Bishop David J. Bonnar stressed the roles of faith, hope and love in the past, present and future at the 80th Anniversary Mass for the Diocese of Youngstown, celebrated at 4 p.m. on June 25 in St. Columba Cathedral.
Before and after Mass, many of the approximately 200 people who attended—including about 40 clergy, many of whom, the bishop pointed out, had already celebrated four or five masses that Sunday—visited a new collection of diocesan artifacts whose temporary quarters are the conference room of the administration building.
At the reception following Mass, many also partook of the hors d’oeuvres and sweets served in tents at the corner of West Wood and Elm streets.
In his homily, Bishop Bonnar touched on the history of the diocese from its start in 1817, when 17 people gathered in Columbiana County. He also mentioned the “ruin” of the original St. Columba Cathedral on September, 2, 1954, when a lightning bolt started a fire that consumed the building. He acknowledged the faithful at St. Patrick Parish in Hubbard, also affected by fire, “as they wait in hope to return to their beloved church.”
The bishop said that faith, hope and love “enable Christians to be in communion with the Holy Trinity.” As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, he added, “The theological virtues dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have God for their origin, their motive and their object—God known by faith, God hoped in and loved for His own sake.”
He went on to proclaim, “Jesus desires that we all share in the abundance of this life, for he says, ‘I come that you might have life and have it abundantly’ (John 10:10). In practicing the virtues of faith, hope and love, we come to know God and this abundant life.”
He explained, “At the same time, in living out these spiritual habits of the heart in this secular world with its many shadows of evil, we come to know at times resistance, scorn and even persecution. In fact, many of our ancestors in the faith have been persecuted and even martyred for their uncompromising conviction to be women and men of faith, hope and love.”
Bishop Bonnar concluded, “How blessed we are through our baptism to be inextricably linked to the Triune God and one another. How blessed we are to stand on the shoulders of those before us, who paved the way and built bridges to a deeper relationship with God through practicing the virtues of faith, hope and love.”
He stated, “As we prepare to receive our Lord today in the Holy Eucharist like our brothers and sisters before us, let us be grateful. And let us ask that through our reception of the Eucharist, our faith may be strengthened, our hope encouraged and our love deepened so that we can go forth and heed the call of Jesus to, ‘Go, therefore, make disciples of the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.’ And, yes, let us, especially in tough times, continue to trust in the Lord Jesus who is with us until the end of the age.”
Bishop Bonnar paid homage to previous bishops as he celebrated the special 80th anniversary service. He wore a ring belonging to the first bishop, James McFadden, who served the diocese from 1943-1952; used a St. Michael crozier that belonged to Bishop Emmet Walsh, 1952-1968; carried a Celtic pectoral cross from Bishop James Malone, 1968-1995; carried a SS. Peter and Paul Medal from Bishop Thomas Tobin, 1995-2005; and held a wooden crozier that had been the pastoral staff of Bishop George Murry, 2007-2020.
The contributions of Auxiliary Bishops William Hughes and Benedict Franzetta, and of Monsignor Robert Siffrin, who served twice as diocesan administrator.
Included in the program for the Mass was “An Irish Blessing,” a favorite of Bishop Malone. It begins, “May the blessing of light be with you—like outside and light within,” and ends, “May the earth rest so lightly over you that your spirit may be out from under it quickly, and up, and off, and on its way to God.”
Director of diocesan music Ralph Holtzhauser played the organ and conducted the choir and Christine Langer cantored the Mass. Instrumentalists for the event were Joseph Carrier, Zach Peaslee and John Veneskey. Music included the tune St. Columba with text by Josh Mansfield, commissioned for the ordination of Bishop Bonnar, as well as St. Columba Suite: VI. Fugue—And So Through All the Length of Days by Michael Emmerich.
Bishop Bonnar encouraged those attending to visit the temporary archives in the administration building, saying, “It is important that we keep telling these stories. That is why establishing a diocesan archives with a professional staff is so important. For if we stop telling our story, we risk becoming irrelevant and weaken the fabric of our Church.”
The bishop added, “as if that exhibit is not enough, we are so blessed to have with us today a living exhibit, Monsignor James Kolp, who has been a priest 73 years of the 80 that this diocese has existed.”
The theme of the archival display is “80 years of Faith, Hope and Love.” The archives staff consists of Joan Lawson, chancellor and archivist; Hannah Klacik, assistant archivist; Father Robert Lanterman, archives clerk; and Daniel LaPolla and Craig Ziobert, seminarian interns.
Documents on display include a hand-colored parchment in Latin, officially creating the diocese and signed by Pope Pius X, vintage photos of various groups, including wedding parties, and pages from The Catholic Exponent and The Vindicator and its predecessor, The Youngstown Vindicator.
There is a bumper sticker from the era of steel mill closings, imploring readers to “Save Our Valley” by supporting the Mahoning Valley Ecumenical Coalition. It is located alongside a photograph of a United Steelworkers of America meeting. Also displayed is a pamphlet featuring an impish Bishop Malone looking out from its pages and asking, “What can the Diocese of Youngstown possibly do for you?” His answer is “Plenty!”
And the archives would not have been complete without a miniature trowl marking the April 12, 1959, reopening of St. Columba after the fire. Bishop McFadden’s rococo desk, chair and lamp are there in all their glory. There is also an antique electric communion wafer press from St. Stanislaus Church as well as a sign that acknowledges the festivals, fish fries, pierogis and spaghetti dinners important to so many area churches.
Monsignor Siffrin called the archives a “blessing” in that “history remains alive.” He was one of many who mentioned the possibility of a more permanent home for the collection.
Joan Lawson, the archivist, noted that the collection shows parishes as “centers of community life.” So much of the archives, she observed, “shows that the churches make sure that others are taken care of.”
Bill Lawson, the executive director of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, admitted his bias (his wife is archivist), but commented that “the original artifacts really draw you in—which is what museums are all about.’ He called the collection a “working, living archive” and a “space for the public to interact.”
“I liked it! We got to see all the old pictures from way, way back that I wouldn’t have otherwise seen,” said Elton Burke, an eight-year-old graduate of the Ursuline Preschool, who is about to enter the third grade at St. Charles Elementary School. He attended the Mass with his mother, Jenny Burke, who lives in Boardman and attends St. Charles Borromeo Parish. Despite having attended parochial schools, she said she was “amazed that so much history was new to me.”
Sister Mary Brendan Zajac, who served the diocesan parochial school system from 1993 through 2006 as first assistant superintendent and then executive director of pastoral and educational services, reported that she was aware of a separate set of historical artifacts nearby. Now assistant academic dean of Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Wickliffe, where many Youngstown area seminarians receive their training, Sister Mary explained that she and others were responsible for burying a time capsule near the large bell at the front of St. Columba. It is to be opened in 2043 on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the diocese.
“I would hope people in 20 years will remember generations past that became a part of history. I hope we remember their legacy and the legacy of this building in very, very difficult times,” Sister Mary said. Despite difficulties, she observed, “People persevered in their faith and in their commitment to the church.”
