Although Newton Falls’ St. Mary and St. Joseph Parish began as two distinct parishes, they’ve always been closely connected—even before they were officially merged in 2008.
Celebrating their centennial anniversary this year, the story of St. Mary and St. Joseph truly begins in 1922, when a committee of Newton Falls’ Catholic residents requested spiritual consideration from Most Reverend Joseph Schrembs, then Archbishop of Cleveland.
Upon hearing that there was a Catholic community in the village, Archbishop Schrembs consented to their request for individualized spiritual guidance and gave them permission to approach the pastor of St. Mary Church in nearby Warren, Father Emil Schraider.
And so it was that on July 9, 1922, that the first official Catholic entity sprang to life in Newton Falls with a Mass celebrated by Father Schraider, signaling the birth of the Newton Falls mission. With the continued aid of priests from neighboring cities, the mission continued to grow in the following months, culminating in the arrival of its first resident pastor, Father Francis Tomanek, in September of the same year.
By January 1923, Father Tomanek and his congregation had established a chapel in a rented building on Broad Street, with the first Mass being celebrated there four days later. The mission was officially designated St. Joseph Parish on February 27, 1923.
A site for the parish’s future church was immediately selected and purchased—work on the site progressed so quickly that the cornerstone was laid just a few months later on June 10. On Christmas Eve that same year, the church was officially blessed, with the first Mass taking place that night.
St. Joseph continued to expand in the subsequent years and decades, and other facilities were added to the parish community, including 15 acres of land for a Catholic cemetery in November 1924, a rectory for the parish pastor in 1925, and a new mission for the parish—St. Catherine’s in Lake Milton in 1926.
Decades later, the parish’s congregation had grown to the point where a larger church building was required. Father Albert Klein, St. Joseph’s pastor from 1946 to 1966, approached Bishop Emmet Walsh with plans for a larger church building. Construction on the new building began shortly after his approval. The new church on West Quarry Street, which is now the site of St. Mary and St. Joseph Parish, was dedicated on September 15, 1957, with the former building continuing to serve as the Parish Center and Religious Education Office.
Nearly a decade later in 1966, the next significant expansion of St. Joseph’s community came in the form of the Catholic Elementary School—a joint endeavor with St. Mary’s. The school, serving students from preschool through junior high, was renamed Saints Mary and Joseph School in the mid-1980s.
However, the dawn of the new millennium would bring struggles for their faith community, as the Mahoning Valley saw a precipitous population decline. St. Mary and St. Joseph parishes, joined as they always were by their shared history—not to mention the school—aimed to combat these struggles by pooling their resources.
In July 1994, the parishes became linked and shared a single pastor, forming a joint parish council. Eventually, in 2008, the decision was made to officially merge the parishes—St. Joseph church was to become the home of St. Mary and St. Joseph Parish.
Saints Mary and Joseph School closed in 2011, due to declining enrollment. A series of other events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, caused challenges for the parish in the subsequent decade, resulting in a downward trend in Mass attendance.
“People are trickling back,” said Marc Bjelac, a parishioner and member of the parish’s anniversary committee.
The centennial anniversary brought a much-needed spark back to parish life, showing that the parish’s community remains strong and faithful. The first anniversary event was a Mass of Thanksgiving with Bishop Bonnar on March 5, which had several hundred people in attendance and raised nearly $10,000 for the parish.
“We [now] have those resources to use for these other events,” Bjelac said. “We had tentative plans, but as you’re collecting that money you’re coming up with other events and activities to use that money properly and efficiently.”
The mood during the celebration, according to Bjelac, was extremely positive. “It seemed like they were reconnecting,” Bjelac said. “Some of them spoke of coming back to this church, coming back to their roots. A lot of them were thankful to have the opportunity to celebrate with old friends and family.”
Tina Thompson, secretary of St. Mary and St. Joseph Parish and a recent transplant from a parish in Warren, said that the community at St. Mary and St. Joseph has “become like another family.”
“The people here have been very welcoming,” she said. “It feels like home.”
The committee has noticed an uptick in attendance since the Mass of Thanksgiving. They are planning to use this renewal of interest and the positivity surrounding the centennial, as well as the money raised by the community, to expand the scope of other anniversary events throughout the rest of the year. They also want to invest more in youth ministry, which they hope will get more young families involved with the parish.
“The most important [question] about all of this, the 100-year anniversary, is what will we be next year and thereon?” Bjelac said. “We want to use this as a springboard. It’s St. Joseph’s anniversary but it’s St. Mary and St. Joseph’s future. People are looking forward to what’s next.”
Centennial celebrations have also included a Memorial Day Mass in the chapel of St. Joseph Cemetery, a float in the Newton Falls’ July 4 parade and the parish held a potluck picnic featuring live music and kids’ activities.
To learn about upcoming centennial anniversary activities, call 330-872-5742.
