Our History

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On 20 June 1870, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Augustus M. Toebbe, the second Bishop of Covington, established the fifth Catholic Parish in the City of Covington, and placed it under the titular care of his patron saint – Saint Augustine.  The new St. Augustine Church (a combined building of church and school) was dedicated on 16 October 1870… it was located on Augustine Street.  Over the course of 40 years the parish outgrew it’s first building and relocated to 19th Street where in 1913 construction of a new church was begun -  Bishop Camillus Maes, the third Bishop of Covington, solemnly dedicated the new building on 20 December 1914. The total cost to construct the new building was $106,074.53.  The new school building quickly followed and was dedicated on 10 September 1916, with a price tag of $39,498.30.  In 1953, the gymnasium (which also houses two classrooms) was added to the campus.  The last ‘major’ renovation of the church occurred in the 1970s following the Second Vatican Council.  Since that time, repairs have occurred as needed. 

 

In the almost 150 years of its existence, St. Augustine Parish, has served as the concrete reminder of God’s presence in the world and of His love for His people.  Many priests have served to care for the temporal and spiritual needs of the people of the Peaselburg Neighborhood of Covington.  Thirteen of them acting as the pastor:

 

1. †Father L. Neumaier (1870 – 1871)

2. †Father Joseph Goebbels (1871 – 1877)

3. Father William Robbers (1877 – 1879)

4. †Father Clement Jesse (1879 – 1883)

5. †Father Paul Abeln (1883 – 1911)

6. †Father William Kathman (1911 – 1926)

7. †Monsignor Charles Woeste (1926 – 1957)

8. †Monsignor Joseph Lubrecht (1957 – 1977)

9. †Father Joseph Broering (1977 – 1987)

10. †Monsignor Donald Hellmann (1987 – 1992)

11. †Father Leo Schmidt (1992 – 2015)

12. Father Thomas Dorn, Parochial Administrator (2015 – 2017)

13. Father Daniel Schomaker (2017 – present)