River City church remembers and honors its years of service

Sts. Boniface and James Catholic Parish in Ludlow resulted from the 1980 merger of two Ludlow, Kentucky, parishes—one with a German heritage and one with an Irish heritage. The congregations, however, have deep 19th century roots.

The German Catholics of Ludlow, and northwestern Kenton County, were the first to take action to establish a congregation in 1870. Bishop Augustus Toebbe of the Diocese of Covington established St. Boniface Parish in 1872. The new St. Boniface Church, housing a school and priest residence on the first floor and a church on the second, was dedicated Nov. 3, 1872. The parish sponsored four vereins (societies in German). The St. Mary’s Ladies Verein (now the St. Mary’s Altar Society) continues to exist today.

Father Herman J. Kramer became pastor of St. Boniface Parish in 1884. During his time in Ludlow, the Sisters of Divine Providence took over teaching in the parish school in 1890. Classes were taught in both English and German for many years, and the use of the German language was not entirely discontinued until 1920. A new church building was dedicated in 1893. The new St. Boniface Church was nearly destroyed by a tornado in 1915. Parishioners raised the necessary funds and repaired the structure, which was rededicated in 1916.

During the years following World War I, St. Boniface Parish purchased a new rectory in 1928, completed an extensive renovation and addition to the school, and established a drama society, parish newspaper and a conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

The English-speaking Catholics of Ludlow, primarily Irish, with a few French-Canadian families, requested the creation of a second parish in Ludlow in 1886. That year, Father James Kehoe began organizing these people into a congregation. The parish purchased the Armory Hall on Carneal Street in 1887 and renovated the building for use as a church, which was dedicated May 1, 1887, under the patronage of St. James. The parish school was established in 1893 under the direction of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.

Thomas N. Kehoe, the brother of the first pastor, was appointed pastor of St. James in 1894 and remained in that position until his death in 1921. Under his guidance, a new Gothic-Revival style church was built on Oak Steet in 1904, and a new St. James School was dedicated in 1912. A new parish rectory followed in 1922.

Between 1928 and 1948, St. James Parish operated a co-education high school primarily under the care of lay teachers. In 1942, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth took over the staffing of the high school and remained until its closing.

Both parishes reached their peak in the years immediately following World War II with combined memberships of nearly 2,000 parishioners and school enrollments totaling more than 450. However, the baby boom generation began leaving Northern Kentucky’s urban core. As a result, the population of Ludlow declined. In 1967, the diocese merged the city’s two Catholic educational facilities to form St. James-St. Boniface Elementary School. The combined school closed in 1984.

The two parishes were merged in 1980 in the former St. James facilities. The St. Boniface Parish property was sold at that time. Father Robert Reinke was named pastor of St. James Parish in 1977 and continued as pastor of the newly combined congregation. During this time, the interior of the church underwent a major renovation. Under Father Reinke’s guidance, a parish council was formed, and parish life was reinvigorated.

A major restoration of the church interior was undertaken in 2006, bringing back the Gothic character of the sanctuary. A considerable amount of the work was completed by a group of parish volunteers. Funding for the project came from parishioners’ donations, raised in the largest capital campaign ever conducted by the parish.

The current pastor is Father Larry Schaeper, who was appointed in 2011. The parish takes pride in its beautiful church, and is known for outreach to the community, lively music and care for those in need.