1952

Fr. Koenig, suffering from a heart ailment, was given a year's leave of absence in 1952, and Fr. Werner, a Dominican, was appointed as temporary administrator of the parish.  In September a Diocesan priest, Fr. Raymond Haun, was appointed to assist on Sundays and Holydays.  He remained in this position for seventeen years until he became pastor.  Permission was granted at this time to add a fourth Mass.  By the following year, the parish had grown to 195 families.  Four sisters were teaching 173 pupils, 29 of them from nearby parishes which had no schools.

1953

On June 25, 1954, Fr. Charles Murphy was appointed to replace Fr. Koenig as pastor.  The school now had 215 students in eight grades.  Mrs. Leona Osner was hired as the first lay person on the staff.  That year St. Susanna cooperated with three neighboring parishes to obtain bus transportation for young people who wished to attend Fenwick High School in Middletown.  Two classrooms were added to the school by installing partitions in the basement.  Permission was granted to have an evening Mass on Holydays.

1956

A mission conducted by Fr. Matthias, C.P., was held March 11-25, 1956. 

1958

In May, Fr. Murphy was replaced by Fr. William Bucheit.  By now the church was overcrowded at all Masses, and it was evident something had to be done.  Plans were drawn for a one story addition to the school, to be used as a church.  These plans were approved in December, 1957, but later altered.  Instead, a two story addition was built, housing a church in the upper level with a cafeteria and future classroom space below.  The new building was begun in 1958 after Fr. Bernard had become pastor. 

The students of St. Susanna school, wishing to provide a gift for the new church, used their 1958-59 sales tax receipts for this purpose.  (At that time, consumers received stamps from retailers to denote the amount of Ohio sales tax that was added to their purchases.  Schools could collect these stamps and redeem them for cash from the State.)  The children decided to have a statue carved in wood to represent St. Susanna.  The statue was originally in the church but was later moved to the Parish Center (where it stands in 1988).

In twenty years (1958), the parish had grown from 50 families to 302 families.  319 pupils were being instructed by seven teachers in as many classrooms.

1959

The new church was dedicated on September 13, 1959 by Bishop Paul Liebold.  Msgr. Schneider, our first administrator, preached the sermon.  Seating capacity of the new church was 525, compared to 120 in the old one, which was now converted into two classrooms.  Estimated cost of the whole project was $120,000. 

1960

A Mission led by Franciscan Fr. Leonard Foley was held February 14-28, 1960.  It consisted of talks for both young people and adults.  Permission was granted that year to deviate from Archdiocesan policy and allow a recording of bells to be played from the bell tower instead of real bells.  This was possible because the church was a temporary one, not expected to be used for very long.  Permission was also granted for St. Susanna teenagers to attend Mt. Notre Dame and Moeller High Schools. 

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