IMMACULATA

A week ago today was Good Friday. On that day there is a tradition in Cincinnati that has survived for 149 years. Here is how it began.

In the 1850's, the Archbishop of Cincinnati, John Purcell, was traveling back to the States from a visit to Rome. His ship got caught in a violent storm and he prayed and promised God that if he made it back he would build a church on the highest hill in Cincinnati to honor the Immaculate Conception. He not only built the church on Mount Adams called Immaculata, but in 1860 hired the Verdin Company of Cincinnati to build a 1600 pound bell for its steeple (later, in 1903 they added two more bells - one 900 and one 500 pounds). These bells bless Mount Adams three times a day, every day of the year except Good Friday.

To provide additional access to the church from St. Gregory Street below, a concrete stairway of 94 steps was built. It is on these steps that each year on Good Friday Christians pray as they make their way to the top. For many, it is a new prayer on each step. People come from all over the Midwest. Rain or shine, starting at midnight, about 10,000 make the pilgrimage annually.
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