St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church was established in 1869,
just after the American Civil War. Erie Catholics who lived in
Marvintown, a section of Southeast Erie comprised of German immigrants,
had been worshipping at St. Mary’s Church on East Ninth Street, where
they were well served by the German Benedictine Fathers. St. John’s
Church initially was a local mission of the fathers from St. Mary’s,
becoming a parish in late 1869. The first pastor of this church was
Reverend Bernard Manser (also known as Father Bernard). Rt. Reverend
Bishop Michael O’Connor of Pittsburgh ordained him to the priesthood on
June 29, 1858. Father Bernard became the first pastor of St. John’s
Church in 1869, serving the parish until 1881. Father Bernard’s
leadership and the parishioners’ willingness to support their priest
led to the establishment of an independent parish from St. Mary’s. The
original church was a small frame structure, which was dedicated by the
Right Reverend Bishop Mullen on August 28, 1870.
Soon the parish established a school for their growing community.
Schoolmasters instructed the parish children and served as organists in
the village church. They instilled a love of learning for the arts and
sciences, as well as language and history. The Sisters of St. John’s
eventually replaced the male schoolmasters. Sister Coletta Knapp was
the first Sister who taught at St. John’s parochial school, beginning
her first term in September 1883. A new school was built in 1887, a
two-story brick building at Wallace and East 27th Streets, which in
1905 was renovated to accommodate ten more classrooms. The new building
increased the teachers’ ambitions, renewed students’ interest, and
added other Sisters to the teaching staff.
Two years after the completion of the new school building, Father
Decker commissioned the construction of a larger church. The small
frame church was moved to East 22nd Street, becoming Holy Trinity
Church, which was to serve the growing Polish immigrant community. To
replace the original structure, a massive Romanesque style church was
completed in 1889 and dedicated the following year. In 2016, the church
continues to thrive, although St. John’s grade school was closed in
2012.
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