St. Remy Church

Address: 108 East Main Street, Russia, Ohio, 45363 (Shelby County)

Phone: (937) 526-3437 Website

Mass Times: Sat. 08:15, 17:00; Sun. 07:30, 09:00, 11:00; Mon. 08:15; Tue. 08:15; Wed.08:15; Thurs. 08:15; Fri. 08:15; Vigil of Holy Day: 17:30; Holy Day: 07:00, 11:45, 19:00; Adoration: Thurs. 09:00 to 20:30; Confessions: Sat. 09:15 to 10:00, 15:30 to 16:30; Thurs. 15:00 to 16:00, 19:30 to 20:30

Parish Founded: 1846 Church Built: 1890

Architect: Unknown Architectural Style: Romanesque

History:. The settlers in the Russia area built a log chapel on the farm of Jean Jacques DeBrosse in 1846. This chapel was a rough log building with hand-hewn benches, plain windows, a few needed fixtures that were required to hold services there, and possibly an altar. It is believed that this chapel was considered a station or mission.

In the meantime, the people in the Russia area constructed a real church on land acquired from Henry and Mary Jane DeLaet in 1850. The typical frontier church was a small rectangular building with gabled ends, a tall spire, a cross, and several Gothic windows on either side. It was probably made of logs since timber was plentiful. Trees, felled by the men and boys of the congregation, were cut into logs, notched at the ends, and carefully laid to form the foundation. Then a puncheon floor was laid. The side walls were made of logs laid upon one another; spaces between logs were filled with pieces whittled from the heart of the timber and tightly wedged with chinking or daubing plastered over the cracks. A roof made of poles laid from gable to gable then covered with clapboards covered the church. Stacked stones, chinked to form chimney and fireplace, windows of greased or waxed paper, and wooden doors secured by leather hasps completed the building. This first real church 'In the area was dedicated to St. Remy on August 17, 1852. It is unknown if the chapel built on the DeBrosse farm had also been called St. Remy's, but this may be likely since the DeBrosse family had come from the Doubs department of France in which St. Remy's is a village and scattered in the area were other settlers from Doubs, also.

The parishioners of St. Remy finally had a church, but they were visited by a priest, Father Leon Meyer, only once or twice a month. They requested a priest to be sent from Nazareth, the central house of the Society of Mary in America, located in Dayton, Ohio, but this request was not granted. Then P. Joseph DeBrosse, in a letter written from St. Remy, Shelby County, Ohio, dated January 8, 1853, requested a teacher to educate the children of the parish, who could also serve as priest. The parishioners offered a tract of 80 acres of land near the church. Father August Joseph Rollinet came to serve the parishes in the area, located near St. Remy Mission. Because of the heavy workload, Father Roll'Inet sent for help. His brother, Charles and another priest joined him. The first Communion and the first Confirmation of children of St. Remy parish was held June 15, 1854. On November 12 of that same year, the first bells, under the names of Marie, Remidas, Franciscus, and Constance, were blessed and the inauguration of the statue of the Holy Virgin was held.

Several legends exist as to how Russia received its name. One legend says it was named Russia by early settlers from Alsace - Lorraine in France who had served in the Napoleonic Wars in the Ukraine. Another legend says the early settlers arrived in the dead of winter with several inches of snow on the ground and low temperatures, and that this, along with the rolling countryside, reminded them of the other Russia. A third legend says Russia got its name from the Russian wheat settlers used here which produced an excellent wheat crop. However the town was named, it became Russia somewhere between the years of 1859 and 1869.

By 1868, the pioneer church was no longer able to hold the congregation. A new church was erected. Following a custom from the country of Russia, the new church was built around the old one. After the new church was completed, the old one was dismantled and carried piece by piece from the interior of the new one. This also assured that services were not interrupted during the progress of the construction. This church served the congregation until 1890 when a new church was built because the 1868 building was not constructed safely due to a lack of architectural advice. This structure is the one in use at present and is the third church built by this congregation. It is made of red brick in purely Roman style and faces Main Street, formerly known as the Russia Pike. Its original cost was not to exceed $8,500.00.

The cornerstone for St. Remy Church was laid and blessed on July or August 17, 1890. Originally, there were two entrances to the church, a women's entrance on the east side and a men's entrance on the west side.

Stained Glass

In 1914, stained glass windows were installed. The west window in the sanctuary above the altar represents St. Paul. The east window represents St. Peter. On the west side of the auditorium of the church, the first window represents the baptism of Clovis, the first king of France, by St. Remy, Bishop of Rheims. Close by stands Queen Clotilda, Clovis's wife. The second window represents the "Patronage of St. Joseph," patron of the Catholic Church. The third window represents the Crucifixion of Christ. The last window represents the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first Martyr to give up his life for the faith of Jesus Christ. The windows in the rear of the church represent adoring angles. On the east side of the church, the first window depicts the Stigmata of St. Francis Assisi. The second window represents the Annunciation. The third window depicts the Resurrection of Christ from the dead. The fourth window is Christ blessing the little children.