Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church

The first High Mass in the new church was celebrated on August 11, 1874. The church was dedicated on the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1879. The congregation continued to grow as a mission with Elmore, Luckey, and Woodville. Eventually it was placed under the care of the pastor of St. Michael, Gibsonburg. It remained a mission until 1920 when Fr. Leo Herzog became the resident pastor. Fr. Herzog was followed by Fr. Quinlan in July 1921. A parish house was urgently needed so the Bower property on Main Street was bought from the late John Bowland for this purpose.

The church, which stood on the Superior Street site for 50 years, was moved to the new location, the northwest corner of Second and Main Streets, and placed upon a basement built to serve as a parish hall. The farm house on the site was converted into a rectory. The parish continued to grow. In October 1948, Fr. James O’Toole, S.J.D., became pastor and work began on the planning of a second new church. The property was donated by the late Henry W. Bergman; The ground for the new church was broken on February 14, 1954, the corner stone was laid by Bishop George Rehrig on October 24, 1954 and the first Mass was celebrated in the new church on March 13, 1955.

According to the provisions of the Pastoral Plan, Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Genoa and St. Boniface Church in Oak Harbor would become “sister” parishes and share a pastor and staff. Thus on July 2, 1999, Fr. James E. Peiffer, was named pastor of the two parishes. He continued to reside at the Rectory at Oak Harbor. Our Lady of Lourdes Rectory, while remaining the site of the parish office, was re-arranged to provide an office for the pastor and the administration staff.