History of Catholic Schools in the Lima Community
The roots of Catholic schools in Lima, Ohio are deep. For nearly 150 years Catholic education in Lima has played an integral part in the religious formation and academic and personal development of students in our community. This opportunity for growth and learning has been provided because of the vision, generosity and commitment of dedicated priests, sisters, lay faculty and caring parish families. It is important to look back and respect the vision, hard work and sacrifices made over the years that have been so instrumental in making our Catholic schools a source of pride in our community.
Lima, Ohio was officially founded in 1842 and was the center of government for Allen county. By the early 1850’s Lima had established itself as a railroad center. Much of the muscle for building these railroads was supplied by Irish Catholic immigrants. By the mid 1850’s, a pocket of Irish Catholic families resided in the north end of Lima and these settlers established the first Catholic congregation called Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Fr. Mathias Kreusch of Minster, Ohio was placed in charge of this Catholic community and rode his horse to Lima each month to offer a mass. These masses were held in a home located on North West street, a couple blocks north of the present St. Rose parish. Fr. Kreusch began raising funds for a permanent church and in 1858, the first Catholic church in Lima, Ohio was completed and named after St. Rose of Lima, Peru.
The middle of the 19th century saw increasing Catholic interest in education in tandem with increasing Catholic immigration. To serve their growing communities, American Catholics first tried to reform American public schools to rid them of blatantly fundamentalist Protestant overtones. Failing, Catholics began opening their own schools. The Catholic community in Lima followed a national trend by opening St. Rose School in 1865 that was staffed by two lay teachers. The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary assumed teaching duties in 1868. In 1888 a 3 story brick school was built next to the church on North West Street. 1906 saw the addition of a brand new high school that included a gymnasium and even a swimming pool. The building was considered state of the art and much of it is still in use today. In 1954, a brand new two story school was dedicated.
In 1899, the Bishop gave permission to 72 Catholic families to begin a new Catholic parish in south Lima. They purchased property on South Main St and named it St. Johns the Evangelist Church. Fr. Fredrick Rupert was named the first pastor and he helped to lay the cornerstone of a new Catholic church and school in 1901. In the beginning, masses were held on the third floor of the new school. In 1910 St. Johns began the construction of a new church. From 1912 until 1924, masses were held in the basement of the new church while construction continued above. On Thanksgiving day, 1924, the first mass was held in the present St. Johns Church. A new school building was built and dedicated in 1959 and operated until its closing in 1973.
The Catholic community continued to grow with many Catholics settling in the north end of Lima. With St. Rose Parish and school bulging at the seams, Bishop Shrends of Toledo asked the Redemptorists order of Priests if they would be interested in beginning a new parish in north Lima. The Redemptorist agreed and in 1916 the first parish mass was held in the Klaus family home located on the present St. Gerard Property. On July 15, 1917 the cornerstone for the first church and school were laid. The parish was named St. Gerard. Fr. John Mare was named the first pastor and the Ursuline Order of Sisters were named as faculty. In 1953 St. Gerard laid the cornerstone for a new High School building.
The Catholic population in Lima continued to expand with many new families now settling on the west side of town. In 1946 Monsignor James Elder, pastor of St. Rose, purchased five acres of land at the intersection of Cable and Elm Streets with the intent of beginning a new Catholic parish. Fr. Walter Hanley was chosen to lead this new parish, St. Charles Borromeo. The St. Charles school building was dedicated in 1956 and the Sisters of Charity were given the teaching duties. Masses were held in the new school building until the new church was completed in 1964.
Following a nationwide trend in the 1950’s to centralize high schools, Bishop George J. Rehring directed the three Catholic high schools (St. Rose, St. Johns and St. Gerard) to consolidate their parish schools into one central high school. The consolidation began in 1956 with St. Rose and St. Johns high schools merging. St. Gerard High School, having recently completed the building of a new high school was not eager to join the others and remained independent. An interesting piece of trivia is that LCC played St. Gerard High School in a basketball game that season and St. Gerard came away with the win. Sister Mary Patrice was named the first principal of the new high school which was named Lima Catholic Central High School and was located in the former St. Rose High School building. The nickname for the new school was the Lancers and their colors were red and gold.
In LCC’s second year of existence, Bishop Rehring appointed Fr. E. C. Herr as the new principal and ordered St. Gerard High School to join the consolidation. Bringing these 3 separate communities into one high school presented many difficult challenges. Controversies arose over everything from its location, to school colors to the nickname for the athletic teams. Merging three schools that had been intense rivalries into a true community would not have been possible without the strong leadership of Fr. Herr. He quickly announced changes and put his imprint on the new high school. The name was changed to Lima Central Catholic High School. While traveling in the southwest on vacation in the summer before he began as principal, Fr. Herr bought an Indian blanket and became enamored with its art work. The scarlet and turquoise colors on the blanket became LCC’s official colors and the Thunderbird woven into its fabric was the inspiration for the athletic nickname of the new high school. That blanket now resides in one of the trophy cases in the new Athletic Convocation Center.
Fr. Herr met every challenge with his indomitable style. The short, fiery principal became legendary for his foresight, vision, temper and compassion for those less fortunate, especially troubled students. He was a one man show handling virtually every duty from principal to dean of students to athletic director. Fr. Herr demanded excellence at every level. He insisted that LCC offer a first class academic program but also demanded the same level of excellence in the area of arts, music and athletics. His vision was that Lima Central Catholic be recognized as a truly great Catholic high school.
In its first few years Lima Central Catholic Highs School was actually held on two campuses with the freshmen and sophomores attending school at St. Gerard and the juniors and seniors attending school at the St. Rose location. A capital campaign began with the goal of building a brand new Catholic high school in Lima. The location for this high school also became a controversy with St. Gerard parishioners favoring a north end location, St. Rose parishioners favoring a central city sight and St. Charles parishioners favoring a property on Lima’s west side. In the end, property was purchased on South Cable road, just a few blocks south of the new St. Charles parish. In 1960 the new school was opened and just two years later, an additional two wings were added to the growing school. Fr. Herr dedicated the school to Our Lady of Fatima and our chapel, the heart of the school, is also dedicated in her honor. The stain glass windows in the chapel continue that theme. A statue of Our Lady of Fatima was dedicated and placed in the front of the school and now resides in the front of the new Athletic Convocation Center which was named after Fr. Herr.
Fr. Herr led Lima Central Catholic for twenty five years until failing health forced him to step down. He continued to support the school from his home, located next door to the school until his death on October 18, 1986. Fr. Herr’s spirit, drive for excellence and call for resiliency lives on and is evident in the success of our students, past and present.
In 1980 Dan Rupert was named Principal of Lima Central Catholic and guided the school until his resignation in December of 1997. Rupert was the first lay principal to guide LCC and made a point to continue to emphasize three areas of importance: a strong religious curriculum, academic excellence and a school community where discipline and respect were emphasized. Upon his resignation, Bill Clark, a very popular and long time faculty member, was lured from retirement to handle the principal’s duties until a successor could be named.
In the Spring of 1998, Fr. Dennis Hartigan was introduced to the students and faculty as their new principal and would remain at the helm until 2004. Fr. Hartigan was instrumental in introducing numerous changes to Lima Central Catholic including block scheduling, college on campus and a new, stricter dress code for students. He was also responsible for an ambitious capital campaign that resulted in the construction of a new science and technology wing and athletic and convocation center.
In 2004, Fr. Todd Dominique took the reigns of the school for two years. He was followed by Richard Mitterholzer who was hired by the Lima Central Catholic Board of Education in 2006 and is still in that position today. Mitterholzer has been instrumental in stabilizing many of the problems that face the Catholic school community.
Today, Lima Central Catholic High School boasts a population of 380 students. The diverse student body comes from 8 local school districts. While the majority of students are Catholic, Lima Central Catholic continues its long tradition of welcoming students of every faith. As in the past, Catholic schools continue to face many difficult challenges. However, with the same vision and faith that guided those who made our schools what they are today, the Catholic community is committed to making Catholic schools in Lima a source of pride for all of us.
