Parish History
The History of St. Joseph Church, North Bend
St. Joseph Church was founded in 1860 and was the anchor church for Catholics in the southwestern corner of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. After Catholic families that had settled near North Bend and Cleves approached the diocese asking for a Catholic church, Bishop John Purcell granted permission to allow a church to be built. Representatives from both villages, however, demanded that the church be built in their town. To settle the dispute of where the church would be located, the diocese gave the village residents a challenge. The first village to raise the necessary funds would have the church built in their community. Residents of both villages hustled to raise the money. The people of North Bend, however, proved swiftest, and St. Joseph Parish settled in North Bend.
Although St. Joseph Parish was formed in 1860, without a church, parishioners had to attend Mass in Delhi. Priests from St. Aloysius-on-the-Ohio said Mass in the one-story frame building east of South Miami Avenue, which still stands today in Sayler Park.
Then, in 1886, property on Taylor Avenue was purchased for the first St. Joseph Church. The church, including the rectory, was located on the large Holliday (or Halliday) family estate and dedicated on July 31, 1887. The first pastor of the new church, Father Anthony Runnebaum, held office from 1896-1902. He resided at St. Aloysius. Before Father Runnebaum was appointed pastor, several priests had charge of the parish.
Railroad Workers Build First St. Joseph Church
Old St. Joseph The actual construction of St. Joseph Church was completed under Fr. Scholl. Five men dug the foundation of the first church, and a Mr. Zinn (no first name found) laid the foundation. Railroad workers, who worked for 96 cents per day, worked on the construction of the church. All the stone came from a quarry near St. Paul, Indiana, and the windows in the first church cost $50 to $75 each.
In 1907, Lillian Sullivan became the first organist and choir director. She played a small, pedal-operated organ. Later, Nell Hanlon became one of the church organists. Denis Gleason, Leonard Meyer, and Frank Franz, Sr., served as the trustees of the parish.
Although the number of Catholics living in the area at first was small, the parish did serve a large territory. The church is bordered by two states and served people living in Addyston, Cleves, Columbia Park, Elizabethtown, Hooven, Miami Township, and North Bend.
Cross Guides Riverboat Captains
The first church also served as a gateway into Cincinnati. Atop the church gleamed a gold cross, proudly displayed on its copper steeple, which could be seen by boat captains on the Ohio River, alerting them to their approach into the Queen City.
The rectory was built in 1911, approximately 100 steps above the Taylor Avenue church on the Holliday (or Halliday-Meyer) property on Harrison Avenue. A building and land adjacent to the rectory were donated by the Gleason family. Many picnics and chicken dinners were held on this property, then called Tippecanoe Park. The present church and school now sit on this property.
The church went through many renovations from about 1953 to 1961. A furnace was replaced, the wooden posts in the church basement were replaced by steel and concrete reinforcements, and the church tower slowly decayed. New windows were installed and the entire church interior was repainted. But the parish could only renovate so much. In 1961, it was decided that a new church was needed. Plans called for building the new facility on the park property next to the rectory. Father Robert Leugers, who started the church’s first newsletter, The Carpenter’s Shop, began a crusade to redeem Ohio sales tax stamps. He hoped proceeds from the tax stamps could be used to build a new church.
Second Church Built with Tax Stamps
More than 200 volunteers mailed between 3000 and 5000 letters each day across Ohio, asking people to donate their tax stamps to the church. Tax stamps could be redeemed by religious and charitable groups for a certain percent of the face value (between 2 and 3 percent). Because of the volume of mail, up to 9000 letters a day at times, post office officials printed a special pre-cancelled postage stamp for the parish, which is now considered a collector’s item. Tax stamps were received from people of all faiths and in all stations of life, and few empty envelopes were returned. Along with the stamps, people also sent notes of encouragement or apologies for not sending more stamps.
The state reimbursed the parish $260,000 over a six-year period. Although all of the labor was donated, postage cost about $20,000 per year, and paper, ink, and envelopes took about half the money earned. The rest of the proceeds went toward building the new church and school, which cost $200,000. The church was dedicated in 1962. Today, parishioners still boast having a church that stamps built.
The old church was used for many years by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and then as a day care center. In 1965, a new rectory was built after a fire severely damaged the old rectory.
In 1996, Father Harry Gerdes appointed a Building Committee to research the possibilities of renovating the existing church or building a new church at a different location. The committee members, working under the guidelines of the Archdiocese, first surveyed the parishioners. Then a steering committee, headed by Rita Allen, gathered information about community growth, the church, the church organizations, the neighboring churches, and the church finances.
At the same time, five architects were contacted to determine the feasibility of expanding from the existing church. Three responded. Two said that it was possible, but additional land would be needed. Two adjoining properties were acquired, and the parish began making plans for a new worship space. Father Harry later became ill and Father Greg Lockwood was appointed by the Archdiocese to oversee the building and design process. Father Greg was instrumental in helping the parish to acquire stained glass windows from St. Michael’s church.
In October 2003, ground was broken alongside the second church building for the third and current St. Joseph Church. The formal ceremony was presided over by Auxiliary Bishop Carl Moeddel and our new pastor, Father Mike Savino.
This new sanctuary addition was made to the existing church facility, creating a wonderful blend of new and old; you enter through the old church into the new gathering area which serves as a meeting place and event space before you move into the church. The architectural focus of the new worship space is evident in the arch-shaped baptismal font and distinctive abstract metal screen that separates the sanctuary form the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.
The Stations of the Cross and the corpus above the alter are original to the first church on Taylor Avenue. The altar and most of the wood furnishings in the new space are made from a historical gingko tree which, after towering over St Joe’s for nearly 200 years, was removed to make way for the new building. A stainless cross was installed on top of the new building and is lit nightly, recreating the image of the gold cross atop the original church that guided the boat captains on the river.
On October 31, 2004, with much of the finishing touches to come, the new worship space was officially dedicated by Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk.
In 2019, pastor Father Andrew Umberg fulfilled Fr Savino’s original plan to paint the church interior. Fr Umberg enlisted the help of Karen Thorpe, parishioner Mary Hatch, and other committee members to create the color scheme and paint details. Color decisions were made to harmonize with the stained-glass windows, the wood work, and the metal screen behind the altar. A company was hired to paint the interior and Todd Brausch, an artist who studied church painting in Italy, completed the detail art work including the starry sky with its border, the lettering on the beams, and the artwork representing the Father and the Holy Spirit on the wall over God the Son on the crucifix. The Father and Holy Spirit artwork has biblical references: the triangle on a cloud with rays and the Hebrew name of God (YHWH) written on it represents the cloud over the meeting tent in the desert that was a sign of God’s presence with the Israelites. The hovering Holy Spirit dove, with its seven beams, represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and the seven Sacraments. The gold lettering on the three olive-colored beams of church, “Holy Holy Holy LORD God of Hosts”, is what the angels cry out in Isaiah 6:3, when God appears in the Temple.