St. Pius X Parish History

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• May 15, 1953: Bishop George Rehring of the Diocese of Toledo established Blessed Pius X Parish (Pope Pius X had not yet been canonized a saint).  Father William A. Stahl, O.S.F.S. was named the first pastor and began a long history of Oblates of St. Francis de Sales’ association with the parish.  At the same time, Christ the King was also established as a parish with Fr. Basil Goes as pastor.  Most of the territory of Blessed Pius X Parish was appropriated from Blessed Sacrament Parish, along with a small portion from Gesu.  It consisted of about 650 households.

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• June 1, 1953:  Ground was broken for a combined church and school on a ten-acre plot of land extending south from Carskaddon.  The cornerstone was laid on August 16, by Fr. William Buckley, then Provincial Superior of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, assisted by Fr. Stahl and Fr. Toy.

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• June 28, 1953:  The first Masses were held in the Old Colony Theater on at 8:30 and 10:30. 

 

• September 30, 1953:  School opened with 209 students in the first six grades.  Only the north wing was completed at that time.

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• December 24, 1953:  At midnight the first Mass was held in the new church.

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• May 28, 1954:  The parish was renamed St. Pius X in recognition of the canonization of Blessed Pius X. 

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• Fall of 1956: The south wing of the school was completed;  the school population increased to 344 students.

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• 1960:  Fr. Stahl, our first pastor, was succeeded by Fr. Robert Flecksteiner.

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• December 1962:  The breaking of ground for the new convent, a one story building 119’x 38’. 

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• July of 1963:  Convent was completed and the old convent at 3463 Drummond, was sold to one of our parishioners.  By the end of 1963, the parish had grown to 800 families. 

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• 1964:  School enrollment was 375 students.

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• March 27, 1966:  The new rectory was  finished with the priests moving into this residence on May 31.  Prior to that, the priests had been using the house on 3407 Drummond. 

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• 1967:  The church sanctuary underwent its first renovation.

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• 1968:  Fr. Flecksteiner died of a heart attack and Fr. Shugrue became the new pastor.  Fr. Shugrue’s tenure of office was short lived due to his untimely death in 1970.  He was replaced by Fr. Earley.

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• 1971:  Fr. Brennan came to St. Pius as Associate Pastor. 

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• 1973:  Fr. Cryan was also named Associate Pastor.  Both Fr. Brennen and Fr. Cryan subsequently became pastors.  Fr Brennen from 1978-1984 and Fr. Cryan from1984-1991.  Fr. Cryan began his tenure of office by initiating collaborative ministry in the parish.  He developed a Pastoral Team and was instrumental in reorganizing parish ministries into a commission system.

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• Late 1980s:  The Pastoral Team and the Parish Council began planning for the future, creating a three-phase development strategy renovation of the convent, renovation of the church, and the construction of an Activities Center. 

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• 1989:  The first phase of parish development was completed.  The former convent was renovated to provide a Parish Center with meeting rooms, kitchen and offices.  A Capital Campaign with the theme TOGETHER WE BUILD FOR THE FUTURE began in the fall of 1989 and ended December 31, 1992.

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• June 1991:  Fr. James Cryan was elected Provincial of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales which necessitated his resignation as pastor of St. Pius X.  Fr. Eberle was chosen pastor on the recommendation of Parish Council.

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• 1991:  Contractors began the work of renovating the church, directed by architects from the collaborative, Inc.  Weekend liturgies were held in the basement of the church, daily liturgies were celebrated in the Parish Center during the renovation.  On Christmas Eve, the renovated church was completed and parishioners were able to worship in the newly beautified space.

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• 1996:   Construction commenced on the Family Life Center building in the spring of 1996.  The new facility was dedicated by Bishop Hoffman on October 6, 1996.  A change in leadership also took place at this time.  Fr. Eberle took a sabbatical for a year of study and Fr. Kelsch became our new pastor on August 1, 1996.

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• October 1997:   Fr. Thomas Landgraff joined the staff as part-time Associate Pastor.

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• 1998:  Fr. Kelsch resigned as pastor in July 1998, Fr. Landgraff was appointed Pastor.  Fr. Landgraff was instrumental in bringing the Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) Retreat Program to St. Pius. 

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• 2003:  A renovation of the sanctuary area made the area handicap accessible and plans for a complete renovation was initiated under Fr. Landgraff’s tenure.

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• June 2004:   Fr. James Sanford succeeded Fr. Landgraff as pastor.  Renovation of the church initiated by Fr. Landgraff was completed under Fr. Sanford.   With the closing and/or merger of various Diocesan parishes, St. Pius welcomed a number of new parishioners and school families.  The Kateri Deaf Community, formerly of St. Louis Parish, officially joined.  The 9:30 a.m. Sunday Liturgy now provides for sign language interpretation.  Because of impaired health, Fr. Sanford was unable to continue full time parish ministry.

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• 2007:  Fr. Richard Morse, arrived as Pastor in July of 2007.  His goal was to grow St. Pius by engaging parishioners to invite inactive Catholics and people with no church membership to join us on our journey of faith.  Father was also very active in Marriage Encounter.  Father served the parish for one term and then was reassigned to a parish in California.

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• 2011:  Our current Pastor is Father David Whalen.  In June of 2011 Father completed two terms as Provincial Superior of the Toledo-Detroit Province of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and on July 1st was named Pastor of St. Pius. He also teaches Latin to our grade 7 and 8 students.   Prior to his term as Provincial Father Whalen was a University Professor at the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto Canada.

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At present St. Pius X membership consists of about 543 households with a total school population, Pre-School through Grade 8, of 180.  There is also a very active Parish School of Religion on Sunday mornings for those in other schools than St. Pius.  St. Pius strives to be a welcoming, friendly community with a vibrant spiritual life and an equally vibrant sense of community and service to others.

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St. Pius X Pastors

Fr. William A. Stahl, O.S.F.S...................................................1953 – 1960

Fr. Robert J. Flecksteiner, O.S.F.S.........................................1960 – 1968

Fr. George Shugrue, O.S.F.S.................................................1969 – 1970

Fr. Daniel J. Earley O.S.F.S., ................................................. 1970 – 1978

Fr. Fernan J. Brennan O.S.F.S., ............................................1978 – 1984

Fr. James F. Cryan, O.S.F.S................................................... 1984 – 1991

Fr. Richard T. Eberle, O.S.F.S.................................................1991 – 1996

Fr. Dennis J. Kelsch, O.S.F.S................................................. 1996 – 1998

Fr. Thomas Landgraff, O.S.F.S...............................................1998 – 2004

Fr. James R. Sanford, O.S.F.S................................................ 2004 – 2007

Fr. Richard E. Morse, O.S.F.S................................................. 2007 – 2011

Fr. David M. Whalen, O.S.F.S.............................................. Current Pastor