1856
St. Wendelin parish formed from the western part of St. Joseph Church in Victoria. The brick church with decorative corbels was designed by German immigrant J. Anton Goehr.

1870
Bell tower with spire, gold cross and new entrance added. Existing church is sheathed with a faux stone skin.

1905
Rectory built.

1918
The Lourdes grotto, in the cemetery behind the church, was built by parishioners.

Johann Anton Goehr
Designed at least 28 churches in the region, including his own church, which was the region’s mother church—St. Augustine in Minster (then called “Stallostown”). A wooden memorial in St. Augustine Cemetery commemorating his work was moved to the local historical society’s museum and replaced by a black granite monument in 2020.

“The organ is the original. It’s been ‘Band-aided’ over the years–every one of those pipes had a leather pouch and mice loved to chew on them–but it still sounds beautiful. I remember when it was a pump organ and you had to pump the air.” Parishioner and former organist Karen Post

1 Organ loft supported by two columns
1 Carved Gothic-style, wooden, main altar
2 Carved Gothic-style, wooden, side altars. All altars were made by the famed F. & H. Schroeder Company in Cincinnati and brought up to St.Henry via the canal.
6 Statues flank the altars: St. Wendelin, St. Peter and St. Paul on the high altar; St. Catherine and St. Therese on the Marian altar; and St. Stephen and St. Anthony on the St. Joseph altar.
8 Major side windows, as well as several smaller windows, depicting scenes from the life of Christ were made in Germany and paid for by parishioners.

Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches Byway
One of Ohio’s official Scenic Byways, its rural region was settled by immigrants from around the world, many of them German Catholics who were served by the pioneer Missionaries and Sisters of the Precious Blood. The distinctive churches they built give the Byway its name. For maps and more, see the official state website, landofthecrosstippedchurches.com.