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St. Stephen Church is a Roman Catholic church located on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio at 1930 West 54th Street. The gothic style building was designed by architects Cudell & Richardson. The current church was built in 1875 and was added into the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. ==History== St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church was founded in 1869 due to a need for a second German parish on the west side of Cleveland. The first German parish, St. Mary’s, increased so much that Cleveland was in need of a second parish for German-speaking Catholics. In April 1869 the first bishop of Cleveland, Bishop Louis Amadeus Rappe, appointed Fr. Stephen Falk to have a two-story building built. The building would be used as a church on the upper level and a school on the lower level to accommodate the 200 families from St. Mary’s that lived west of 44th Street. The newly ordained Fr. Casimir Reichlin became the first pastor and said the first Mass of the parish on May 1, 1870. He served as pastor of St. Stephen’s for 38 years. In 1873, Fr. Reichlin realized that a new church building was needed to accommodate the growing parish. The Cleveland-based architect firm called Cudell & Richardson was hired to build the structure that still stands today as St. Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church. Due to economic depression in the mid-1870s, work on the new building was stopped. Parishioners mortgaged their own properties to raise funds for the new church. It was dedicated on November 20, 1881 by the second bishop of Cleveland, Rev. Richard Gilmour. Volunteer German and Hungarian woodworkers completed the interior of the church. Over the next 40 years, the parish added a rectory, convent for the Sisters of Notre Dame and two school buildings including one for and an all girls two-year high school which opened in 1905. After World War II, St. Stephen’s parish experienced unprecedented growth due to the population growth in Cleveland and throughout the country. On June 8, 1953 a tornado severely damaged the church structure. Work to restore the building began immediately. The church was reopened on November 6, 1953. In the late sixties, the parish enrollment was at a low due to migration of families to suburban towns. St. Stephen’s parish graduated its last high school class in 1970 and the following school year moved the elementary level classes into the old high school building. In 1986, St. Stephen School combined with St. Michael and St. Boniface Schools and formed (Metro Catholic School ). St. Stephen’s was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 11, 1977.〔 In the 2010 round of parish closings in Cleveland, Ohio due to an unfortunate shortage of priests in the diocese, Bishop Richard Lennon spared St. Stephen’s because of its historical significance. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St. Stephen's Catholic Church (Cleveland, Ohio)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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