History of St. Edwards

St Edward the Confessor Parish began in 1946 when Bishop Ready bought the Dr. C.J. Loveless property at the corner of Broadway and Pearl Streets, the current site of one of the Granville Inn's parking lots. Monsignor Joseph R. Casey, who had been assigned the job of establishing the new parish, said the first Mass in the house's parlor on July 20, 1947. At the time, there were thirty-five families in the parish. Over the years, gradual remodeling of the house led to the addition of a completely furnished chapel capable of accommodating seventy people. Those renovations took place under the shepherding of subsequent pastors: Monsignor Herman E. Mattingly, Father Leonard Scannell, Monsignor Francis Schwendeman and Father Vincent Mooney.

In May of 1954, with Father Augustine L. Winkler acting as the parish priest, Bishop Ready undertook construction of a new building for the Church of St. Edward the Confessor, laying the cornerstone on October 30th of that year and celebrating the church's first Mass on March 20, 1955. The rectory and the original parish hall were completed later that Fall. During the subsequent pastorship of Father Ambrose Metzger (from 1961-1970), St. Edward's continued to grow. In 1972 St. Edward's began implementing the documents of Vatican II. Under the leadership of Father John M. Fulcher, eight parish commentators and lectors were installed as lay distributors of Holy Communion. They were: Egbert Fisher, Eugene Gray, Joseph Lombardo, Eugene Murphy, Herbert Murphy, Anthony Skufca and Philip Stukus.

In the 1970's and 1980's, during the pastorates of Fathers Arvids Bernans and Thomas Lowery, the parish community continued to grow. Consequently, under the guidance of Father Lowery, ground was broken for the construction of ten classrooms and a new parish hall, which were completed in 1984 and blessed on May 19th of that year by Bishop James A. Griffin.

The 1990's saw the arrival of Father G. Michael Gribble, first as administrator and then as pastor of St. Edward's. This period saw a continued growth of the parish to over 800 families. In 1991, with the help of Barbara Doran and Patricia Chojnicki, the RCIA process to bring adults into the Catholic Church was implemented. The Knights of Columbus established the St. Edward's Council Number 10876 in 1992, and they continue to serve the parish and the community. Margery Hendy and Barbara Hinterschied helped to make the former Altar Society more relevant to the needs and lifestyles of our current parishioners. This resulted in the formation of the Mary/Martha/Ed Ministry. The purpose of this ministry was to reach out and meet some of the spiritual, physical and social needs of the parish in a personal way. 

The 1990's also saw an increased involvement in working in the soup kitchen of Holy Rosary/St. John as well as the mission in Waverly. St. Edward's became a regular host for the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Worship Service, and the parish supported from its inception the Ecumenical Cross Walk on Good Friday. The Ecumenical Vacation Bible School also continued to thrive.

As the population of northeast Franklin County and west Licking County continued to grow, so too did the number of parishioners. In the year 2000, Monsignor Paul P. Enke joined the parish as pastor. Soon after his arrival, active planning for a new parish church began in earnest. Under the previous pastor, adjoining acreage had been purchased, and plans were made for an enlarged worship space that would seat 900 people. In consultation with the Diocese of Columbus, the architectural firm of David Meleca was selected and Lincoln Construction chosen as builder for the $4 million project. The project was completed successfully, and the new church was dedicated on September 19, 2004 by Bishop James A. Griffin. In the years since its dedication, it has served St. Edward's well.

Today, St. Edward's remains a strong parish committed to serving those most in need. St. Edward's strongly supports the local St. Vincent de Paul Society and the St. Vincent Haven, and it remains committed to serving the Granville community. The Knights of Columbus and Women of St. Edward's do much to serve the parish, and many parishioners are involved in the Parish School of Religion program, liturgical ministries, and music ministries.

Parish Patron Saint

Saint Edward the Confessor was the last of the Anglo-Saxon line to rule England (1042-1066). He was well beloved, devoted to God, generous to the poor and just in his administration of the kingdom. The legend of his ring is that Edward gave a ring to a beggar near Westminster. Two years later some English pilgrims in the Holy Land (or in India) met an old man who said he was John the Apostle. He gave them the ring and told them to return it to Edward, whom they were charged to warn of impending death in six months' time. He was canonized in 1161 and was given the title of "Confessor" for his outstanding profession of faith. His feast day is October 13.