page_title: Italian Village
section_title: St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church
hierarchical_section_title: Italian Village / Structures and landmarks / St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church
caption_attribution_description: English: St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church, Columbus, Ohio; view of the nave and sanctuary from the organ loft
context_page_description: Italian Village is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, that contains an array of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. It is a designated historic district, known for its historical and cultural preservation. The building types and architecture reflect Italian influence. With its parks and preserved historic homes, Italian Village has the highest home value appreciation in Columbus.
  Italian Village is part of the Short North area. The neighboring Downtown district provides access to major employers, cultural and learning institutions, and entertainment venues.
context_section_description: Though Italian Village was a mixed ethnic area, it may have received its name from St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church. The church was founded in 1896 and subsequently built two years later. It became the main landmark and most distinguishing feature of Italian Village. St. John's drew members were mostly from the Columbus’ Italian immigrant population, including the St. Clair Avenue neighborhood, Flytown, Grandview, and Marble Cliff areas.  The mission of the church was to bring Italian immigrants together and give them opportunity to worship in their native language and with the practices familiar to them from their earlier lives in Italy.  St. John's became the center of the Italian Catholic community. In keeping with Italian Catholic tradition still alive today, parishioners would walk to church in major processions on the feast day of St. John the Baptist and other feast days that were celebrated in their native Italian hometowns.  Italian is still spoken in the halls after Mass at St. John the Baptist Church, but the congregation's American-born generations are replacing their native Italian predecessors.
caption: The nave of St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church.
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