MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD
Fort Wayne, IN
OUR HISTORY
German and Irish Catholic immigrants had vastly different views of how to worship. Combining those two groups into one parish was rare in the late 1800s, but Bishop Joseph Rademacher did just that when he invited the Missionaries of the Precious Blood to serve Catholics living north of the St. Mary’s River in 1897, forming Most Precious Blood Parish.
The parish began as a combined church-school, using the same building for both. Since 1912, the church’s twin spires have soared above the residential Bloomingdale neighborhood, when the red-brick, Gothic-inspired church was completed. The school, still in use today, was built in 1929, complete with a bowling alley in the basement. The bowling alley has been in continuous service since and maintains its historic feel and time-period equipment.
The school and parish were both originally staffed by Precious Blood sisters, priests, and brothers. By 1982, the sisters had left the school and in 2005, the Precious Blood order, due to declining numbers, turned pastorship of the parish over to diocesan care.
Father Joseph Gaughan served as the first diocesan priest to pastor Most Precious Blood. Under his leadership, the church itself saw a renovation of the interior, restoring wooden flooring and pews and fixing structural issues.
Around 200 students from preschool to eighth grade are educated in the faith at Most Precious Blood School today, participating in Adoration and Virtue=Strength, and are offered programs like Lego Robotics, 3D printing and TV Production in the on-site studio.
The parish’s Knights of Columbus Council 11043 is named St. Gaspar del Bufalo, in honor of the founder of the Precious Blood order. Parish volunteers maintain the beautiful ministry gardens surrounding the church, including the Blessed Mother statue.
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