MARTINS FERRY — St. Mary Catholic Church will celebrate its’ 150th anniversary with a Mass and buffet dinner on Sunday, Oct. 12.

The anniversary Mass will be celebrated, at 3 p.m. in St. Mary’s Church with the dinner immediately following in St. Mary Central School’s auditorium.

According to a news release, the first resident priest, the Rev. Jeremiah Moroney, was named pastor of the parish in October 1875. The earliest recorded mention of Catholics in the city dates to 1857, when they used the ferry boat to attend Mass at North Wheeling Hospital. The Catholic population continued to grow, and in 1869 Martins Ferry was made a mission of St. John Church, Bellaire, with a priest coming from Bellaire once a month to celebrate Mass in private homes.

In 1872, the pastor of St. John, the Rev. Philip Steyle, encouraged the Catholics in Martins Ferry to build a church. Two families of the parish, in May, bought and donated a 50×100-foot lot on Ohio Avenue (now First Street), and by the fall of that year a 45×25-foot frame church had been constructed. Steyle continued to celebrate Mass in the church once a month until Moroney was appointed pastor.

Catholics of the city continued to worship in this small frame church until 1889, when the Rev. Samuel Mattingly, appointed pastor in 1888, constructed a two-story brick building on Fourth Street at the site of the present church.

This new building housed both a church and school. The school was on the first floor of the building and the church on the second floor. The church was dedicated on Dec. 1, 1889. Mattingly had secured the services of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth to teach at the school, and the first classes were held in the new building on Sept. 13, 1889.

Following Mattingly’s death in 1898, the Rev. Charles Mulhearns was named pastor of the parish. He purchased 15 acres of farmland, in Ferryview, in 1900 for a parish cemetery and oversaw the construction of St. Mary School, which was dedicated on Oct. 12, 1924. His 43-year pastorate is the longest in parish history. At a community tribute the evening of his 50th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood, on June 15, 1939, civic, religious, fraternal and municipal organizations praised him for his many contributions to his church and the community over the years. Mulhearn died in 1941.

The Rev. Joseph Kloss was named pastor in August 1945 and less than a year later began fundraising drives for a new church, which had been put on hold during World War II. The church on Fourth Street was razed in early 1951, and the laying of the cornerstone of a new church, at the same site as the previous church, was held Sept. 16, 1951. The new church was dedicated on Nov. 5, 1952.

The Rev. Patrick Gaughan was named pastor in September 1980. In May 1981, Gaughan, with the support of parish council, established an eight-member renovation committee to study the possibility of renovation of the church interior and to interview liturgical design consultants. It was decided, in February 1982 to proceed with renovation, and a design committee and four other committees were established. This renovation process would come to include, over three years, two liturgical designs consultants, each presenting their idea for the church interior. Parishioners had the opportunity to vote on which plan they preferred in late 1985. A $300,000.00 fund drive commenced in February 1986. The final Mass in the church before renovation was Jan. 4, 1987.

This renovation of the church interior begun under Gaughan was brought to fruition by The Rev.Thomas Magary, who was named pastor in June 1983.

Magary presided at the first service in the renovated church on May 14, 1987. The prayer service was a reconsecration of the parish to the Blessed Mother and incorporated the United States Pilgrim Virgin Statue of our Lady of Fatima. First Mass in the renovated church was held on May 16, celebrated by Magary.

Magary retired from the active priesthood in 2010. The Rev. Thomas Marut succeeded him as pastor and continues to minister to the parishioners of St. Mary.

The congregation of St. Mary, through the years, has not only participated in the parish spiritual, social and fundraising activities but has been active in ecumenical prayer services and projects and activities that benefited the entire community.

Pastors of St. Marys Church have been the Revs. Jeremiah Moroney (1875-1877), Joseph Tuohy (1877-1888), Samuel Mattingly (1888-1898), Charles Mulhearn (1898-1941), Edmund McCormick (1941-1942), Vincent Schiele (1942-1945), Joseph Kloss (1945-1972), Frederick Pasquinelli (1972-1980), Patrick Gaughn (1980-1983), Thomas Magary (1983-2010) and Thomas Marut (2010 to present).