About Our Parish 

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community was founded September 27, 1927, taking Our Lady of Lourdes as its patron.

This parish exudes warmth, kindness, and welcome to all. Located in west Toledo near the Village of Holland, its mission is to create a caring Catholic community and respond to the needs of the community through outreach.  Parish ministries like the Hospitality Kitchen, St. Vincent De Paul Society, Prayer Link, and teams that visit hospitals and shut-ins demonstrate the tireless dedication and spirituality that is the tradition at Our Lady of Lourdes. There are a wide variety of other ministries that cater to various age groups. The parish is situated on a nice wooded lot that accommodates the parish, adult community center, and the grotto with plenty of room for the annual summer festival.

Everyone is welcome to attend Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community. Membership registration forms are available at all Masses.
OUR PATRON
In 1858, in the grotto of Massabielle, near Lourdes in southern France, Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a young peasant girl. She revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception, asked that a chapel be built on the site of the vision, and told the girl to drink from a fountain in the grotto.  There was not a fountain there, but when Bernadette dug at a spot indicated by the apparition, a spring began to flow.  The water from this still flowing spring has shown remarkable healing power, though it contains no curative property that science can identify.  

The message of Our Lady of Lourdes is about the healing Mercy of God. But Lourdes is also about the need for prayer and penance. St. Bernadette testified to this call of Our Lady of Lourdes by living the rest of her life in humble prayer and suffering in a convent in France.

Millions of pilgrims venture every year to Lourdes. Some are miraculously healed. But many more are not healed of their affliction but receive the great and precious grace of lovingly embracing and carrying the cross Our Lord has given them.

More

 Parish History   

   
 

The start of Our Lady of Lourdes parish and school is a classic portrayal of how the church tries to respond to people's needs.

When Father Bernard Crane, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Sylvania, answered his doorbell on a summer day in 1926, he was met by Clyde Hayes, his sons Paul and Ken - and a question: Could Father Crane do something about First Communion Preparation for the boys and other youngsters of the Holland-Sylvania Hill Avenue area near the city's trolley's Stop 16? At that time there was no church between Maumee and Sylvania.

Father Crane moved quickly. He arranged for religion classes that fall in a dance hall next to martin Sniegowski's general store. Mother Adelaide, foundress of the Sylvanian Franciscans, sent two sisters twice a week for first communion. Meanwhile, Bishop Samuel Stritch bought 21 acres on the present Hill Avenue site and authorized construction of a frame church.

Undated Photo of Frame Church

It was dedicated September 25, 1927, Bishop Stritch established a Mission Chapel and named it Our Lady of Lourdes. The Mission was from newly-established St. Hyacinth Parish on Parkside Boulevard, under Father John Lubiatkowski. It had about 65 families, according to one early parishioner.
That same September, the Mission school opened with 90 pupils in grades 1-7 and two teachers. Sr. M. Imelda Czubek, also serving at St. Hyacinth, was first principal.

The grotto and shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes were built during the lean years of The Great Depression. Farmers hauled the stone, and Mary Sniegowski recalled, "Anybody that could, broke a bottle, and brought the glass over to put in the cement for the cross." The shrine honors the 19th century Marian apparitions of Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France. It was dedicated October 12, 1933, two months before Bernadette was canonized.
Our Lady of Lourdes lost its mission status 46 years ago. Bishop George J. Rehring established OLL as a parish with boundaries March 1, 1957. That added 150 families. Lourdes' roots are predominantly Polish.

Undated Photo of Front View of Church
Seventy-four Sylvania Franciscan Sisters have taught or worked in the parish for a total of more than 250 years. The school got its first lay teacher in 1959, had all lay teachers for the first time in 1983, and an all-lay staff (including the principal) in 1991. Sister Joy Barker and Sister Rachel Marie Nijakowski, who celebrated their 30th anniversaries as Sylvania Franciscans during OLL's 75th jubilee year, are among at least nine daughters of the parish who entered the Franciscans. Both formerly taught at OLL.
Of the eleven priests who have shepherded Lourdes' mission and parish, Fr. Ray Przybyla's 17 year pastorate (1961-78) was longest. This included the Second Vatican Council years (1962-65) and 13 years of its implementation. During that time the parish grew to about 700 families.

Undated Photo of Grotto & Shrine
Five priests served as assistants to Fr. Ray during the 1960's, beginning with Fr. Edward Hancock in 1963. The others: Fr. Fred Nietfeld, Fr. Paul Kwaitkowski, Fr. Bernard Kokocinski, and Fr. Ralph Biernacki. Franciscan Oblate Richard Eberle, who had been doing parish ministry at the parish, was assigned associate pastor after his ordination in October, 1982; and Jesuit Fr. John Lasca served as associate pastor from 1984 to 1986. Lourdes was assigned its first permanent deacon, Rocky Rodriguez, in 1980.
Our Lady of Lourdes Pastors
        Fr. Bernard Crane 1926-27
        Fr. John Lubatiowski 1927-31
        Fr. Michael Robaskiewicz 1931-37
        Fr. John A. Labuzinski 1937-52
        Fr. Aloysius F. Sobzak 1952-55
        Fr. Stanislaus Wojciechowski 1955-56
        Fr. Joseph F. Mrowca 1956-61
        Fr. Ray Przybyla 1961-78
        Fr. Neil C. Lucas 1978-86
        Fr. Jeffrey P Sikorski 1986-91
        Fr. Thomas E. Wehinger 1991-2007
        Fr. James Brown 2007-2011
        Fr. Joseph Cardone 2011

Undated Photo of Parish Interior
There is no record of how many parishioners served in the military, but one Memorial Day service in the early 1980's stands out. The flag bearer was Alexander Drabik, a parishioner and WWII hero who was the first American soldier to cross the Rhine River bridge at Remagen, Germany. As a squad leader in the 9th Armored Division he received the Distinguished Service Cross for capture of the Ludendorff railroad bridge March 7, 1945. Sgt. Drabik and his small band of soldiers raced across the 1200-foot-long bridge and seized it only minutes before the Germans were to blow it up. The fete was credited with shortening the war and saving 50,000 lives.
On September 25, 2002, Our Lady of Lourdes celebrated its 75th jubilee year. This anniversary was celebrated with a Parish Directory and a summer picnic.
At this time, there were 1150 households, nearly 18 times as many as when the parish began. The school had 234 students in grades K-8, 11 lay teachers, 4 part-time teachers, one secretary, as well as principal Susan Mueller.
In January 2003, the Hospitality Kitchen marked its 20th anniversary. At this time, the kitchen had served nearly 500,000 meals. Five of the original volunteers were still at it: Coordinators Deacon Robert Pacholski and his wife, Ginny, cooks Margaret Stacey, Evelyn Gozdowski, and Lillian Jachimiak.