OUR HISTORY

In the heart of the Black Swamp

In the year 1850 a pioneer priest named Johann Otto Bredeik took a leap of faith and decided to build a small chapel in a township with only ten families, four of which were Catholic. This first church went by the name of St. Mary's Parish. In this first church once a month they held public worship but only on weekdays. If the people wanted to go to church on Sunday they had to travel to either Delphos or Fort Jennings but most of the times this was impossible. Therefore people seldom got to go to church on Sunday. The state was not wanting to sell the land because of the swamp which made it difficult to grow a parish but soon enough the Ohio Legislature passed a law that all the swampland along the canal would have a set price at one dollar per acre. Poor people came from everywhere to build their family a farm. 

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Throughout all of this Rev. Otto Bredeik was using the money out of his own pockets to help grow the parish and his community. His only aim was the welfare of all the people, he was unweary! He passed away 8 short years later. The new priest in Delphos would travel to Ottoville once a month just as Father Bredeick did for two years. During these two short years he built a frame church eighty by forty and the cost was $3000.00. 

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In the year 1865, Rev. Father Abel became Ottoville's first residence pastor. Before that, Ottoville was known as a mission. Father Abel built the first rectory during his years here. Then in 1868 Rev. Michael Muller was given charge of the parish of Ottoville and the frame church was still standing but in very poor condition inside. The parish was deeply debted with almost one hundred families scattered around but most had to struggle to pay their debt. What happened in the next few years is proof that the people had courage and were willing to make sacrifices. 

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They spent eight hundred dollars for a tower and a new coat of paint for an extra one hundred dollars. Soon after, Herr Kaiser from Delphos built two beautiful side alters for over four hundred dollars. The outside of the church was improved, statues were purchased, a new bell, and a beautiful pipe-organ which is still today in active service. It could now seat the number of worshipers but had one suspected that in a short time the parish would grow rapidly, many expenses could have been saved. So it was agreed to build a new church, indeed a church so the future generations will not stand in need to build again, and this is what changed the community forever. 

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An architect worked on the new church for a long time and drew up a sketch. Father Muller was pleased and payed him the sum of eight hundred dollars. But that became public and the community was in an uproar because they thought it could be built for cheaper. Father Muller approached the bishop with a list of signatures who would help to build the new church for half the amount of money. 

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From people bringing lumber, to bricks, to limestone for the foundation that was brought from Piqua, everyone worked together to get the church built. It is one hundred and seventy five feet long and one hundred feed wide in transit. In front are two mighty towers which reach one hundred and eighty feet into the sky. The exterior appearance with the three beautiful door ways and the decorative window give this church a majestic look. The walls and pillars are richly decorated. There are also twenty large glass windows in the church that came from Cleveland. 

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The building of the church took over three years. The cornerstone was laid on June 20, 1885 but the initiation ceremonies were not held before September 23, 1888. The church can seat twelve hundred people now and if need be more. The altars and organ from the old church are still in use. The stations of the cross are one of the many eye catching features of the church. Made of of terra cotta these statues are so full of art that the eyes are filled with tears. This work of art came from France in 1892 after the church was finished and is the first of this kind and size in America, the cost was two thousand dollars. 

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Best of all, on the entire church and the parishioners and especially the pastor have a genuine pride in is that the parish is free from debt.