Beginnings

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St. Mary, Rockport
Stone Church
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Fr. Calvey
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Depression Years
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Parish Cemetery
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Aspects of Parish Life
Pastorate of Fr. Kelly
Hunger Center
Changing Needs
R.C.I.A.
Pastoral Council
Reaching Out
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Year of Celebration
Parish Leaders
Daughter Parishes

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Frame church, completed in 1854 As the first bishop of Cleveland, Bishop Rappe introduced himself to his diocese through a pastoral letter. The diocese had just been established on April 23, 1847, and the bishop's missive recognized the concerns of his flock.

"Your spiritual necessities, beloved brethren of the laity, are not unknown to us," he wrote. "We wish to be intimately acquainted with your desires for the advancement of religion, and although we may be unable to provide resident pastors for every congregation, we will endeavor to console you in their absence by frequent visits and by sending you, from time to time, faithful missionaries, who will speak your language, and animate your piety."

For the 40 or so Catholic families in the southern part of Rockport Township, their "desires for the advancement of religion" included a parish church. The community mostly farmers, farm hands and laborers, some domestics and a few skilled workmen - sent a delegation to Bishop Rappe, who answered their requests with a personal visit.

Apparently, the sincerity of this community of Irish and German immigrants impressed the bishop enough that he honored their wishes. The community became a congregation on Sunday, March 17, 1848, when the bishop heard confessions, offered Mass and baptized in the home of Morgan Waters. Over the next six years, Bishop Rappe or one of the priests of the cathedral visited the congregation about once a month, with the Waters' home as the usual gathering place.

These informal surroundings helped create a more close-knit congregation and would suffice for a time, but a parish needs a church. This goal came into view when, in 1851, the Patrick Lahiff family donated a half-acre parcel of land (the site of the present cemetery) on which a church would be built.

It took the community three years to build their church. It was a poor community and construction was done by parishioners when they could afford to take off from their jobs. These devout men and women were clearing their land and hauled the trees to the mill to be cut into boards, and then hauled the lumber back to the work site. Besides the structure itself, they built the altar, pews, chairs, tables and other furnishings.

Skilled laborers like Daniel Doyle, a blacksmith who made the hardware for the church, contributed their skills as well.

When this frame structure was completed in 1854, Bishop Rappe returned to dedicate the church of the first parish he had started as bishop. He placed the congregation under the patronage of St. Patrick, an apt selection since the first Mass of the parish had been celebrated on the feast of the saint. The bishop also put the parish in the care of Fr. Louis Filiere, who was starting St. Mary's of the Falls in Olmsted Falls.