St. Christopher Parish at 20141 Detroit Road, Rocky River, OH 44116 US - History of St. Christopher Parish

Back in 1922, when the city of Rocky River was mostly verdant farmland and Wagar Road was little more than a dirt trail, Bishop Joseph Schrembs recognized the potential population growth west of the Cuyahoga River and organized four new West side parishes. In May, he appointed his secretary, Father Richard J. Patterson, pastor of one of these new communities, St. Christopher Parish. Father Patterson's choice of the name St. Christopher - the patron of travelers and motorists is an appropriate one, for the automobile age was dawning and soon would transform the hamlet of Rocky River into a bustling town. The fledgling community celebrated its first Mass on May 14 in the Rocky River Town Hall.In August 1922, the Diocese purchased seven acres of land on Detroit Road. Bishop Schrembs soon approved funding for a temporary church, in which the St. Christopher community celebrated its first Mass on Palm Sunday, 1923. He dedicated the building on June 22, 1924. The following summer, Father Patterson began what would become an annual event at St. Christopher Parish - the blessing of automobiles. ON July 25, 1925, a long line of cars, trucks and motorcycles paraded before the church, where Father Patterson blessed each vehicle with a relic of St. Christopher. Responding to the popularity of the event, the parish later erected a St. Christopher Shrine, which Ralph and Henry Woods recognized in their book, "Pilgrim Places of North America." Tragedy soon befell the parish, when in November 1925; a fire seriously damaged the church. While the Schneid brothers rushed into the building to save the church organ, the Rocky River Volunteer Fire Department and the Lakewood Fire Department contained the blaze, limiting the damage to the church's roof. While the parish set about the task of rebuilding, it celebrated Mass in the auditorium of Rocky River High School. In September 1926, St. Christopher School opened in two classrooms attached to the church building. Staffed by Sr. Irma Hiller, H.M. and two other sisters of the Humility of Mary, the school initially welcomed students in grades one through four. Three years later, the parish added two more classrooms and doubled its teaching staff.With the advent of the Great Depression, St. Christopher Parish struggled, but continued to grow. In March 1933, the community welcomed its first assistant pastor, Father Bernard Stalder, a Jesuit-trained priest, who kept the parish's growing student population in line. The following year, the parish population reached 1,000 souls. In the last years of the decade, the community continued its building campaign, constructing four additional classrooms and a new rectory.St. Christopher Parish faced a new set of challenges when the United States mobilized for war. The parish's C.Y.O. chapter added a new column, "Doughboy Data" to its newspaper, The Traveler. Filled with accounts of daily military life and personal observations, the column provided a welcome link to friends and family back home. In the face of shortages and rationing, the parish continued to offer a lively social calendar filled with youth canteens, Friday-Night Fish Fries, and Pork-and-Sauerkraut Dinners. In July 1945, Pope Pius XII recognized Father Patterson's years of service to Cleveland's Catholic community and raised him to the rank of domestic prelate.Monsignor Patterson continued to serve the spiritual needs of St. Christopher Parish until his death on March 3, 1947. The following year, his successor, Father Edmund J. Ahern, announced that the Diocese had purchased 21 acres of land on the north side of Hilliard Road as the site of the new St. Christopher Church. By the early 1950's however, the Diocese's priorities had shifted to increasing the number of its secondary schools and the property became the site for Magnificat High School. In 1952, it purchased its current property and commissioned plans for a new church. The following June, Father Ahern broke ground for the new building, a modified Romanesque structure with Perlata D'Italia marble altars and a stone tower and belfry. Archbishop Edward F. Hoban dedicated the new church on December 12, 1954. Two years later, a tornado, which devasted parts of Cleveland's west side, damaged the parish campus, blowing out windows, and damaging the rectory roof. In 1959, the parish undertook a major building project, erecting four new classrooms and a new convent. During the next 10 years, St. Christopher Parish continued to grow and prosper. On June 5, 1966, however, tragedy struck when Monsignor Ahern, who had been elevated to the rank of domestic prelate in 1958, died at the age of 76. Monsignor Bernard J. Weigand succeeded Monsignor Ahern and soon endeared himself to the parishioners. During his pastorate,the community retired its mortgage, established a parish council, and expanded the rectory. Monsignor Weigand retired in 1973, and was succeeded by Father Edward F. Prendergast, who oversaw the 1981 completion of the parish's new community center and the 1991 conversion of the convent into classrooms and offices. Father Prendergast, in turn, retired on July 1, 1997, and was replaced by St.Christopher Parish's current pastor, Father John Christopher Chlebo. The community currently consists of approximately 3,000 families (7,200 individuals), and a school enrollment of 500 students. In the summer of 2001 St. Christopher Parish opened a new Parish Center consisting of a 700 seat cafeteria, new library, computer lab, school, PSR and Youth Ministry Offices, meeting rooms, gathering area and prayer room for the Church. As it celebrates more than 75 years of service to the people of Rocky River and the Church of Cleveland, it looks back on a rich tradition and forward to a future of faith and friendship.

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