The Gesu Church community was founded in 1920 to minister to people living in new neighborhoods in Toledo near Ottawa Park.
The current church building is the third structure used as a church in the history of the parish.
Built and decorated between 1956 and 1963 under the direction of priests from the Society of Jesus, it incorporates traditional elements with contemporary architecture and art to create a beautiful and unique space for worshipping God that still inspires today.
Christ the Priest
The Centerpiece of our Church is an image of Christ the Priest offering the Eucharist, his own body and blood, to the people present.
Immediately below the image is the tabernacle, where the Eucharistic is kept after Mass in order to have on hand for adoration and to take Communion to the sick and dying.
Mary, Queen of the Rosary
To the right of the main altar is the Marian altar.
As Jesus’ mother, Mary holds a special place in the Christian tradition with the title of Mother of God. The statue of Mary in our church is surrounded by an artistic representation of the Rosary to honor her as Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, her title as the patroness of the Catholic Diocese of Toledo.
Sacred Heart of Jesus
To the left of the main altar is an altar dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Devotion to Jesus in his humanity, especially his Sacred Heart, is an important part of both the Jesuit and the Salesian traditions of our parish. Based upon visions by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Sister of the Visitation, we remember that Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine.
Shrine of St. Joseph
In the back corner of the church, next to the Reconciliation Room, is a shrine dedicated to St. Joseph.
As the earthly “foster father” of Jesus, the Church holds St. Joseph in very high regard. He taught Jesus his carpentry skills and took care of him and Mary as he grew up. The three of them together make up what we call “the Holy Family.” The shrine includes votive candles for the devotion of parishioners and visitors.
St. Ignatius of Loyola
As our parish was founded by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), our church contains a shrine to St. Ignatius Loyola, their founder.
Originally from the Basque Country of Spain, Ignatius experienced a conversion following a battlefield injury that led him to gather a group of men around himself who eventually became the Jesuit order. His shrine contains a portrait of St. Ignatius, a plaque explaining his life, and a relic for veneration.
St. Francis de Sales and
St. Jane de Chantal
Our parish is currently administered by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.
As such, there is also a shrine to Sts. Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal, two essential people to the order’s identity. There is a portrait and relic for veneration in the shrine.