The origins of St. Joseph Calasanctius Parish can be traced back to the 1850s. At the time, Catholicism was still largely persecuted in America, but the Catholic community in Jefferson requested a Mass from Bishop Joshua Young of Erie, Pennsylvania. On May 24, 1858, Bishop Young answered their plea and held the first Mass for the local Catholics at the Stoekel Farm apple orchard, establishing the Catholic community as a mission. Over the following decade, the burgeoning community was only able to receive irregular Masses from visiting missionaries, but they continued to grow.
In 1869, Father J.P. Thorpe, pastor to the young mission, oversaw the beginning of a dedicated church building, under the patronage of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was dedicated in September of the same year. Unfortunately, however, the anti-Catholic sentiments in the area lingered, and the church was burned down by an arsonist after only six months. But the faith of the community only grew stronger in the wake of this tragedy, and they immediately began plans to build a new church.
Soon afterward, Father Thorpe purchased the land on which the current parish still resides and began work on a new church building. Six years later, the second church building was dedicated to St. Joseph Calasanctius on his feast day, August 27 (since changed to August 25), under the pastorate of Father Conway. In 1880, the parish received its first resident pastor, Father William Finucan, though several priests came and went in quick succession, serving brief pastorates.
With the arrival of Father John Rhein in 1907, the parish received its first long-term pastor. Over his 14-year pastorate, Father Rhein saved about $23,000 towards construction of a new church building, as the parish was growing. It wasn’t until the arrival of Father Edward Spitzig, Father Rhein’s successor as pastor, in 1921 that plans were drawn up for the current building and additional funding was acquired.
Three years later, Bishop Joseph Schrembs of the Diocese of Cleveland—alongside the parish community—laid the cornerstone of the new church on July 6, 1924, which was completed and dedicated nine months later on April 2, 1925. The current church, built in the warm and rustic Spanish Romanesque style, seats up to 300 parishioners, and was adorned with dazzling classical stained-glass windows.
The church has seen its share of changes and renovations over its century-long history, most notably with alterations in accordance with the new Vatican II guidelines.
In 1943, Bishop James McFadden of the newly formed Diocese of Youngstown invited the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate—also known as the Oblate Fathers, a religious community especially dedicated to serving the poor and abandoned—to staff the parish. The Oblate Fathers served the parish until 1980, when diocesan priests began to serve as pastors once again.
In 1944, two missions of St. Joseph Parish were formed: Our Lady of Victory in Andover and St. Patrick Parish in Kinsman. St. Joseph pastors ministered to these missions until they eventually became parishes of their own in 1959. Another mission, Sacred Heart Parish, was formed the following year, 1960, in Rock Creek.
Oblate of Mary Immaculate Father Arthur King became pastor of St. Joseph Parish in September of 1976, the final Oblate priest to serve the parish. By the time he arrived, the parish was in need of substantial renovations—particularly the altar, which was in disrepair. At the request of Bishop James Malone, Father King saw the church restored with a new altar and other updates. When Father King left the parish in 1980, the parish was once again ministered by diocesan priests.
In 2002, it was announced that the parish would begin sharing its pastor with St. Andrew Bobola Parish in Kingsville. But since then, St. Joseph Calasanctius Parish was “separated” from St. Andrew Bobola Parish and then connected with the newly merged Our Lady of Hope Parish, which consists of Our Lady of Victory Church in Andover and St. Patrick in Kinsman.
This change required several updates and renovations at St. Joseph Calasanctius Parish, as its current pastor, Father John Ettinger, needed a rectory. The parish’s rectory was being used to house its offices. Thus, the offices were relocated to the Cassidy Center, located behind the parish, and the building was converted back into a functioning rectory, with many repairs and renovations being made to both buildings.
Mike Penzenik, project coordinator and administrative assistant, and the rest of the parish community, have been working hard to bring attendance back to pre-COVID levels. For example, they have redesigned their website for easier use, reinstituted a free community meal once a month, restarted adult faith formation, and also adopted Flocknote, an online platform that allows administrators to send text and email communication, process donations, organize events and manage volunteers.
But according to Penzenik, one of the most effective strategies they’ve implemented to bring people back into the fold is to simply reach out to wayward parishioners. “Every time we have the opportunity to actually get people together again to see what it felt like to be together seems to help the group to grow,” Penzenik said.
That’s a lot of activity for any parish to take on, but thanks to these efforts, many of the parish’s ministries have recovered to pre-pandemic attendance rates.
Parish leadership has been striving to involve their whole community in planning for the 100th anniversary of their church building, so they hung a banner on the edifice earlier this year and sent out a survey to all parishioners to get their ideas and suggestions for events and activities.
So far, the parish plans to mark the occasion by: creating a series of displays from their archives showcasing the parish’s long history; planting a tree adjacent to the church’s cornerstone; and hosting a celebratory dinner with guest speakers, including Father Shawn Conoboy—currently serving an assignment at the Vatican—whose home parish is St. Joseph Calasanctius. Bishop David Bonnar will also offer a Mass at the parish on August 18, the week before the feast day of the parish’s patron saint.
“I know our anniversary is something that our parishioners are excited about, and I think partly it’s looking at our history but also so as to focus on our mission as well,” Father Ettinger said. “Anything that helps celebrate this place as a place where people encounter God and go out and share God’s message with others is important to the community.”
“The Holy Spirit is definitely alive here and moving among the people, and it is such a gift. That is our strength,” added Penzenik.
“It’s definitely our plan to remain alive and to remain steeped in the faith, strong in our faith, close to Jesus, and trying very hard to trust in Him as we move forward.”
Visit jeffersoncatholic.com for more details as plans for the anniversary are finalized.
