The Crucifixion by Carl Zimmerman Hangs in a main corridor in The Athenaeum in its current location in Mt. Washington. Photo by Laura Laugle

The Athenaeum of Ohio

The Athenaeum of Ohio’s real significance to German-American life in the Cincinnati area is that the original Athenaeum, now Xavier University, was home to Rev. Dr. Friedrich Rese, Cincinnati’s first German Catholic priest. The Athenaeum was established by Bishop Edward D. Fenwick as a school of scientific learning in 1829 at roughly the same time that St. Francis Xavier Seminary was dedicated in Mt. Washington. During his time in Cincinnati, Rese (sometimes spelled Reese) obtained the support of King Ludwig I in bringing German Catholic missions to the Americas in order to support the Ludwig-missionsverein and Ludwig’s idea of “global” Catholicism, as opposed to the Rome-centric variety which was and is so prevalent. Following his arrival and the founding of The Athenaeum, Catholicism became the predominant religion among area Germans.

In 1840 control of The Athenaeum was given to the Jesuits and it was renamed St. Xavier College, which would later become Xavier University. The Athenaeum was moved to St. Francis Xavier Seminary and finally to the granite building pictured below, formerly St. Gregory’s Seminary and is now known as The Athenaeum of Ohio—Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. Today, The Athenaeum houses many fine works of art including paintings by German-American Carl (Karl) Zimmerman, one of which is pictured above, and the reredos pictured below, which was carved and gilded in Germany by August Schmidt, as well as a good sized library of rare books which welcomes scholars from around the world.

Photos by Laura Laugle

Bibliographical Sources:

The Bicentennial Guide to Greater Cincinnati: A Portrait of Two Hundred Years, by Geoffrey J. Giglierano, Deborah A. Overmeyer, with Frederic L. Propas, The Cincinnati Historical Society, 1988, page 540

Michigan History Magazine, Volume IV, The Michigan Historical Commission, Lansing, Michigan, 1920, page 46

The Romanesque Revival: Religion, Politics and Transitional Exchange, by Kathleen Curran, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 2003, page 85