Holy Family endures, thrives

 by Tim Puet

Catholic Times

Through fire and flood, the ups and downs of the economy and a threatened closing, Columbus Holy Family Church has endured.

Today, the parish on the west side of the Scioto River, a mile from the Statehouse dome and the towers of downtown, remains as vital as ever.

It operates one of the busiest, longest-running soup kitchens and pantries anywhere in Ohio, distributing 8,000 pounds of food and serving at least 800 noontime meals every day. It also has a unique niche as the home of the only regularly scheduled Tridentine Mass in the Diocese of Columbus and of the Jubilee Museum, a remarkable collection of 2,000 years of religious artifacts from around the diocese and the world.

"This parish has a tremendous survival spirit, something that’s been absolutely necessary to make it through the tough times it’s seen over the years," said Father Kevin Lutz, Holy Family’s pastor since 1998.

"It has survived two devastating floods, in 1913 and 1959, two fires, in the mid-1950s and a couple of years ago, the loss of its grade school and high school, having the neighborhood divided by interstates 70 and 71, and having State Route 315 cut right through its property.

"The reason it’s still here is because people wouldn’t let it go away," he said. "We have a membership of about 550 families, and many of them are people who used to go to church and school here and keep coming. Our alumni are very loyal, with many of them working in the soup kitchen. They just won’t go home. It seems like they’ve been staying after school for 50 years."

That comment brought appreciative laughter from a half-dozen volunteers who were sipping coffee with Father Lutz on a cold morning last week in the parish center, a former physicians’ office building the church acquired in the 1990s.

"I live in Hilliard, but I work and attend Mass here because I love the place so much," said Bryan Hamilton, a member of the church maintenance staff. "It’s been part of my family ever since my grandfather grew up in the neighborhood. I love helping the poor in the soup kitchen and the way everybody works together here."

Also part of the maintenance staff is John West, a retiree who works at the church about 30 hours a week. often with his son, Bob. "I went to grade school and high school here. I like Father Lutz real well. This is just my church," he said.

Donna Grundey is the parish secretary and lives in Canal Winchester. "Their religion really means a lot to the people here and for a lot of them, it’s not just a Sunday thing," she said. "It’s also good working with Father Lutz because he’s not a micromanager. He watches what people do, but gives them a lot of liberty."

"Kevin’s been a priest for almost 30 years and this is the only parish where he’s been stationed that I’ve worked at," said Father Lutz’s sister Sheila, parish director of development and youth ministry.

"I came to work here after being a teacher 32 years. After I saw the community spirit and goodness of the people, I became a parishioner."

"Sheila’s older than me, so when she came to work here, I told her ‘Finally I get to be your boss,’” Father Lutz said. "Somehow, it hasn’t quite worked that way," he added to another round of laughter.

"How we got this building is typical of the spirit of the place," Father Lutz said about the parish center. "The Jewish family that owns the Restaurant Equippers company across the street wanted to buy part of our parking lot and knew we were interested in the building, so they paid us $80,000 over the market value for the lot to help us out.

"An anonymous donor paid the balance, so we were able to buy the building debt-free, something we never could have done otherwise."

He said the most difficult years for the parish were the 1970s and ‘80s, because the freeways had gone through, people were leaving the parish, the neighborhood was deteriorating and the 131-year-old church building was starting to show its age.

"What saved the church was Msgr. (Francis) Schweitzer’s dedication," Father Lutz said. Msgr. Schweitzer was pastor at Holy Family from 1970 until Father Lutz replaced him in 1996.

"He kept the place going through its darkest times. He created this tremendous spirit of volunteerism which continues to exist, and he started the soup kitchen, which has had a big impact on so many people and broadened awareness of the church’s mission." he said.

"I think of him as ‘the Mother Teresa of Columbus.’ He has tremendous patience. He can listen to the homeless for hours and never grow weary.He also has a great love for the Latino people of the diocese, going back to the time he took a leave of absence to work in Brownsville, Texas."

Msgr. Schweitzer may be officially retired from the parish, but he never really left. Today he lives in Nazareth Towers in downtown Columbus and celebrates Mass at noon every weekday in a basement chapel of the church.

He said the January 1978 blizzard which virtually shut down the state and is considered the worst snowstorm in Columbus’ history may not be fondly remembered by most people who endured it, but played a key role in Holy Family’s survival.

"On the Saturday night of the blizzard, every other bingo in Franklin County was closed, but we stayed open," Msgr. Schweitzer said. "Every room in the school was filled, and we made $10,000 that night. That got us off our feet and allowed us to catch up with our bills. For us, the bizzard was a miracle — a miracle of nature.

"People kept coming back after that because they liked the atmosphere and we gave them more for their money, and all this helped the church get rebuilt a little at a time."

Msgr. Schweitzer said that when he was appointed pastor at Holy Family, Bishop Clarence Elwell told him to either close the church or make it a mission.

"That sort of went in one ear and out the other," he said. "At my first Sunday Mass here, I gave the shortest sermon of my life. I said ‘I don’t want your money. I want you.’

"It took people about two months to understand what I was trying to tell them, but in time they got the point," he said. "I was trying to create a family here, to get cooperation from everyone and to have this become a living church through their sacrifices.

"In all the time I was here, I never asked for money at Sunday Mass because I knew that if the people felt they were a part of the church, the money would take care of itself.

"I turned 70 in 1990 and (former) Bishop (James) Griffin called me and said, ‘It’s your time to retire, but I’m not going to let you. That was fine with me."

Msgr. Schweitzer said that when he eventually did retire, "Bishop Griffin gave me the great privilege of appointing my successor. I prayed about this, and the Holy Spirit kept telling me I should choose Father Lutz, even though I didn’t know him that well."

Father Lutz said he was surprised to be asked to come to Columbus from rural Plain City, where he had been pastor of St. Joseph Church.

"It was unexpected, but it was a great honor to succeed Msgr. Schweitzer, and as far as being in different surroundings, that didn’t matter," he said. "With the Gospel, one size fits all. It’s the same for the rich, the poor, the educated, the uneducated, sinners and saints."

He also said it seemed appropriate to be going to Holy Family because he was baptized in 1950 at nearby Mount Carmel Hospital by Father Leo Sullivan, the church’s pastor at the time. "I like to tell people the pastor of Holy Family was baptized by the pastor of Holy Family," he said.

"I inherited a lot of the good works Msgr. Schweitzer built up and we’ve been able to expand those," Father Lutz said, noting that the church is renovating its basement as part of a rebuilding that’s been ongoing almost since Msgr. Schweitzer’s arrival. "We’ve also added things like the museum and the Tridentine Mass," which is celebrated at 9 a.m. every Sunday and first Saturday of the month and on holy days of obligation.

"We got the Latin Mass quite by accident," he said. "Msgr. (John) Cody had started it at (Columbus) St. Francis before he was appointed to the diocesan Tribunal in 1999. At that point, he came here to live, in part because he has four dogs and three cats.

"Very few rectories have room for 28 extra legs, but ours did. A few years later he became pastor at (Columbus) St. Christopher. The animals moved there, but the Mass stayed here."

Father Lutz said the Mass draws about 200 to 250 people weekly. It’s a young crowd ("That’s always the Mass with the most babies crying," he said) which he believes is attracted by the inherent beauty of the liturgy. "People just like its quietness, reverence and transcendence," he said.

The historic Franklinton neighborhood near the church is starting to make a comeback because of revived interest in urban living and completion a few years ago of the long-awaited Scioto floodwall.

"Many residents who have stayed here are committed to working in earnest to revitalize this area," he said. "You couldn’t drive them out. They’re survivors, like this church."

Father Lutz said Holy Family will be a part of that rebirth, "but our primary purpose will always be worship of God and preaching the Gospel. We’ll keep trying to do that as best we can."

Msgr. Schweitzer gave this description of Holy Family on Easter Sunday 30 years ago, and it still seems to apply.

He said Holy Family is "a small community. This is a blessing. All of us at Holy Family have a job in the vineyard of the Lord. Being small means sharing. Being small means putting on the garment which we must share with our brothers and sisters in the Holy Family community — the garment of kindness, humbleness and forgiveness (Colossians 3:11)."

For more information about the church, call (614) 221-4323 or visit its Web site at www.holyfamilycolumbus.org.