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ST. HENRY CHURCH
  St. Henry, one of the larger parishes of the St. Marys Deanery, is located in the village of the
same name. When the village was founded in 1837 a lot was set aside for a church, but it was
not until 1839 that the bishop of Cincinnati gave permission to form a parish. Before this time
the few families in this area walked to Minster for Church services. The new parish quickly built
a log church covered with handhewn weather boards. This church was dedicated in 1842. The
parish then numbered 19 families. Once the church was established many immigrants came into
the area.
  In 1845, weekly masses were started by the priest of the Precious Blood who had
settled in Maria Stein. Only 12 years after the log church was built, a new brick church was built
for the 41 families in the parish. Its dimensions of 100 feet by 48 feet were twice the size of the
log church. The parish continued to grow and by 1894 the 144 families started to make plans to
build a new larger church. This building, the present church, was dedicated on July 15, 1897. It
seats approximately 800 people. When finished in 1897 the only lights were candles. Acetylene
lights replaced candles in 1902. Electric lights were installed in 1917, and new fixtures in 1962.
The entire interior of the church was renovated in the 1970's in response to the liturgical reforms
of Vatican II. The parish now has approximately 800 families.
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