... The Land of Cross-tipped Churches
As newlyweds, my husband and I frequently visited his aunts, uncles and cousins in Auglaize and Mercer counties in northern Ohio. My father-in-law was born in Maria Stein, my mother-in-law in Minster. They met in Dayton where my father-in-law worked at Frigidaire and my mother-in-law was a maid in a private home. These visits to the various farms of the relatives were interesting to me since I was born and raised in the City of Dayton and only saw chickens on Saturdays when my parents and I went to an outdoor market. In addition to learning about farm life, the relatives quickly pointed out to me what made their region unique. It was the land of the cross-tipped churchesI soon became aware that along one road it was possible to see the spires of four Catholic churches. Each village has its own church and it still does.
On Ohio Route 119 in Mercer County there is St John the Baptist Church, founded in 1889 in Maria Stein:; St. Rose Church, founded in 1911 in St. Rose; Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, founded in 1858, in Cassella; and St. Joseph Church, founded in 1866, in St. Joseph.
Other churches in Mercer County are Immaculate Conception Church, founded in 1903, in Celina; National Marian Shrine of the Holy Relics, founded in 1892, in Maria Stein; Precious Blood School and Rectory, founded in 1903, in Chickasaw; St. Francis Church, founded in 1906, in Cranberry Prairie; St Henry Church, founded in 1897, in St. Henry; St Charles Seminary and Chapel, founded in 1906 in Carthagena. St Sebastian Church, founded in 1903, in St. Sebastian; St Wendelin Church, founded in 1870, in Wendelin; St Peter Church, founded in 1904, in St. Peter; St Paul Church, founded in 1888, in Sharpsburg. St Mary Church, founded in 1871, in Philothea; St. Aloysius Church, founded in 1877, in Cathagenia; St Anthony Church, founded in 1869, in St Anthony; St. Barnard Church, founded in 1924, in Burkettsville
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