Parish History

St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church began in 1909 when the local Italian community began organizing a congregation. Contemplating the matter for some time, a various number of families from the Italian neighborhoods were compelled to attend the Catholic churches nearest to where they were living. With this action was taken immediately. The Reverend Father John Salerno, a priest from southern Italy, who was visiting his sister in Akron, was sent to Lorain by Bishop Koudelka to talk the matter over with the Italians. Many of the Italian Catholics had come to live in Lorain from Italy and desired a parish where their language was spoken. It was promised that assistance would be given to erect a new church ediface if organizing was successful. At the time, the Italian societies in Lorain had large funds on hand; considerable assistance would also be given by the Italian churches in Cleveland and Akron.

With the sanction of the bishop, the plan for a new church went forward, under the direction of Reverend Salerno. At the age of twenty-eight, he was considered to be a highly cultivated churchman. Able to speak English fluently, he had a very large parish in southern Italy, in the town of Basillica, where he had three Assistant Priests working with him. Knowing that the congregation wanted him to take charge of the new parish he decided to make the United States his new home and remained living in Lorain.

In May, 1909, the land for the construction of the church was purchased through the Byron G. Nichols Realty Agency. The ediface was to be made of brick and cost about $10,000.00 It would be large enough to seat approximately 600 people. The church was to be erected on Clark Street (today, West 17th Street), between Long Avenue and Washington Avenue. In the meantime, while funds were being collected for the construction, the congregation held their services in the basement of St. Joseph's Church, located at West 15th Street and Reid Avenue.

With construction being delayed over a period of five years due to a shortage in funds, the first church was finally completed in 1914. Henry Wurmser was the architect and the interior furnishings - altar, pews, stained glass windows, communion rails, etc. - were provided by the American Seating Company, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Gothic by design, the building was covered with gray colored exterior walls, with a bell tower. It had a large pipe organ, a main altar and two side altars. Outside, on the west portion of the church yard, was the site for the shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes and to St. Christopher. The cornerstone was laid by Bishop Schrembs and the Reverend Damian Leone was appointed to be the first resident pastor, where he would remain for the next eight years, until 1922.

In 1922 the Reverend Martin Weismuller would follow Father Leone as pastor but would only serve for a year. He was succeeded by the Reverend Father Emmanuel Reia.

Between 1922 and 1936 several priests would be assigned here as pastor at St. Peter's. In 1931 the parish was already exsisting for twenty-two years. With a membership of over 500 families the church building was remodeled and enlarged to accomodate the growing and expanding congregation. When the remodeling was completed a year later in 1932, Bishop Schrembs returned once again to rededicate the church.

In May, 1936, following his ordination into the priesthood, the Reverend Father Vincent O'Dea was appointed to serve as the Associate Pastor to St. Peter's Church. He would serve in this capacity until January, 1944, when he became its administrator, serving in this position for the next sixteen years.

In January, 1960, when St. Peter's Parish received its territorial lines, Reverend O'Dea received authorization from Bishop Hoban to build a new church and school on Oberlin Avenue at West 35th Street. It would be a new ediface, along with four other buildings on fifteen acres of property. Father O'Dea, at the time, was then named as the pastor of the church.
The new St.Peter's Church would be large enough to meet the needs of the parish and provide a school to give the needs of the children a Catholic education. The new building would seat about 800 people and the school was to have eight class rooms, serving students in grades Kindergarten through eighth grade. Overall, there was also to be a parish hall, complete with a kitchen; a rectory; an administation building; and a home for the sisters. The total cost for the project was estimated to be over $1.5 million.

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1962, the parishioners of St. Peter's Church saw for the first time the completed church being used during Christmas Midnight Mass.