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St. Augustine Church Complex

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Coordinates: 39°3′58″N 84°30′47″W / 39.06611°N 84.51306°W / 39.06611; -84.51306
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St. Augustine Church Complex
St. Augustine Church Complex is located in Kentucky
St. Augustine Church Complex
St. Augustine Church Complex is located in the United States
St. Augustine Church Complex
Location1839 Euclid Ave., Covington, Kentucky
Coordinates39°3′58″N 84°30′47″W / 39.06611°N 84.51306°W / 39.06611; -84.51306
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built1913
ArchitectDavis, David; McClorey, Howard
Architectural styleRenaissance
NRHP reference No.05001321[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 25, 2005

St. Augustine Catholic Church is a historic church located at 1839 Euclid Avenue in Covington, Kentucky.

History

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The history of the St. Augustine parish began with the immigration of Germans to the Northern Kentucky area in the 1840s, and cresting in the 1890s. The German influx of immigrants to the area was attributable to economic hardship, religious persecution and the harsh treatment by the Prussian government. In addition, advertising of attractive prices for pork played a large part in enticing the Germans to the Ohio River Valley of Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati. [2]

Initial settlement concentrated in the Main Strasse neighborhood of Covington, but by the 1860s and 1870s, the Germans began to move into the southwestern part of the city, a separate entity known as the City of Central Covington. St. Augustine was the fifth Catholic parish established in Covington and the original St. Augustine church was built in 1870. The Reverend Father Joseph Goebbels led the church in the 1870s and organized a wire nail factory to pay back the debt incurred in constructing the church. The enterprise was not successful, in part because of the Panic of 1873,[3] and a number of parishioners lost their life savings in the venture.

The parish was returned to a sound financial footing by Father Paul Abeln who was pastor from 1883 until his death in 1911.[2]

Pastors

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A history of the parish's pastors is provided by the parish website:[4]

Pastor Years Served
Fr. L. Neumaier 1870-1871
Fr. Joseph Goebbels 1871-1877
Fr. William Robbers 1877-1879
Fr. Clement Jesse 1879-1883
Fr. Paul Abeln 1831-1911
Fr. William Kathman 1911-1926
Msgr. Charles Woeste 1926-1957
Msgr. Joseph Lubrecht 1957-1977
Fr. Joseph Broering 1977-1987
Fr. Donald Hellmann 1987-1992
Fr. Leo Schmidt 1992-2015
Fr. Thomas Dorn 2015-2017
Fr. Dan Schomaker 2017-Present

Architecture

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The existing church was designed by local architect David Davis (1865–1932), who also designed the 1910 Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington. Little is known of Davis, considering he designed two prominent churches in the city. Construction began on the Euclid Avenue structure in 1913 under the direction of Father William Kathman and the church was dedicated by Bishop Camillus P. Macs on December 20, 1914. The church stands 60' high, 52' wide, 92' in the transept and 160' long. Seating capacity is 1000. Its 100th anniversary was in 2018. The school held a celebration for that.[2]

Construction of the existing school building, built of the same dark red brick as the church, began in 1915, and was completed in September 1916.[2]

Interior

References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d "National Register Information System Registration". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  3. ^ Enzweiler, Stephen (2 Mar 2020). "Our Rich History: Early St. Augustine Church struggled amid misfortune and hard times". Northern Kentucky Tribune. Retrieved 16 Aug 2022.
  4. ^ "HISTORY". St. Augustine. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
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