Bishop Earl Fernandes visited Ada Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Monday, Dec. 9, this year’s date for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, for a Mass celebrating the 150th anniversary of the church’s dedication on Dec. 8, 1874.
Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (that Mary was born without the taint of original sin) on Dec. 8, 1854. Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous four years later at Lourdes, France, and declared, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
To mark the anniversary, the church obtained a “new” reredos from the Manitowoc Franciscan Sisters who serve at Genesis Hospital in Zanesville. The altarpiece was in the sisters’ chapel at the former Zanesville Good Samaritan Hospital.
A mural on the altar was recently painted by Bill Mancuso, a retired professor from Ohio Northern University in Ada. He and his wife are parishioners at the new Our Lady, the Immaculate Conception Parish, which was formed from Immaculate Conception in Kenton and Our Lady of Lourdes in Ada.
In a niche on the epistle side is a carved statue of St. Francis of Assisi, and in the niche on the Gospel side is a statue of St. Anthony of Padua. Underneath both statues is a relic of the saint depicted. The Latin above the mural, “Ecce Panis Angelorum,” translates to “Behold the Bread of Angels.”
In his homily at the Mass, Bishop Fernandes said, “The celebration of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception helps us to realize that we need to be more like Mary who said, ‘Let it be done to me according to your Word.’
“We need to be obedient to God’s law, but obedience comes from listening to His Word. True obedience is not simply a blind obedience … rather, it is rooted in love. Jesus said at the Last Supper, ‘You are my friends if you do what I command you: Love one another.’
“We too have our hopes in Christ for a better world, for a changed way of living. The Immaculate Conception reminds us that death has no more power over us because of the power of Christ’s cross.
“And Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin and became the perfect vessel for the Redeemer in merit of Christ’s crucifixion and death upon the cross. And, the Father has rewarded Mary for her fidelity, and the Father will reward us for our fidelity.
“But we cannot be like those who do not listen to the prophetic word, who reject the Scriptures, who reject the Apostles or Jesus’ words, ‘He who hears you hears Me.’ when the Church speaks; rather, Mary teaches us that the way to holiness is surrender.”
Our Lady of Lourdes Church was dedicated 16 years after the first recorded Mass in Ada was celebrated in 1858 by a Father Sulivan from Tiffin. Masses took place at several locations during the next few years. A grocery store served as a worship site until it burned down; then Catholics hosted Mass in their homes until a room was leased on the second floor of the Odd Fellows lodge building in 1872.
Land to build a church was purchased from John Johnson, the son of Ada’s founder, Samuel M. Johnson. The foundation for the church, located at 300 E. Highland Ave., was started on Sept. 10, 1874 and it was dedicated less than three months later. The cost for the church, its furnishings and the land totaled $3,227.50.
Father Anthony Siebenfoercher, who also was pastor of Kenton Immaculate Conception Church, was its first pastor. Our Lady of Lourdes was a mission church for its first 74 years, being served by priests from Kenton, Marysville and Bellefontaine until 1886. In that year, it became a mission of the former LaRue St. Joseph Church, which it remained for the next 60 years until again becoming a charge of Kenton in 1946.
It was part of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati until 1945, when several changes in the state’s episcopal map resulted in transferring it to the Diocese of Columbus.
Our Lady of Lourdes became an independent parish on July 12, 1948, with Father Richard Hoch serving as its first resident pastor. The church was enlarged in 1954 with the addition of a sacristy on the north end of the building.
Fifteen priests have served as the church’s pastor since 1948, with the longest tenures being those of Father Francis Schweitzer (1955-1967), Father Arthur Wiles (1977-1987), Father Daniel Millisor (1996-2006) and Father David J. Young (2006-2018).
In 1965, under Father Schweitzer, a parish council – the first in the diocese – was formed. Father Schweitzer also developed the parish’s Newman Club and its ministry to students at Ohio Northern University, located in Ada. He also was known for his efforts in helping the area’s migrant workers before being transferred to Columbus Holy Family Church, where he founded its soup kitchen.
His successor, Father Leo Benedetti (1967-1969), conducted a remodeling campaign in 1967 that led to the installation of new pews and carpeting, a new altar facing the congregation and a new coat of paint for the interior of the church building. Father Samuel Durbin (1969-1971) then came to Ada and sold the parish’s rectory on Main Street and purchased the current rectory at 222 E. Highland Ave.
During the pastorate of Father Richard Endres (1973-1977), the two-story connecting hall on the east side of the church became a reality and was dedicated by Bishop Edward Herrmann on Dec. 8, 1974 for the parish’s centennial. The hall was named for Father Endres in 1978.
In 1982, Father (now Msgr.) Stephan Moloney became the first Ada resident to be ordained a priest. Msgr. Moloney, pastor of Columbus St. Andrew Church, recently finished his service as diocesan vicar general after serving in administrative roles in the diocese for nearly 40 years, beginning as assistant chancellor in 1985.
A diocesan reorganization resulted in the Ada and Kenton parishes being served by one pastor beginning in 2018, when Father William Ferguson succeeded Father Young. His successors were Father Edward Shikina in 2020 and the current pastor, Father Ryan Schmit, in 2023.
The Ada and Kenton congregations were merged as Our Lady, the Immaculate Conception Parish, with each retaining its church building, in a decree Bishop Fernandes issued in 2024.