Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
a.k.a., St. Mary's

The First church in the vicinity of Morning View was situated on the Kentucky Central Railroad at a site known as Mullins Station. The church was originally known as St. Benedict Church, and was visited monthly by Benedictine Fathers of St. Joseph Priory, Covington, until the beginning of May, 1873. The first baptism of record at Morning View is dated December 25, 1869, and was administered by Reverend Aemilian Wendel, O.S.B.

The church had been built under the direction of Father Aemilian. The last of the Benedictine Fathers to attend the mission was Reverend Gabriel Guerster, O.S.B. In 1873, diocesan priests were placed in charge of the congregation, Reverend Charles Excel, formerly the pastor of Augusta, being appointed as the first resident pastor on June 15, 1873. By the first of August, 1873, Father Excel had built a parish house and was making plans for a parish school. Father Excel's pastorate continued until 1874.

The church continued to be known as St. Benedict Church until 1886, when a new church was built and dedicated under the title of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1887, the Assumption Parish school was established, and continued in existence until 1901.

In 1914, the congregation took under consideration the erection of a new church near the Morning View Railroad Station. A farm was acquired, and the same year Reverend Joseph Haustermann moved from the priest's house at the old site into the more suitable home on the farm which had been recently obtained. The present Assumption Church was then built, and the adjoining parish cemetery laid off. In December, 1917, during the pastorate of Father Henry Gellenbeck, the priest's house was destroyed by fire. The present two-story frame residence was thereafter erected. Until the new home was ready for occupancy, Father Gellenbeck took up residence at St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Among the pastors who have served Assumption Parish at Morning View, the pastorates of Reverend Joseph Meiwes and of Reverend Henry Gellenbeck have been the longest, each extending over a period of about twenty years.

Assumption Parish at Morning View, a typical rural parish, at present has about seventy families.

excerpted from the History of the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky, on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Diocese, 1853-1953, by the Rev. Paul Ryan