Holy Trinity Catholic Church
From the Encyclopedia of Cleveland history - Case Western Reserve University.
HOLY TRINITY PARISH was established by Bishop RICHARD GILMOUR on May 27, 1880 to serve the growing community of GERMAN CATHOLICS residing east of what is now East 55th Street along Woodland Avenue. Father Peter Becker, the parish's first pastor, held the first Mass of the new parish in the chapel of ST. JOSEPH'S ORPHANAGE on Woodland Avenue near East 60th Street. The community celebrated the dedication of the Holy Trinity Church, located at Woodland Avenue and East 71st Street, in August 1881. A rectory was erected a few years later. Father Becker initially recruited the Ladies of the Sacred Heart to direct the parish school, but they relinquished their administrative duties to the URSULINE SISTERS a decade later. As the population of the parish grew dramatically during the first decade of the twentieth century, the community broke ground for a new church building at 7211 Woodland Avenue on April 11, 1906. Bishop IGNATIUS F. HORSTMANN dedicated the new Holy Trinity Church, a Renaissance-style stone structure with twin square towers, on May 26, 1907.
Holy Trinity Catholic Church located at 7211 Woodland, Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. My dad grew up in a house located at E 84th street.
The house is less than a mile from the Church.
I grew up in Cleveland and Holy Trinity church was not our local
church, but we attended mass here. Over the years, we would
make a yearly trip down for Midnight Mass at Holy Trinity.
I can still remember some amazing Midnight masses in that church.
Due to the early German community that made up the church there were always Christmas carols sung in German.
Christmas eve of 1981, we headed down leaving Mom and Dad's house around 11pm. We arrived at the church only to find the doors
closed. Midnight mass had been cancelled that year.
.
.
The last mass at Holy Trinity was held on October 24, 2004.
I attended that mass with my father and mother, Gil & Margaret
Rothacker, and my dad's older brother and his wife.
Uncle Rollin & Auntie Anne Rothacker. A lunch was held in the basement after the mass. It was bittersweet for my dad. This was the church he had known and attended for over 74 years. As the mass began the music was of a blues nature, with drumming and hand clapping. My dad was
several people away from me, and I leaned out to look his way.....
He was about beet red. As I was standing there clapping along, I
mouthed to my dad.... "When in Rome" !!! It would become a
family laugh for many years.
Main alter - October 24, 2004
Mary side alter - October 24, 2004
Sacred Heart of Jesus - side alter - October 24, 2004
Stained glass window - October 24, 2004
Stained glass window - October 24, 2004
Stained glass window - October 24, 2004
Church
SS. Trinity
built
A.D. 1906
(Written in Latin)
Holy Trinity Church - October 24, 2004
Auxiliary Bishop Roger Gries officiated the mass.
