Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

	Please click on the pictures to either side to see a larger image. The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception was built in 1966. Total cost for the church, including all furnishing and outside landscaping, was around $1,300,000. Above the outside entrance to the church, a relief depicts Mary as "Mother of the Church" and Queen of the Apostles." To her left are the apostles James the Lesser, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, and Peter and Paul. On her right are John, James the Greater, Simon, Jude, Thomas, and Mathias - who replaced Judas. The reliefs of Mary and the Apostles were all designed by Walter Driesbach of Cincinnati. The bell tower stands 101 feet above the street level. The bells, cast in Holland, were blessed by Fr. Sherman on the feast of St. Michael, September 22, 1965.  The largest bell, dedicated to St. Michael, weighs 3,300 pounds. Its inscription reads: "I am Michael, the voice of God in power, I praise the true God. I call the people, I gather the clergy."  The second largest bell weighs1,683 pounds and is dedicated to St. Gabriel. It is inscribed: "I am Gabriel, the voice of God in magnificence. I lament the dead, I scatter the clouds, I announce the Holy Days."  The smallest bell, dedicated to St. Raphael, weighs 1,00 pounds. It is inscribed: "I am Raphael, the voice of God casting fire on the earth. I hurry the laggards, I scatter the winds, I pacify the hostile." The cornerstone of the church, located on the North wall of the sanctuary, was laid in May, 1966, by Bishop Paul Leibold. It reads, "Come Lord Jesus. Come King and Cornerstone of Your Church. Rule and make firm the church of Immaculate Conception. In honor of each this stone is placed."  The pews, crafted by the Sauder Manufacturing Company of Archibold, Ohio, are made of plain sliced red oak. Made of Verde Gressony marble, the altar is carved in the form of an arch to symbolize Christ’s victory over sin and death and to represent Christ who is the bridge between God and humanity. The leaves and berries signify Christian growth through Baptism and the Eucharist.   The tabernacle was designed by Frank Francois of Cincinnati. Archbishop McCarthy designed the sunburst to represent rays of grace from God. Hanging above the sanctuary, the Greek cross without a corpus emphasizes the resurrection of Jesus. The four creatures in the quadrants represent the four evangelists: the man, Matthew; the lion, Mark; the ox, Luke; the eagle, John.  A cross with a corpus resides to the left of the altar, before which also resides the Gospel book. Built by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut, the organ has 1917 pipes. The tallest pipe - the one with the deepest tone - is 16 feet long. The shortest one 3/4 of an inch long and has the highest tone. The pipes are made of lead, tin, zinc, and wood. One of the outstanding features of our church is its colorful and lucid windows, done by Conrad Pickel Studio of Wisconsin from glass imported from Europe. The glass, in the church proper, is mouth blown antique glass, also called pot-metal glass. This glass-blowing technique is identical to the one used during the Middle Ages. The windows of the vestibule are done in faceted glass, also called chunk glass. The windows depict, from left to right, the six days of creation in abstract representations.. All major windows along the main aisle depict scenes from the life of Mary. The windows on the North side of the nave depict, from left to right, the Presentation of Mary in the Temple, the Annunciation and the Visitation. On the south side of the nave are The Wedding Feast at Cana, Mary at the Foot of The Cross, and Mary Crowned Queen of the Universe. The ventilators below each window carry out the theme of the larger windows. The window on the north side of the alter shows Mary appearing to Bernadette at Lourdes, when she proclaimed "I am the Immaculate Conception." The window south of the altar shows Christ appearing to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, proclaiming his love for all people. The large window on the north apse carry out the theme, "God Coming to Us," through scenes from the life of Jesus: The Nativity, The Coming of the Magi, and The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. The windows in the south apse show "Our Return to God" in various settings. The chapel on the north side is named "Blessed Sacrament Chapel" because of its use as a repository on Holy Thursday. All of its windows have the theme of "Bread as the Instrument of Salvation." Shown are Manna in the Desert, The Multiplication of the Loaves, The Last Supper, and The Eucharist at Mass. The chapel on the south side is the Baptistery. Here the windows have the theme of "Water as the Instrument of Salvation." This theme is carried out through scenes of The Creation of Water, The Rolling Back of the Red Sea, The Commission of Christ to Baptize, and The Blessing of Baptismal Water. Tot’s Room: The Tot’s Room windows on the north side show various Guardian Angel scenes. On the south side are windows depicting Jesus’ love for children.