Our History
Before Beacons of Light, Incarnation and St. Francis of Assisi were developed as individual parishes with unique missions and communities. What began as mission-style parish in a rapidly developing area and a parish born from the humble mission of Franciscan friars, Incarnation and St. Francis of Assisi stood as staples in the Centerville-Bellbrook area. Learn more about the history and construction of our churches below.
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Incarnation's history tells the story of a small mission church on six acres grown to a church on eighteen acres with a thriving school, rectory and parish offices. From its start of 64 early parish families, Incarnation is a church whose structure is more than stone, mortar and glass
Incarnation's BeginningThe first announcement of this new parish was made in February 1948, following purchase of six and one-half acres for the new parish late in 1947. Actual construction for the mission-type church began in May 1950. Reverend Joseph H. Rolfes, pastor of St. Albert the Great Church, was appointed Administrator on November 3, 1950.
The Sacrifice of the Mass was first offered on Christmas Day, 1950, by Rev. Charles Hollencamp and the church was dedicated on June 3, 1951, by Archbishop Karl J. Alter, D.D. During that first year, Church of the Incarnation had some 64 family members. The parish boundaries were Waynesville, Miamisburg, and St. Albert the Great. On August 31, 1951, the parish became a mission of Saint Augustine Parish, Jamestown, where the newly appointed pastor of Incarnation, Father Raymond C. Kallaher, resided. Little more than a year later, on October 29, 1952, Father Kallaher took up residence at Incarnation. At this time, St. Augustine Parish became a mission of Church of the Incarnation. In November 1953, an additional 8.186 acres, west and south of the original piece, was purchased for $9,150 for a planned school program. And in May 1955, the Lacy home on Far Hills Avenue was purchased as the future residence of the teaching Sisters. On March 17, 1956, a parish canvass for a minimum of $150,000 for underway to build a bare necessity 8-room school. By this time, in its four years of existence, the parish had performed six funerals, 16 marriages and 95 baptisms for its 163 families. In 1979, statistics show over 1,700 families, 4,000+ parish members, 104 baptisms, 22 marriages and 10 funerals performed. Construction of the new school began in March 1957 with opening day on September 23 for 171 students in 10 classrooms, taught by Sisters of the Precious Blood and three lay teachers. Dedication was performed by Archbishop Karl J. Alter on October 6. Cost of the new building was $47,436.15 plus the land purchased at $15,000. The 1960sReflecting the growth of the community, in January 1960, Rabkin Construction began a new $235,000 school addition: 11 classrooms, teachers' lounges, lavatories and doubling the size of the multi-purpose room.
With the school facilities complete, the rectory was expanded in the fall of 1962, and the following summer the new convent was built. By 1969, the parish had also outgrow its mission-style church. The present building was completed at a cost of $850,000 in time to celebrate the first Mass on Christmas day, 1969. The architecture of the 1,100 seat church consists of poured concrete and rough glass. The altar, tabernacle base, lecterns, credence table, sanctuary lamp and paschal candlestick are all stationary and were poured on site. The Madonna Guild donated the statue of Our Lady which was carved in Barcelona, Spain. The crucifix consists of a cross of anodized metal made in Speyer, Germany, and corpus made of hammered brass in Parish by an Italian sculptor. The design of the tabernacle came from Germany and the stones are cabochon crystals from the Bavarian alps. The bell tower holds four bells from Aixtl, Holland, each inscribed with the name of the family who donated it. The 1970sBlessing of the new church was March 1, 1970. And due to the generosity of its family, the church debt was retired December 26, 1975.
During 1977, yet another successful fund drive was begun for the newest school addition and improvements to the multi-purpose room. The Annex and new gym floor were completed by September of 1978. In 1979, Incarnation School received its charter in the National Junior Honor Society. During the second ten years of its existence, the parish grew from 560 to 1,043 families. Two hundred eighteen marriages and 1,038 baptisms were performed. The 1980sThe first deacon from Incarnation, Robert Zinck, was ordained a permanent deacon on July 3, 1982. RCIA (now called OCIA, or the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) was established at the end of the 1980s to welcome those interested in becoming Catholic.
At the end of the 1980s, 530 students were enrolled in Incarnation School. In September 1990, Incarnation School was awarded the National School of Excellence Award for 1989-90 by the U.S. Department of Education. During the fourth ten years of its existence, the parish grew from 1,700 to 2,400 families. In addition, 463 marriages and 1,203 baptisms were performed. The 1990sIncarnation Parish experienced tremendous growth in the 1990s. Father Tom Kuhn started the Family Fund, a major fund drive to raise funds for a much needed Parish Center. On July 10, 1994, the Parish Center became a reality. It became the busy hub of parish and school activities with its Chapel of St. Joseph, two full-court gymnasiums, kitchen and large lobby.
In 1996, phase two of the Family Fund began so that the existing school could be renovated and an additional three floor wing could be added to contain offices, lounges, an art and music room, computer and science labs, plus additional classrooms and storage space. Its second national award by the U.S. Department Education was given in 1999, the National School of Excellence Award for 1998-1999. In early 1996, the church was renovated with new benches, kneelers, carpeting, tile and upholstery. The Parish Religious Education Program enrolled yearly between 150 to 200 children in the early childhood program, between 550 and 600 children in the elementary program and over eighty in the high school program. RCIA continued its successful work with over 300 participants over the course of the 1990s. At the end of this decade, 800 students were enrolled in Incarnation School. The school also began an after school program and full day kindergarten. The 2000sIn 2004, the organ as we see it in the church today was purchased by donations from parishioners. The community of Friars Minor followed in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi through sacrifice, hard work and faith. They knew that serving others over self was of the greatest importance. It was in the undercroft of a Franciscan seminary in Centerville, Ohio, that a group coming from various parishes met to pray and plan for another community. The suburban area was growing rapidly, and they knew a new parish was needed. While they could pray, celebrate Mass, and receive the sacrament of reconciliation, the seminary was not part of the administrative body of a diocese. They knew the sacraments of marriage, baptism and confirmation were needed to develop and grow as a parish: they had to create an official structure.
St. Francis of Assisi's BeginningThe establishing and administering of parishes for Franciscans had become the mission of serving the needs of others in the United States of America. They needed to take certain steps to build our parish. The Franciscans chose Fr. Francis X. Hoffer, OFM, to be the first pastor. The first group of parishioners voted on November 10, 1969, and the majority agreed on a name. They submitted the name to the Archdiocese and the Archbishop accepted it - the parish would be called St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.
At this point there was no church building, so the Friars at the St. Leonard Seminary shared their facility, prayers, and support while the new community formulated plans for a new church. The concept was presented and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati accepted it. Archbishop Karl J. Alter officially established the new parish on August 26, 1969. He formed it from two neighboring parishes: Incarnation and St. Charles. The Archdiocese had already purchased 19.168 acres of land on Wilmington Pike and so it was entrusted to St. Francis of Assisi Parish. The Archbishop asked the Franciscans of St. John the Baptist Province in Cincinnati to administer the new parish and they agreed. Growth in the 1970sEach parish has a single seat of worship, the parish church. The time had come to create a building committee to work on the building plans for the new church. This committee utilized open forum meetings and invited all parishioners in order to ascertain the majority thoughts. The committee commissioned an architect on May 18, 1973. Bids for the actual building were opened on April 19,1974 and accepted on May 18 that same year. They chose the builder and construction began immediately. The first church building was completed nine months later.
Fr. Francis Hoffer, OFM, celebrated the first eucharistic liturgy on January 4, 1975. Archbishop Joseph L. Bernadine officially blessed and dedicated the building on January 26, 1975. The need for a building did not end with the church. Until 1978, the pastor for St. Francis of Assisi resided in a small apartment within the church. Ground was broken that year for a Friary to house our pastor. A new wing was added to the church in 1983. It is used today for classrooms and a room dedicated to the Blessed Mother. A New Worship SpaceThe parish continued growing to the point where many parishioners had to stand or sit on folding chairs in the Narthex, peering through glass windows along the wall, while listening to the Mass through a speaker system. It became apparent that more worship space was needed. Long-range planning and steering committees were formed to consider all options, and it was decided to extend the existing church.
Father John Turnbull, the pastor at the time, selected Liturgical Consultant Benedictine Brother Frank Kacmarcik, O.S.B., who had completed similar projects in the area. The planning for the new worship space developed and word of the need reached the Archdiocese. The study done by the Archdiocese indicated that the need for the new worship space meant more parishioners. So in 1998, additional property bordering the existing property line was purchased. The extended property allowed access on Clyo Road. This new access created the three entrances to the St. Francis of Assisi campus that exist today. A campaign to finance the new worship space began the following year. In 2002, pastoral care was turned over to the Archdiocese from the Franciscans, and Father Tom Schmidt became the first non-Franciscan pastor. Building began on the new worship space, including a new gathering space and library. On March 27, 2004, the Rite of Dedication and Blessing was celebrated by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Fr. Schmidt and Deacon Mark Stasiak. A relic of St. Francis of Assisi was placed inside the altar. Searching for the Stations of the CrossThe original stations placed in the sanctuary of the new church in 2002 were found to be to small and so hard to see from any distance. Fr. Tom Schmidt began to search for replacement stations in 2017 as the sanctuary and other areas were undergoing major repairs. These were completed in 2019. Fr. Tom searched both locally and in Italy for suitable station replacements while attempting to keep the price in line with the charism of St. Francis.
A “Holy Spirit Moment” occurred on August 8, 2017 at Our Lady of Immaculate Conception parish prior to the Golden Jubilee Mass. While Deacon Chris Rauch and Deacon Michael Montgomery, the chaplain at Good Samaritan Hospital, were sharing their ministries and deacon duties, Deacon Chris shared with Deacon Michael the search for replacement stations. Deacon Michael indicated that Sister Carol Bauer was looking for home for all the sacramentals within the hospital due to its closing. It is inspirational to think of the thousands of people who may have looked to these stations for inspiration and strength during their time at Good Samaritan Hospital. St. Francis of Assisi donated $15,000 in sincere thanks to the Sisters of Charity. The beautiful stations were acquired and dedicated on December 9, 2018. They were painted between 1930 and 1931 by an unknown art student studying at the Dayton Art Institute. They are uniquely invaluable because they are oil painted on copper. St. Francis of Assisi had them framed and installed by House of 10,000 Picture Frames. The San Damiano CrossThe year 2018 saw the arrival of the San Damiano Cross. It was made in Italy by Demetz Studios. Since it is in icon form, the actual sculptor/painter is unknown. One parishioner, upon seeing the cross on the floor awaiting installation, commented how moving it was to see the life-size figure of our Lord lying there. It represents the cross St. Francis was praying before when he received the commission from God to rebuild the church.
The original cross hangs in Santa Chiarra Church in Assisi, Italy. It is cherished as the symbol of the Franciscan mission from God and reminds us of our connection to St. Francis and Franciscan spirituality. The paintings on the cross have many spiritual meanings. The right hand of God at its very top symbolizing His power to raise His Son from the dead. The resurrected Jesus is depicted surrounded by ten angels as He climbs out of the tomb. Three angels at each end of the crossbar marvel at the saving work of Christ. The rooster standing next to the left calf of Christ symbolizes Peter’s betrayal. Jesus is represented both wounded and strong. All other figures on the cross are small in stature compared to Christ, drawing the viewer’s attention to Himself as the One to be worshipped. Additional Sacramental Histories at St. Francis of AssisiA bronze statue of St. Francis of Assisi was in installed in the St. Francis Garden off of the library in February 2008. Sculpted by Linda Dabeau, it was dedicated on May 18, 2008.
The Annunciation window in the Mary Shrine area was designed by Deacon Mark and Regina Stasiak. The glass work was completed by Mary Flodder with the assistance of Glass Work, Bob McHenry, Gene Schwiederman, Anne Wolf, and Deacon Mark Stasiak. The framing was done by Dave Laurash. The glass etchings and images were done by Tracy Ahern. The statue of Mary found in the alcove with the Annunciation window was sculpted by Linda Dabeau. It was dedicated on March 25, 2007. It is mounted on a platform of wood made from a pew from the original church. The devotional candle sits on the platform just in front of the statue. It is intended to help parishioners and visitors when they call upon her as healer, intercessor, and a gentle woman who is mother, comforter, nurturer, counselor, friend. The Reservation Chapel Stained Glass Window was designed and built by Deacon Mark Stasiak. Parishioner Ray Hutter built the mounting frame and it was installed in 2013. The sanctuary or tabernacle candle hangs on the wall behind the altar. It is a special candle fueled by oil or wax. It should shine permanently to indicate the presence of Christ and to honor it. The red candle cover was designed and created by Deacon Mark Stasiak. The beautiful framed carving of Pope Francis hanging on the wall in the Gathering Space was carved by a parishioner using purple heart, an exotic wood from Africa, for accenting the cape and frame. The background is maple and the frame is oak. During 2019 a new sacramental appeared on the window beside the northwest door of the gathering space. It is a beautiful stained glass piece titled, “The Rebirth of Christ.” The position of this window allows its beautiful colors to be enhanced by the natural light. It was created and donated by parishioner, John Tesar. March 4, 2012, saw the addition of a bronze statue called, “Jesus Loves the Children: The Smiling Christ Statue,” by artist Carlo Bronti. Several parishioners built the outdoor stations of the cross found along the back edge of the property, and placed them on March 1994. The original stations were designed by Deacon Mike Montgomery, then Director of Worship. Replacement of the crosses that have reached the end of their life was taken care of as a parishioner's Eagle Scout project. The Prayer Labyrinth was dedicated on August 18, 2019. A prayer labyrinth is a place to walk and pray in a quiet space that allows one to focus oneself toward God. The concept for a prayer labyrinth came from Zach Haller, a member of St. Francis of Assisi, for his Eagle Scout Service Project. The labyrinth came to fruition through the efforts and contributions of many volunteers and workers and the donations of the Knights of Columbus, Women’s Bazaar, the Men’s Club, and the church itself. One beautiful contribution that truly helped bring God into the center of this space was interring the shards of the pottery chalices that had held the sacred body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. These chalices and bowls could no longer be used and were lovingly placed under the boulder at the center of the labyrinth with a blessing by Fr. Brian Phelps.
Beacons of LightIn 2020, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr announced that the Archdiocese of Cincinnati would be undergoing a transformative measure called Beacons of Light. In an effort to utilize resources, facilities and personnel more effectively, parishes across the Archdiocese were introduced as families with a uniting pastor. The Church of the Incarnation and St. Francis of Assisi were united as the NE-4 Family of Parishes. After input from all parishioners, the family named itself the Our Lady of Light Family of Parishes.
One of the beautiful things about Beacons of Light is that our family of parishes has the opportunity to remember fondly the history of our parishes, while growing together as we write the next chapter of our faith community. Do you have photos from your time at Incarnation or St. Francis of Assisi that you would like to share? We invite you to send them to our Digital Communication Specialist to be added to our family album archives. |