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Church & Parish
From its inception, St. Mary’s parish has ministered to those who live within the shadow of its steeple, and that faith in action continues to this day.
On November 29, 1848, thirty German-speaking families marched in formal procession from St. Augustine’s Church (the present Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception) to the new Mother of God Church. Among them were five families who mortgaged their farms to raise the $1,700 needed to purchase land for the new church. This faith-filled gesture insured that families in the surrounding immigrant neighborhood could continue the German Catholic traditions they had brought with them from the Old Country.
The first building measured 32 by 64 feet. A larger church, built in 1858, was destroyed by fire when the boiler exploded, killing the church janitor and a young girl who was walking along the sidewalk. The present building, dedicated on May 2, 1999, replaced the 1886 Gothic-style landmark church that was struck by lightning and burned on September 2, 1993.
The current church complex houses worship space, a Eucharistic chapel, classrooms and program space, parish offices, and a state of the art Soup Kitchen that has been part of parish outreach since January 22, 1975, serving the hungry in Fort Wayne nonstop ever since.
