St. John the Evangelist Church

Address: 11319 Van Buren, Wapakoneta, OH 45895

Phone: Phone: (419) 738-6043 Website

Mass Times: Sat: 18:00 Sun: 8:30 Weekday: Mon, Wed, Fri: 8:00 Confessions: Sat: 17:15 to 17:45 or by appointment.

Parish Founded: 1850 Church Built: 1850

Architect: Architectural Style:

History: St. John the Evangelist is located in Fryburg, southeast of Wapakoneta in Auglaize County and is the eastern-most parish in the Deanery. St. John the Evangelist, Fryburg was established in 1850 to serve the German farmer settlers of the area. The decision was made to build a church in Fryburg, which was dedicated on November 23, 1850. The new church was large (80 feet long and 43 feet wide). It was built of brick and still stands today substantially as built. It is one of the oldest Catholic Church buildings in Ohio which is still used as the complete parish church.

The original parish consisted of 30 scattered families. In 1856, the farmers to the south organized another parish in Rhine, which was served as a mission of Fryburg for 17 years. In 1865 another parish was organized in Botkins and was served as a mission. St. John’s parish grew to 105 families in 1877, even with the new parishes being formed. At that time the parish school was built.

One of the more colorful characters of the Land of the Cross Tipped Churches is Fr. Lawrence Tebbe who served as pastor of St. John in Fryburg for 34 years from 1948 to 1972. Read further about Fr. Tebbe.