More than 200 years ago, in September 1808, the first Mass in Ohio was celebrated in Somerset. To commemorate the occasion, a bicentennial anniversary Mass and rosary procession was held in 2008, and celebrations have continued almost annually.
This year’s celebration set for Friday, Sept. 25 was canceled due to heavy rainfall. Inclement weather thwarted plans for a rosary procession and votive Mass (not corresponding to the liturgical calendar) with Bishop Earl Fernandes at the site of the first Mass in Ohio.
Although the celebration was canceled, the first Mass site remains open.
The site, now named the Historical First Mass Site and Rosary Garden, serves as a prayer garden open to visitors year-round. Faithful are invited to find respite on the land where several Catholics once gathered to celebrate the Eucharist more than 200 years ago.
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An anniversary celebration is traditionally held in late September, although the exact date of the first Mass in September 1808 remains unknown.
The first Mass site is maintained by several volunteers who work spring, summer and fall to care for the grounds and help with landscaping.
“The first Mass site is a legacy to the parish – and entrusted to our faith community to be lovingly taken care for by the parish,” said Father Andre-Joseph LaCasse, OP (Order of Preachers), pastor at Somerset Holy Trinity-St. Joseph parish.
“Since St. Joseph Church was where the first Mass was celebrated in the state of Ohio, it is a blessing for Holy Trinity-St. Joseph parish to take care of the first Mass site.”
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St. Joseph Church is located about six miles from the first Mass site and is the first Catholic church in Ohio. It is served by the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominicans.
The first Mass anniversary celebration in Somerset is traditionally held in conjunction with the National Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage, which took place Saturday, Sept. 26 this year in Washington. Thousands visit the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the nation’s capital for the event.
For the faithful who cannot attend, Dominicans often sponsor Marian celebrations in their local communities.
The Dominican order has served in Somerset since 1808, where Father Edward Fenwick, OP celebrated the first Mass in Ohio 218 years ago.
A Dominican priest, Father Fenwick was a strong advocate of the rosary devotion. He arrived in Somerset at what would become Ohio’s first Mass site.
The site was formerly a 20 by 16 square foot log cabin in the woods, home to Jacob and Catherine Dittoe. The Dittoes requested a priest come administer the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation and matrimony to Catholics in the community.
Father Fenwick was sent from Baltimore and found the Dittoes in September 1808. He celebrated Mass for about 20 people from three households. The priest considered the event the beginning of his apostolic labors in Ohio.
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A decade later, in December 1818, Father Fenwick blessed the log church of St. Joseph – the first Catholic church in Ohio – on land donated by the Dittoes.
Pete Thomas, a Granville St. Edward the Confessor parishioner and descendant of the Dittoes, was instrumental in organizing the anniversary Mass. His grandmother, Helen Dittoe Russell, was the great-great-granddaughter of Jacob and Catherine.
“She grew up on the farm that Jacob Dittoe purchased in 1804, where Father Edward Fenwick celebrated the First Mass in 1808,” he recalled. “A copy of the land deed signed by Thomas Jefferson, a picture of Jacob Dittoe and a copy of the famous Dominican painting of the first Mass were proudly displayed on the walls of her home.”
A portion of the family’s farm was purchased by the Columbus diocese in 2000. The land today is known as the Historical First Mass Site and Rosary Garden.
“Since the diocese has owned the first Mass site, David Meleca, a local architect, developed a site plan that included a rosary garden. Martin Thomas, my brother, cleared the overgrown site. I constructed the rosary garden and planted each of the day lilies,” Pete said.
“Another Jacob Dittoe descendant, my cousin, Chase Russell, has helped maintained the site. Most recently, Father Andre Joseph LaCasse … has used his ‘green thumb’ to revitalize the site.”
Plans for Bishop Fernandes to celebrate the 219th anniversary of the First Mass are tentatively set for next year on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2027 at 10 a.m.