking facilities.
In 2009, St. Elizabeth Parish in Sardinia closed, and its territory and people became part of St. Mary. The hand-carved statue of St. Elizabeth was brought from St. Elizabeth Church to St. Mary to Mark this event. At the same time, Father Dohrman Byers, pastor of St. Mary, became pastor also of St. Michael Parish in Ripley and St. George Parish in Georgetown, creating a new network of relations for St. Mary. In 2010, Ronald Dvorachek became the first permanent deacon to serve the parish, together with St. Michael and St. George.

St. Michael Church was founded in 1944 by Father Hoban, who bought the 'Old Bloody Bucket Saloon' and renamed it to the Congregation of the Mother of Christ.
In 1945, 75 acres of farmland was purchased for a new church and in 1946 the old farmhouse on the property was renovated to become the first St. Michael church by Brother Bertrand O.P. and Father Hoban.
The current building was built in 1957 with the help of many of the parishioners. The first Mass in the new church was on Easter, April 21, 1957, and Archbishop Alter blessed the building on June 30, 1957.

The beginnings of St. Michael Parish can be traced to 1833-36 when several Catholic families settled in and near Ripley. Mass was occasionally celebrated in the Michael Walters and Joseph Helbling homes. In 1840, the first church was erected on ground donated by Michael Waters on the east side of North Main Street and dedicated on June 19, 1842 by Archbishop Purcell in honor of St. John the Baptist. Early missionary priests served Ripley for many years. In 1858, the first resident priest came to live in Ripley, Reverend H. Boecker, a native of Germany.
The second church was in the present parish hall. The cost of this structure was $5,000.00. The interior was comprised of one large room with a reed organ. After the present church building was erected, this building became and is still used as the school cafeteria as well as for meetings and social gatherings.
The third and present church building was dedicated to God under the patronage of St. Michael by Archbishop William Elder on June 21, 1890. This church was designed after the St. Michael Church in Schonau/Pfalz, Gennany. The architecture is Roman in design and the Roman numerals MDCCCLXXXIX are chiseled in the plain cornerstone. The dimensions are 90 feet long by 45 feet wide and there is a tower 120 feet high. A cast bronze bell, weighing 1037 pounds was installed and rung by hand with a rope until 1956 when it was electrified.
Sometime between 1904 and 1922, the beautiful paintings which adorn the walls and dome of the sanctuary were done by a German artist by the name of Brausch.
In 1984, extensive repair and redecorating began on the church. A new plastered ceiling was installed. The entire body of the church was repainted, decorative woodwork and moldings were used in the sanctuary and on the doors. Artistic stenciling and repair of all paintings in the church was done by Fred Anderson of Ripley. The faith community that began in 1833 continues to flourish. Today the parish consists of
approximately 240 families. St. Michael School, in the current building since 1924, is the only Catholic school in Brown County and continues to provide quality education with a solid faith foundation.
Still active in the parish are Knights of Columbus, Rosary Altar Society, PTO, School Committee,
Finance and Pastoral Councils. In addition, the parish offers a Family Religious Education Program for students who do not attend a Catholic school, as well as RCIA, a program for anyone interested in learning more about the Catholic Faith. St. Michael also hosts a chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, serving the needy in the area.
St. Michael enjoyed its own pastor until 2001 when St. George, Georgetown and St. Michael, Ripley became sister parishes and shared a pastor. Beginning in 2009, St. Mary Arnheim joined the other two
parishes and all three are currently served by the Reverend Dohrman W. Byers. The RCIA, Worship,
Education, and Social Action Commissions are joint efforts of St. Michael, St. Mary, and St. George
parishes.
In 2013, the tower and spire of the church were extensively repaired and refurbished. Then in 2014, the interior of the church was repainted and new carpet laid. In December, the exterior of the fa9ade and tower began to be illuminated at night.
In 2015, St. Michael Parish is celebrating its 175th anniversary. Festivities will culminate on October 11, with a Mass celebrated by Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, launching St. Michael into a new era of faith, witness, and service.