1840
Catholic families first hosted visiting priests to celebrate Masses in their homes and barns.

1853
Milford became a mission of St. Mary’s Church in Hillsboro. Made a parish in 1854, Father Philip Foley became its first resident pastor in 1855.

1865
Original church built on Elm and Water Streets in Milford, an area prone to floods from the Little Miami River.

1922
More than 1,000 people paraded to see the cornerstone laid for a new church on Main Street above flood danger.

June 24, 1923
First Mass celebrated in the new church.

1948
St. Andrew School opened; staffed by Sisters of Charity from Cincinnati.

1954
New windows by Riordan Stained Glass commissioned to celebrate the parish’s centennial.

1959
Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton School opened off-site. Masses were soon celebrated there to accommodate Milford’s growing Catholic population.

1994
The two Catholic schools combined into one school, St. Andrew-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, with two campuses. They were consolidated into one building in 2021.

2002
New Walker Organ installed for the current building’s centennial.

1 Crucifix over the altar dates from the 1996 renovation. A parishioner made the cross that holds an antique corpus originally from
a convent.

2 Mahogany entrance doors commissioned for the 175th anniversary of the parish. Their stained glass panels match the windows, designed by parishioner Jim Whalen. They also include
the words “Celebratio Fidei” (“Celebration of Faith”) and the years 1854 and 2004.

2 Daughter parishes were created out of territory originally assigned to St. Andrew: St. Columban (Loveland) in 1859 and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (Milford) in 1976.

“To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the building, we bought a new organ, and we bought one of the best there is. The liturgical music at St. Andrew is phenomenal, but the beauty of the church is secondary to the beauty of the people. There’s a dynamic to our community I will never not be proud of.” Deacon Tim Schutte

“St. Mary’s in Hillsboro would send priests on horseback to celebrate Mass, and here we are more than 150 years later doing the same thing in our family of parishes—Fr. Del Staigers travels from St. Andrew to St. Veronica to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. But not on a horse!” History Committee member Linda Thaxton

by Gail Finke and Emma Cassani

This article appeared in the June 2023 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.