THE NEW CHURCH

By 1922 over $50,000.00 had been collected and plans for the church and rectory drawn by Robert Kraus, architect of Akron, Ohio, were accepted, and actual construction commenced in May, 1922. Despite the usual delays satisfactory progress was made and on Thanksgiving Day, November 29, 1923, at 10 A.M., Bishop Hartley solemnly dedicated the new church to the service of Almighty God. It is of pure Tudor Gothic design and has been pronounced one of the most correct and beautiful churches in the state of Ohio. It is 155 feet long and 80 feet in width and 52 feet high. The main tower is 105 feet high. Including a beautiful little chapel--a complete church in itself, the edifice has a seating capacity of almost 800.

By the end of 1925, the entire cost of the new church, rectory, as well as the remodeling expenses of the school had been paid off. There must be included in these extraordinary expenses also a $12,000.00 subscription to the new St. Charles Seminary. At no time was the bank debt more than $20,000.00. This splendid record will always stand as a credit to Father Ryan and the people of Sacred Heart Parish.

SCHOOL REMODELED

Upon the completion of the new church, Divine Services were of course transferred from the old church and the room thus vacated turned into schoolrooms. The school was remodeled and today the parish has twelve splendid rooms for school purposes. Eight of these are used for the grammar school, and four for the commercial school.

ST. CHARLES SEMINARY

St. Charles Seminary had its start at Sacred Heart. Bishop Hartley had announced in 1923 plans for the erection of a Diocesan Seminary for the preparatory education of boys with a view to fostering vocations for the priesthood. And in order to get the school under way even before the new St. Charles building was completed, school room space was made available at Sacred Heart, and on September 5, 1923, twenty-seven boys were enrolled in the first year of the new school. The Reverend John Murphy, Superintendent of Schools, was Prefect of Studies; Father Ryan, Prefect of Discipline; Rev. Robert F. Coburn of the cathedral, taught Latin; Rev. Raymond Bauschard of Holy Name Church, Algebra; and Rev. Mr. John Kerrigan (Father Kerrigan), Religion, English, History and General Science. Father Kerrigan had come to Columbus a few months before and completed his Seminary studies here at the same time teaching in the new St. Charles. He was ordained in June 1924, and offered up his first Mass in Sacred Heart Church on Sunday, June 15, 1924. On that same day Rev. Albert Fisher, a native of the parish, also sang his first Mass. Father Kerrigan, along with his teaching at St. Charles, continued to assist at Sacred Heart Church until March 1945.

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