Toledo Catholic churches featured in WGTE documentary |
 |
 |
|
Written by LAURIE STEVENS BERTKE, Chronicle Writer
|
|
Wednesday, 02 December 2009 00:00 |
A documentary premiering this week offers a glimpse inside the most historic churches of the greater Toledo area, including many of those built by Catholic immigrants who settled here in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
St. Francis de Sales Chapel, which was the first cathedral of the Diocese of Toledo from 1910 to 1940, is one of the many Catholic churches featured in a new documentary exploring historic houses of worship in the greater Toledo area. (Chronicle file photo)
|
“Holy Toledo,” the latest installment in WGTE Public Television’s “Toledo Stories” series, explores 40 significant houses of worship, including 17 Catholic churches. The hour-long documentary airs Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. on WGTE-TV, Channel 30. It repeats at 9:30 p.m. and again at 9:30 p.m. Dec. 7.
The premiere of “Holy Toledo” happens to coincide with a season of preparation for the 100th anniversary of the Diocese of Toledo, which was founded April 15, 1910. The centenary celebration, which opened Oct. 7, runs through April 15, 2011.
“Holy Toledo” provides an overview of the early development and growth of the region’s Catholic community.
A segment of the program that was previewed at the WGTE studio Nov. 23 detailed the founding of Toledo’s first parish, St. Francis de Sales, in 1842. The church served as the Diocese of Toledo’s first cathedral from 1910 to 1940.
The documentary recounts how the congregation of St. Francis de Sales was a “melting pot” of Catholics from various ethnic groups in its early years. These groups eventually branched off to start churches of their own around the city.
Churches built by the city’s Catholic German, French, Hungarian, Polish, Irish and Ukrainian populations are among those featured in the program. These include St. Mary and Sacred Heart (German), St. Joseph (French), SS. Peter & Paul (originally German, now predominantly Latino), St. Stephen (Hungarian), St. Anthony, St. Hedwig and St. Adalbert (Polish), Immaculate Conception, Historic Church of St. Patrick and Good Shepherd (Irish), and St. Michael’s Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church in Rossford.
The program also features Rosary Cathedral and St. Martin de Porres in the Old West End and two suburban Catholic churches, Maumee St. Joseph and Perrysburg St. Rose.
In addition to these Catholic churches, the documentary explores many historic Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish and Islamic houses of worship in the region. A narrator details notable points about the history and architecture of each sacred space as a brief montage of historic and modern-day images of it plays on screen.
Producer Greg Tye explained a “modular” format was used for the program so it could feature as many churches as possible in the time allotted.
“I think that the beautiful thing about this program is that it’s not intended to give you all the information you need about these places,” said Mr. Tye. “It’s not the definitive work. The definitive work is to go to them and to visit them and to walk around. Even if you’re not of that particular faith, whatever that faith happens to be, it’s very simple to go enjoy them and just wonder at the sacrifice and the workmanship and the faith that went into their construction.”
|
|
Last Updated on Monday, 09 August 2010 13:29 |
