Saint Nicholas Parish History Page

St. Nicholas Parish History Page

The First Church
This building served as the church from 1842 until 1898. The German-speaking congregation's first resident pastor was Fr. Joseph Gallinger (1842-1847). After the building of our present-day church, the original building served for many years as the school gymnasium. Oddly, in an unrelated aside, note the billboard in the lower right corner. An enhancement, via Photoshop, of the announcement shows that it is advertising the arrival of Lew Dockstader's troupe, which was the last major minstrel company in America and the group that Al Jolson was later in and where Jolson first sang his famous "Mammy" and perfected his 'blackface' act.

Father Magnus Eppink was indicative of the type of pastor that St. Nicholas Parish has been lucky to have through the years. An editorial in the local newspaper on July 29, 1884 paid tribute to Father Eppink as follows: "When the dreaded scourge, smallpox, appeared in St. Nicholas congregation and threatened to devastate not only it, but the entire city, when the people were panic stricken and fleeing from the disease, Father Eppink was in the midst of every family, encouraging the dying and consoling the living, doing his duty with the simple heroism greater than many deeds praised by generation after generation." Unfortunately, this is the only photo we have of Father Eppink.

Our archives have an undated tattered scrap of Father Eppink's obituary, which described the funeral as "sad but never-to-be-forgotten." It goes on: "We were informed by Father Woesman, who has been having charge of St. Nicholas for the past five weeks, that all feel most kindly and grateful to the good doctor, that there was not an hour of the day or of the night, but he was ready to answer the call of the dying priest. They all feel that they can never repay his kindness, but trust that the Father above will reward him. So, too, do the family feel grateful to Mr. Mattingly who fulfilled his duty well in taking charge of the funeral.

After the ceremonies were over in the church, the various societies of both St. Nicholas and St. Thomas congregations formed in line and marched to the city of the dead. There was no music--no band--as it had been the express wish of the dead priest that there should be no such display. Simple and unaffected in life, so too his burial should be characterized.

First in the funeral procession, the school children and society of ladies; then carriages with the visiting clergy; the hearse, societies of St. Nicholas and St. Thomas churches and then the general mourners. The immediate relatives, father, sister, brother and niece followed the hearse. They have the heartfelt sympathy of the whole community.

At the cemetery the last rite of the Church was performed, the coffin lowered in the grave and there lies all that remains of good Father Epppink. Peace, and Heaven's reward be to him forever."

The late Zanesville historian Norris F.Schneider wrote this undated article entitled The St. Nicholas Parochial School opened in Zanesville in 1842. The article appears to have been written in the early 1980's and is accompanied by this photo. The caption for the photo reads Sister Rose Anthony,principal of St. Nicholas grade school, is shown in front of the school with some of her students. (left to right) Theresa Nader, Marta Gribbeen, Tom Beachem and Dennis Nash.

Sister Donna Marie Kessler wrote this 1993 Times Recorder article: Franciscan Sisters Came to St. Nicholas 100 Years Ago.

The list of the Pastors of St. Nicholas Parish.

Four monuments stand out today as constant reminders of the magnificent work Monsignor A.L. Leininger, St. Nicholas' first American-born pastor, did for our parish during his years of service, 1893-1939: Good Samaritan Hospital (now part of Genesis Hospital), Mount Olive Cemetery, St. Nicholas School (now part of Bishop Fenwick School) and the current St. Nicholas Church, built in 1898. Leininger developed Good Samaritan Hospital from the former Margaret Blue Sanitarium and he obtained the services of the Franciscan Sisters of Manitowoc, Wisconsin to help staff the hospital. Manitowoc Franciscans work at the hospital to this day. During the early years of his pastorate the new church was built, with the cornerstone laid July, 10.1898 by Bishop Watterson.

The Mount Olive Cemetery was bought by Father Leininger in March, 1916. Later, he began construction of the new school in 1926. On October 25, 1938 Father Leininger was given the title Monsignor by Bishop Joseph Hartley. It was the first time in the history of St. Nicholas that such an honor had been bestowed upon a priest.

Monsignor Leininger counted many among his friends, from the poor to the late President William McKinley. Here is the headline from the local paper the day after Monsignor Leninger died, June 11, 1939 and here are details from his funeral.

The New Church

The New School

Father Joseph G. Bender was ordained on May 14, 1921 and came to St. Nicholas Parish six weeks later. He served for thirty years at St. Nicholas, first as assistant to the late Monsignor A.L. Leininger until the latter's death on June 10, 1939 and then as pastor until his own passing. Under Monsignor Leininger, Father Bender was in direct charge of St. Nicholas School and Mt. Olive Cemetery. Here is a photo from 1949 of Bishop Ready and Father Bender. An avid sportsman, Father Bender had a a cottage at Lake Seneca and often held parish activities there. Along with his fondness for dogs, he loved basketball and baseball and was important to the school's constant success in both. Here is a photo of Father Bender and long-time St. Nicholas coach Dr. Leo Brennel. Father Bender passed away in June, 1951.

On August 22, 1951, Father Linus Dury was assigned Pastor of St. Nicholas Parish. Here are two photos from the reception held to honor his appointment. The leadership of Father Dury became evident soon after his arrival. On December 19, 1952, new walks around the church and a new front entrance to the church were completed. Two years later four new rooms were added to St. Nicholas School. On August 8, 1955, ground was broken for a new Sister's convent. May 6, 1957 saw the start of a new rectory. With these two buildings completed, Father Dury made plans for redecorating the church. The entire interior was beautifully finished in blue, gray and gold. The massive chandeliers were replaced with dome lights. All statues, including the Stations of the Cross, were replaced. The work took five months to complete and was finished on July 14, 1960.

On March 18, 1959 Father Dury celebrated his 25th year of priesthood with a Solemn High Mass.

On December 8, 1962, St. Nicholas Parish was honored for a second time when Father Dury was elevated to the rank of Monsignor, twenty-four years after Father Leininger had been honored with the same title.

On August 15, 1963, ground was broken for a Catholic Youth Center. This beautiful building, complete with an Olympic swimming pool--still the only indoor swimming pool of this size in the county-- and a large gymnasium, later became part of Bishop Rosecrans High School, which named its large meeting room "Dury Hall." In spite of making these capital improvements, Monsignor Dury always refrained from discussing money problems from the pulpit.

Linus Joseph Dury was born on March 21, 1908 in Columbus. To prepare for the priesthood Linus went to St. Francis seminary in Milwaukee for his high school and college education. In 1930 he was sent to the University of Innsbruk, Austria by the late Bishop John Hartley. Linus remained there for four years and was was ordained a priest on March 18, 1934, just days before he turned 26. Father Dury then returned to the States and server at Holy Name parish for several years and then became an assistant pastor at St. Mary's in Columbus for twelve years. He was then transferred, as pastor, to Holy Cross Church in Columbus where he stayed until 1951.

Monsignor Dury had a personal touch as pastor and was beloved. He handed out report cards at St. Nicholas School for each marking period to every student. He helped celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas, December the 6th, by handing a box of chocolates to every student on December the 5th and then giving the children a day off for St. Nicholas Day.

Monsignor Dury was pastor for 25 years and was also well-known throughout the community for his activities in civic and community affairs. Monsignor Dury was a priest for 43 years and was laid to rest on September 11, 1976 in Mount Olive Cemetery, the cemetery Monsignor Leininger founded sixty years earlier.

As an aside, Father Jack Dreese was an Assistant Pastor under Monsignor Dury from 1959-1961. Father Dreese returned to St. Nicholas forty years later to say Mass on weekends, which he continues to do.

Father James Walter was appointed Co-Pastor when Monsignor Dury's health started to fade and was named Pastor after the Monsignor's death. Father Walter was born in Columbus and was valedictorian of his 1954 St. Charles High School graduating class. He was pastor here until 1980 and established the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Father Walter is currently pastor of St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Lancaster, Ohio.

Father Richard Metzger, 1980-91, was placed in the unenviable position of closely following the legendary Monsignor Dury and having to follow Bishop Edward Hermann's decision that St. Nicholas Parish should rearrange the interior of our church to better reflect the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. Father Metzger formed a parish committee which took four years to carefully study both the requirements of the liturgy and the architectural constraints of the building.

The committee hired Roger Drake, a local artist, who was formally trained in stage design. Here is a photo of Drake's proposal. The church was closed in January, 1986 and reopened, without pews, for Holy Week that year.The renovation committee was made up of Fr. Richard Metzger, Roger Drake, Bill Hill, Terry Paul, James Hillis, Michael LaPlante, Frank Galasso, Ernest Parent, Donald Susa, Deacon B.N. Peterson, and John Kozak.

Father Metzger is currently Pastor of St. Mary's in Groveport, Ohio.

Father Charles Klinger was pastor from 1991-2003 and accomplished much during his years at St. Nicholas, chief of which was the building of the St. Nicholas Activity Center. The Center, adjacent to Bishop Fenwick Jr High School, is used by so many groups today that it's hard to imagine that our parish existed without it. The main room of the Center was fittingly named "Leininger Hall" after Monsignor Leininger who directed the building of the school in 1927.

Father Klinger also directed a major renovation of the church, adding a "quiet" room, a new side entrance and an elevator. Another project that owes its existence to Father Klinger was the formation of the Small Church Communities.

Father Klinger also oversaw the Centennial Celebration of our current church building on August 29, 1999 with Bishop James Griffin presiding at the celebratory Mass. A year earlier the parish celebrated the centenary of the laying of the cornerstone with a joyful Mass and cookout. The contents of the time-capsule from 1898 found in the cornerstone were taken out and examined. Most of the contents, however, had been damaged by water and time. A new cornerstone, representing both 1898 and 1998, was sealed, to be opened in July of 2098.

St. Nicholas bid a fond adieu to both Father Klinger and his associate Father Jim Csaszar on July 7, 2003. Father Csaszar is currently pastor of St Rose in New Lexington, St. Patrick's in Junction City and St. Bernard's in Corning. St. Nicholas was also splendidly served during Father Klinger's tenure by Father Craig Eilerman, currently pastor of St. Cecilia's parish in Columbus, and Father Dwayne McNew, currently pastor of Holy Redeemer in Portsmouth. Father Klinger is currently pastor of St. Paul the Apostle in Westerville, Ohio.

Father Leo Connolly, pastor from 2003 - July, 2009, was born in Camp Le Jeune, North Carolina, went to high school in Philadelphia, college in Colorado and graduate school in Washington D.C..

Father Connolly has been a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains since 1985 and has served in law enforcement chaplaincy since 1984 with various departments in central and southern Ohio including his present ministry with the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office.

Father Connolly responded with many other chaplains to assist the New York and New Jersey Port Authority Police Department in the aftermath of the World Trade Center disaster. He also responded with nine other chaplains to assist the Houston Police Department at the Astrodome and Reliant Center in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

During his pastorhood Father Connally, with the help of former Associate Pastor Father Bob Kitsmiller, ably guided St. Nicholas Parish which included the difficult merger of the St. Nicholas and St. Thomas schools. Father Leo transferred to St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in July of 2009.

The obituary of Rev. Father Robert Schuer, who passed away on January 12 and was a former associate pastor here at St. Nicholas, (1967-68).

On Wednesday, July 15, 2009 St. Nicholas Parish welcomed our new pastor, Father Martin J. Ralko, back to Zanesville. Father Ralko previously served as pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Dennison.

A native of Dearborn, Mich., Father Ralko earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Maryglade Seminary and the University of Detroit, and a master of divinity degree from Mount St. Mary of the West Seminary, Norwood. He was ordained to the Catholic priesthood June 23, 1984, in St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus, by the Most Rev. James A. Griffin, bishop of Columbus.

Previously, Father Ralko served as associate pastor of St. Nicholas Church in Zanesville, St. Mary Magdalene Church in Columbus, and St. Francis de Sales Church in Newark. He taught at Bishop Rosecrans High School, Bishop Ready High School in Columbus, and Newark Catholic High School. Father Ralko was appointed temporary administrator of St. Brendan Church, Hilliard, then served as chaplain for St. Francis DeSales High School and Children's Hospital with residence at Our Lady of Peace Church in Columbus, until his pastoral assignment at Immaculate Conception.