The Marion Catholic Community
The Marion Catholic Community
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  • Home
  • Mass/Sacraments
  • Staff
  • Bulletin
  • Parish Information
    • St. John the Baptist
    • St. Rose
    • Precious Blood
    • St. Sebastian
    • Nativity of BVM
    • Counseling
    • 5 Parish Council Minutes
    • 5 Parish Faith Formation Committee Minutes
  • Youth Ministry
    • MCC High School Youth Ministry
    • MCC Junior High Youth Ministry
    • Vacation Bible School
    • CYO
    • CYSC
    • Steubenville
    • Service Opportunities
  • Adult Faith
    • OCIA (formerly RCIA)
    • Small Faith Groups
    • FORMED
    • Advent
  • Outreach
    • SON Ministries
    • Haiti
    • N.E.S.T.
  • Live Stream
  • Give
  • St. John Recovery

The recovery of st. john the baptist parish
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St. John the Baptist Church Update

3/30/2026

 
​​St. John the Baptist Church Demolition and Sandstone Façade 
​Sunesis Environmental will resume demolition of St. John Church March 30th. They will begin removing brick and debris from the front entrance for access to the sandstone façade and then move to the North end, demolishing the remaining structure and working South. Brookside Trucking will be hauling off clean debris to the industrial park for grinding down and the rest to other local sites.
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According to St. John history, the façade and other decorative trim is Berea sandstone, likely from Cleveland Quarries founded in 1868 and still operational. Our hope has been to salvage and reuse as much of the sandstone as possible, but closer inspection is revealing degradation from years of exposure to the weather, along with some damage from the fire and demolition of the tower. Once the brick debris is removed from the front entrance, Freytag and Cleveland Quarries will further inspect and assess what can be salvaged/repaired and what may be better to replace with new.  Repairing the sandstone and trying to match texture and color may be more difficult and costly than creating a new façade using select pieces as templates and Berea sandstone from the same quarry.
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They will haul off general debris, provide compacted backfill of the basement, seed and straw for storm water pollution prevention, and abandon underground sewer and waterlines. FIRST ONSITE is coordinating the required EPA documents and oversight and assure that all dust protection/control steps are in order.  It is estimated that the remaining demolition, salvaging of materials, hauling off debris and backfill could take 5 to 6 weeks, depending upon plan and masons for removing the sandstone façade and weather.  

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Architect & Insurance Settlement Update
Freytag and the Archdiocese have been finalizing the details of the contract for their services, assuring that the scope of the project is clearly defined and accounted for. They have been researching the sandstone façade and vendors who may be needed for removing all or parts of the façade as templates. They are reviewing the initial insurance estimates for the building and contents, establishing a team of cost analysis professionals and coordinating efforts with the Archdiocese and Sedgwick serving as the claims administrator for these complex, high value claims.    

Insurance payouts are categorized into distinct areas. The first category covers mitigation costs, which include most of the work done on St. John Church to date. These mitigation expenses are separate from and do not reduce the funds available for rebuilding the church. There is a category to rebuild the church and a separate category for church contents.  There are additional categories for the rectory repair and rectory contents. 
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Sedgwick engages consulting vendors and other resources to evaluate fire-related loses and develop a detailed line-item inventory of all components necessary to either repair the existing structure or rebuild a new like structure from the ground up. While Sedgwick provides initial estimates of each line item in the claim, they also state it is an estimate and that identifying and estimating each line item can be very difficult. Part of Freytag’s scope of services, including their team of cost analysis professionals, is to assure the item list is complete and the estimated values for rebuilding are accurate.  

​​​- Fr. Ken Schnipke, C.PP.S, Christ Our Light Family of Parishes


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    On May 29, 2025, there was a devastating fire at our beloved and historic St. John the Baptist church in Maria Stein, OH. This page is where pertinent updates about the recovery efforts will be shared. We ask that you would support us with your prayers! If you would also like to financially support the recovery efforts you may do so online using the link above.

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            Contact Us
The Marion Catholic Community
 7428 State Route 119
Maria Stein, OH 45860

Phone: (419)-925-4775
Residence: (419)-925-2030
Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 8:30a-4:30p                                  Friday - Closed
                                       Mission Statement
The members of the Marion Catholic Community, given life through the Holy Spirit in Baptism, are called together as a community of faith to praise and worship God our Creator and to proclaim in word and deed the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

As members of the Body of Christ we strive to serve all to provide an atmosphere of hospitality which enables all to respond fully to the life-long challenge "to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

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