The first Mass celebrated at the new parish of Good Shepherd.
The Lord is my shepherd,
there is nothing I shall want.
— Ps. 23:1
The dedication Mass, 1977.
Bless the Lord, O my soul
and all my being, bless his holy name.
— Ps. 103:1
Footprint of 1986 addition superimposed on Church photo
Workman carving the wording into the Wall of Creation.
1973 |
November Good Shepherd is founded and Masses are celebrated at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery Chapel, which is home to Good Shepherd until June of 1977. The original number of families is 159. |
December 3 The parish of Good Shepherd is officially established. Father Frank Niehaus is appointed as first pastor on December 6th by Archbishop Joseph L. Bernardin. |
|
1974 |
August 27 Father John L. Rea is appointed co-pastor. |
1975 |
May 318 families pledge to support construction of a new church |
1976 |
April 18 - Easter Sunday Ground is broken for a new church facility situated on approximately 24 acres of land at the corner of Weller and Kemper Roads. December 25 - Christmas Day The first Mass in the new church is celebrated at midnight. There is no heat and make-shift temporary lighting is utilized. 1,250 parishioners bring lawn chairs and use flashlights to see. |
1977 |
June 12 Dedication Mass for the new church is concelebrated by Archbishop Bernardin and co-pastors Niehaus and Rea. Our community now has 960 families. |
1979 |
October Father Niehaus accepts assignment as Pastoral Consultant in Parish Development for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Father John L. Rea is named pastor. |
1982 |
May Father Rea dies suddenly. |
July Father Louis J. Guntzelman is appointed pastor. There are now 1,500 parish families. |
|
1986 |
November 23 An addition to the building, doubling its size, is dedicated by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk. |
1990 |
September 30 Our parish family grows to 3,009 families. |
1994 |
July 5 Father Guntzelman completes twelve years as pastor and Father Thomas R. Axe is appointed Good Shepherd’s fourth pastor. |
2002 |
April 1 A second addition to the building is completed bringing our facility to a total of 90,000 sq.ft. Our parish family grows to 4,342 families. |
2003 |
November 1 Father Robert E. Schmitz is appointed Good Shepherd’s fifth pastor. |
2007 |
January Our parish family is comprised of 11,740 parishioners and 4,128 households. |
2008 |
November 29 Good Shepherd celebrated its 35th Anniversary with a special Mass followed by a reception. Soon after, the Parish Pastoral Council expanded to form the new Assembly of Parish Leaders. |
2009 |
July 1 Reverend Terry Smith is appointed Parochial Vicar of Good Shepherd. |
2010 |
July 1 Presently we have over 11,379 parishioners in about 4,069 households. |
2011 |
May - June Parishioners are saddened by the deaths of long-time liturgical vocalist Larry Kinley and former pastor Fr. Lou Guntzelman. July 1 Statue of St. Francis of Assisi, in honor of Fr. Bill Reichel's 50th Anniversary of Ordination, was dedicated. |
2013 |
September Founding Pastor Rev. Frank Niehaus entered into eternal rest on September 26, 2013. He was 84 years old. Good Shepherd was officially established on December 3, 1973. Father Frank was appointed our first pastor on December 6, 1973 by Archbishop Joseph L. Bernardin. He remained pastor until October of 1979. The Mass of Christian Burial took place at Good Shepherd on Saturday, September 28. |
2014 |
July 1 Reverend Terry Smith, Associate Pastor of Good Shepherd, retired. |
2015 |
July 1 Father Thomas Mannebach becomes the sixth new pastor of Good Shepherd. |
2015 |
June 30 Father Robert Schmitz completes twelve years as pastor and Father Thomas Mannebach is appointed Good Shepherd’s sixth pastor. July 1 Father Thomas Mannebach becomes the sixth new pastor of Good Shepherd. |
2018 | September 20 Good Shepherd's dedication of the newly redesigned chapel took place with The Most Revered Joesph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, presiding. |
2022 | June 30 Reverend Thomas Mannebach last day as pastor of Good Shepherd. Reverend Mannebach was reassigned to be the pastor of St. Ignatius in Monfort Heights. July 1 Bishop Joseph Binzer appointed as the seventh pastor of Good Shepherd. August 6 Installation Mass for Bishop Joseph Binzer as pastor of Good Shepherd at the 4:00 p.m. Mass with Fr. Steve Angi presiding. The Mass was followed by a reception in the main foyer. |