1861

1861. Saint Rose Catholic Church. , History records that Jesuit missionaries from Quebec passed through this part of northwest Ohio as early as 1751. A priest from Tiffin, Ohio visited Perrysburg in 1839 and wrote that there was only one Catholic family living near Perrysburg. In the early 1840's Father Amadeus Rappe, who would later become the first Bishop of Cleveland, ministered along the Maumee River. In 1846-47, several German Catholic families arrived in Perrysburg, and they were joined in 1852 by a large group of families from the Bavarian village of Kirchehrenbach. These families were ministered to by priests in Maumee and Toledo. The baptismal records of St. Joseph Parish in Maumee show that many Perrysburg Catholics made the sometimes dangerous crossing of the Maumee in the 1840's and 1850's to have their children baptized.

By 1861 it was clear that Perrysburg needed its own parish. In January of that year parish trustees were elected under the leadership of Father Seraphim Bauer, the pastor of Saint Joseph Parish in Maumee. The property of the Universalist Church on the corner of Front and Elm Streets was purchased and equipped for Catholic worship (located at the present 80-84 Elm Street). A patron saint for the parish was also chosen--Saint Rose of Lima Peru--the first canonized saint of the Western Hemisphere.

In 1863 Saint Rose Parish received its first resident pastor, Father Charles Griss. Two years later Father Griss purchased the current church property that was across the street from the original church site. Catholic education has a long tradition at Saint Rose, with the school opening on the new property in 1867.

The pastors of Saint Rose Parish include Fr. Charles Griss (1863-1884), Fr. Gustave Rieken (1885-1901), Fr. J. H. Kleekamp (1901-1908), Fr. Peter Schoendorff (1908-1915), Fr. John Kiebel (1915-1946), Fr. Charles Comnte (1946- 1954), Msgr. Max Walz (1954-1968), Msgr. Robert Yates (1968-1984), Fr. A. Robert Lamantia (1984-1990), Fr. John A. Thomas (1990-1999), Fr. Thomas J. Leyland (1999-2007), and Fr. Marvin G. Borger (2007-present). Today Saint Rose Parish is a vibrant and flourishing parish of over 7,700 members.

"Come to the Lord, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." , --1 Peter 2:4-5