St John the Baptist Catholic Italian Church -

St John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church

In 1896 Right Reverend John Ambrose Watterson, Bishop of Columbus established an Italian national parish for the diocese and appointed Father Alexander Cestelli, the church’s first pastor. Father Cestelli, a native of Fiesole, Italy, had become interested in the spiritual welfare of the Italian immigrants of Columbus while teaching at the Pontifical College Josephinum.

For nearly two years, before a church could be constructed, the members of the St. John parish met for worship in the bell tower of Saint Joseph cathedral. At the end of 1897, a plot of land on the corner of Lincoln and Hamlet Streets was purchased and the cornerstone of the new church was laid on May 15, 1898.

Finally, on September 18, 1898, the Most Reverend Sebastiano Martinelli, Apostolic Delegate to the United States, dedicated the church to Saint John the Baptist. Today, over 100 years later, the church continues to serve the Italian American community of Columbus, Ohio.