Holy Trinity Church (Norwood, Ohio)

Holy Trinity Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Norwood, Ohio. The church was formed after the consolidation of St. Elizabeth, St. Matthews, and Sts. Peter & Paul churches in 1994.

History

The Holy Trinity parish dates back to 1884, when St. Elizabeth was founded by the Rev. John Stoepplemann as Norwood's first Catholic church.

St. Elizabeth remained Norwood's only Catholic parish until 1905 when the Archdiocese of Cincinnati established St. Matthew church and Sts. Peter & Paul church. Permanent facilities were constructed for each parish in 1922 and 1940, respectively.

Schools

Each of the three Norwood churches also operated its own grammar school. In September 1974, St. Elizabeth and St. Matthew schools combined to form Gressle School located at the St, Mathew school location. In the early 1980s, Sts. Peter & Paul School closed and joined with Gressle School.

Consolidation

In 1991, due to a decline in church enrollment, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati determined that the three Norwood parishes should be combined. A committee composed of members from each parish was created to determine the location and name of the new parish. The Sts. Peter & Paul property was selected as best suited to meet the needs of the new parish. Rev. Michael Bidwell was assigned as the first pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, and Rev. Edward Haskamp was the first associate pastor.

In addition to the new parish, Gressle School was renamed Holy Trinity School and moved to the former Sts. Peter and Paul School buildings.