St. Remy's Catholic Church

St. Remy's Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church in Russia, Ohio, United States. Built in 1890, it continues to house an active parish, and it has been recognized as a historic site because of its architecture.Parish historyFrench-speaking Catholics began to settle in southwestern Shelby County and nearby northeastern Darke County in 1823; in their earliest years, these people were served by an itinerant priest, Father Navarron. In 1839, a parish was created for these settlers and dedicated to St. Valbert; its first building was located northeast of Versailles. When the priests and nuns of the Society of the Precious Blood began to settle in western Ohio in the 1840s, St. Valbert's became a mother church for the Society. The parish was split three ways in 1846: the members to the west of St. Valbert's became part of Holy Family parish, while the members to the southeast became part of St. Remy parish; the remaining members of St. Valbert's erected a new building in the village of Versailles in 1864, at which time it was rededicated to St. Denis.Russia's first settler built his house in the village in 1853; he was followed by many more settlers by the end of the decade. Many of these early settlers had migrated from the Russian Empire; upon seeing the site for the first time in the winter, they were struck by its resemblance to the Russian steppes and named the village for their former home. The members of St. Remy's constructed a church in the new village in 1854; built of logs, it was dedicated by Archbishop John Baptist Purcell on June 15, 1854. Growth soon necessitated its replacement; the resulting large brick church was built in 1869. As the parishioners continued to multiply, this structure too became insufficient for their numbers, and the third and present structure was erected in 1890.