MARIA STEIN — St. John the Baptist Catholic Church has selected Freytag & Associates, Inc. to design a new church building in Maria Stein.
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The Sidney firm was chosen to lead the project following the 2025 fire and structural collapse of the parish’s historic church.
The 175-year-old church was destroyed after a fire in May 2025 and a subsequent structural collapse on Dec. 29, 2025.
High winds and instability caused the west wall to fail, prompting a controlled demolition in early January to mitigate safety risks to State Route 119.
The parish Building and Architect Committees chose the Sidney-based firm following an extensive national search that began in August 2025.
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The selection process included multiple rounds of interviews, site visits, and proposal reviews conducted in collaboration with the Archdiocese.
Freytag & Associates will partner with William Heyer of Columbus, who will serve as a liturgical consultant for the project.
The design process will follow the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ document “Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture and Worship.”
This guidance provides the framework for art and architecture in Catholic worship spaces.
Parish leadership stated the goal is to create a future church home that honors its 175-year history while serving future generations.
While the main structure was lost, salvage teams preserved several historical elements during the demolition process.
Recovered items include stained glass windows, organ pipes, the original cornerstone, and historic markers.
Workers also recovered elements of the sandstone façade.
Additional site mitigation and material recovery efforts are expected to continue for several weeks.
A meeting for parishioners is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 22, at 6:30 p.m. at the Marion Local High School Gym.
The gathering is intended to introduce the architect team, provide updates on anticipated timelines, and receive input from the parish. More information will be released to the media following the meeting.
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