The Vision and the Victory – A Historical Perspective

            The construction of St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church is analogous to the American dream, the rite of passage of a people. The story of how this new church became a reality is the bedrock background of most American drama with the hopes, the struggles, and the perseverance endured by this faith community.

            St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church is the congregational repository of three Catholic churches in the Dayton Community: St. John the Baptist, St. James and Resurrection of Our Lord. St. John the Baptist was founded in 1894, St. James in 1919 and Resurrection of Our Lord in 1920. St. John was the first to embrace African-Americans as they migrated from the South to the Dayton area. In the meantime, Resurrection Parish was working diligently to find a home in response to the growing number of parish families in the western part of Dayton. St. James Catholic Church was striving to meet the needs of people in the Edgemont area of Dayton.

            In the early 1920’s, Resurrection of Our Lord obtained property in the area of West Third and Kilmer Streets where a church and rectory were constructed. Two rooms in the rear served as the school. The first mass celebrated at Resurrection took place on Easter Sunday, hence the name of the church. Two years later the property on Gramont was acquired and the current church and school were built.

Meanwhile, in response to the growing Catholic African-American Community of St. John’s, the Holy Ghost Fathers, known for their work in such communities, were assigned to the parish in the late 1920’s to service what was then called “mission community.” The Holy Ghost Fathers made great strides and took pride in itself, in creating by its evangelistic efforts, a parish community in the surrounding neighborhood.

In the Edgemont area of Dayton, St. James Catholic Church was erected on land donated by the grandfather of our current Montgomery County Prosecutor, Matt Heck.  Mr. Heck’s distant cousin, a Glaser, was the first to wed in the new church with another relative, Leo B. Glaser, as one of the founding fathers.

            With the onset of the 1950’s and an effort to connect the hinterlands of America with an interstate network of highway systems, change challenged old established neighborhoods. St. John Catholic Church was lost to “progress” and was demolished in 1963 to make way for the new interstate highway construction program (Interstate 75 and U.S. State Route 35). Parishioners of St. John transferred their memberships either to St. James Catholic Church or to Resurrection of Our Lord. Throughout all the changes, the Holy Ghost Fathers remained steadfast and committed to the St. James Parish community.

            The 1960’s whisked in more changes with integration and Vatican II. With integration, neighborhoods changed from predominantly Caucasian to predominantly African-American. With Vatican II, the newly required changes caused a split among the parish faithful impacting many families. It was then that the prayer of one day reuniting as a people of God was born.

            Through the years both parishes, St. James and Resurrection, persevered, nurturing their surrounding communities with schools for the children and on-going outreach ministries that brought many to the faith and provided spiritual support during challenging times. Many of those programs and activities exist today through such organizations as the Knights and Ladies of St. Peter Claver, the Altar Rosary Societies, Cursillo Retreats, Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantries, and the Health Care Ministries among others. Also a source of pride was the production of two priests from the St. James parish: Fr. Martin Curtis and Fr. Joseph Davis.

            Two priests who rest in the hearts and minds of Resurrection’s parishioners are Fr. William Schiesl and Fr. Edward Conlon. Fr. Bill left the parish and went to Over the Rhine Neighborhood in Cincinnati to serve the poor and dispossessed. Fr. Conlon realized his lifetime dream of serving as a missionary priest in Grenada, West Indies.

            At St. James, during the tenure of its first black priest, Father Egbert Figaro, the opportunity to construct a new parish in the area of what is now the Job Corp Center on Germantown Street became available and a building campaign was launched. Concern for the dwindling number of priests and the growing costs of maintaining parish campuses in Archdioceses across the nation collided with the optimism of rebuilding. As a result, faith communities began to develop strategies that would ultimately require consolidation and closure of parishes. The impact of these activities began with the sharing of priests. For the St. James and Resurrection Parish Communities, it was in the person of Father Freddy Washington in 1994. In 1999, the two communities reunited at one location at Resurrection Church 130 Gramont Avenue and combined the parishes’ names to St. James/Resurrection. During Fr. Freddy’s tenure, the idea of building a new home resurfaced. This idea of building a new parish was transformed to a Vision to Victory Campaign. The Vision to Victory Campaign galvanized and energized this combined parish community toward realizing that vision.

            On February 2, 2003, the parish community of St. James/Resurrection broke ground on eleven acres of property at the corner of Liscum Drive and McLin Parkway (State Route 35). Under the tenacious leadership of Father Francis Tandoh, C.S.Sp., a Holy Ghost priest from Ghana, St. Benedict the Moor will celebrate the “homecoming” of a faith journey that started many years ago on May 14, 2005.

            Just as the Israelites struggled, stumbled, and endured the test of faith and time to arrive at the promise land, the faithful of St. John’s, St. James, and Resurrection will take its place in history as a community of believers continuing the work of bringing people closer to Christ. Through continued prayers, work and faith, St. Benedict the Moor intends to establish itself as a parish community that embraces the challenge of God’s work in its journey toward the vision and victory of salvation.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 
Phil: 4:13

“This is the day the Lord has made, 
let us rejoice and be glad in it.” 
Psalm: 118:24

 updated May 26, 2005

St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church

Church Location:
  519 Liscum Drive
  Dayton, OH

Mailing Address:
  PO Box 17219
  Dayton, OH 45417-2218
  
Phone: 
  937-268-6697

Fax: 
  937-268-6698

Parish Office Email:
  info@unitedinhope.org

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