The 80th anniversary of the Society of St. Paul in Canfield this year seems a fitting time to highlight the community’s decades-long commitment to spreading the Gospel via multimedia—a cherished gift it has given to the people of the Youngstown Diocese and beyond.
On May 18, Bishop David Bonnar celebrated the anniversary Mass at St. Paul Monastery, where the community of religious brothers and priests, commonly known as the “Paulines,” live.
“What we celebrate today is the vision of this religious community and its members working in collaboration with the leadership of the Diocese of Youngstown,” the bishop said, “We celebrate a religious community who knows Jesus and the Gospel and has never hesitated to use every way possible, in the technological realm, keeping up with the times, to share the good news of Jesus Christ. They continue to tell this great story and share this great vision in this portion of the Lord’s vineyard—and beyond.”
He thanked the leaders of the Pauline community in Canfield, present and past, “for sharing with us what it means to know Jesus and to share Him with the rest of the world.”
Several generations of Catholics have been drawn to the serene setting of St. Paul Monastery’s 350 acres in Canfield/Ellsworth Township.
“It’s a wonderful place,” said Pauline Father Matthew Roehrig, provincial superior of the Society of St. Paul. “I’ve always enjoyed this place. It’s wide open and peaceful. It’s quite a prayerful place, and I’ve enjoyed my time being out here, and I know so many others have enjoyed coming here over the past 80 years.”
The property was originally owned by the Ursuline Sisters and consisted mostly of farmland. The Ursuline Sisters sold the land to the Society of St. Paul so that they could move closer to the diocesan offices inYoungstown. The first Paulines arrived on the property on May 9, 1944.
The Paulines were founded in Italy in 1914, by Brother James Alberione, a priest of the Diocese of Alba, Italy, with a charism focused on communications and spreading the Gospel through multimedia. They were brought to the United States by Father Francis Borrano through Staten Island, New York, in 1937.
He had no money and spoke no English but traveled around the eastern part of the country, ministering to Italian parishes.
Father Borrano preached to several Italian missions in the Diocese of Cleveland in the 1930s and ’40s and met Bishop James McFadden, the first bishop of the Diocese Youngstown.
Bishop McFadden was inspired by Father Borrano and traveled to Staten Island, extending an invitation for the Society of St. Paul to come to the newly formed Diocese of Youngstown.
Priests, brothers, novices and three Daughters of St. Paul were sent to help establish a community and to launch their apostolic initiatives in the Diocese of Youngstown. The Daughters of St. Paul were eventually replaced by the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master to care for the priests, brothers and novices and bring their own spirituality to the property.
A chapel was established in the barn on the property, and many statues were erected on the grounds, including Mary Queen of Apostles, Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Paul. They also erected a Saint Anthony Shrine, which caught fire, but they installed a new one in the late 1950s. It still stands today.
The Saint Anthony of the Wayside shrine still attracts many visitors, as it is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Within a year of the Society of St. Paul arriving in Canfield, a new print shop was built so that the novices and members could launch a variety of print, audio and video projects.
The print shop was the beginning of the Society of St. Paul’s core method of evangelization through communications.
It’s what attracted Father Roehrig to the order 40-some years ago.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Father Roehrig was a communications/journalism major at Morehead State University. In 1977, he went to Staten Island as a novice and was ordained by Youngstown Auxiliary Bishop Benedict Franzetta in 1984 at the Society of St. Paul Monastery.
“There’s been a lot of memories,” Father Roehrig said.
The Society of St. Paul created Catholic Home Messenger magazine in 1946, which reached a national circulation of nearly 200,000 before ceasing publication in 1968. In 1953, the order published Pastoral Life magazine for priests, and beginning in 1968, it launched Alba House Communications to produce cassettes, filmstrips and records.
In the early 1980s, the Society of St. Paul and the Diocese of Youngstown entered into an agreement, whereby the Paulines would lease studio space and provide expertise to the diocese for its new initiative, Catholic Television Network of Youngstown (CTNY) and the Ecumenical Television Channel (ETC). With the new collaboration, Catholics and other viewers soon had religious programming available to them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including liturgical events from St. Columba Cathedral, the Mass for Shut-ins (in English and Spanish), the Holy Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, Jewish-Christian Dialogue, Wineskins radio reflections and much more—with hundreds of interviews with bishops, clergy, religious and laity. The programs earned the diocese many national and international media awards, which were shared by the Society of St. Paul.
In the 1970s, they established Alba House bookstores at the Southern Park Mall in Boardman, at the Eastwood Mall in Niles
and near Belden Village in Canton. Today, one bookstore remains, back on the grounds at the monastery.
Recent featured sections at the bookstore include the Eucharistic Revival, a Spanish-language area, a children’s corner and various Bibles. “It’s such a wonderful place to work,” said Dee Tripp, a regular volunteer at the bookstore. “I enjoy meeting the people who come in. It seems like I learn something every single day, whether it’s about the faith or Scriptures. People are fascinating to talk to.”
Tripp remembers coming to the monastery for retreats and regular Masses when she was in her 20s. It was in 2020 when she, along with Kim Coulter, Geri Decenso, Andrea Lutsi and Debbie Mistovich, known as the “Friends of St. Paul,” began volunteering in the bookstore.
“Once you visit the monastery, it kind of affects you for life,” Tripp said. “People come in the store and will reminisce about when they were in high school or [when their] Boy Scout group would go on retreats. They tell about the wonderful, positive influence that the priests and brothers have had on their lives and how very special that is to them.
“You run into people who have maybe moved away and they’re back visiting. They make it a point to come back to Saint Anthony Shrine. They talk about how special, meaningful and significant the monastery is to them. It’s a long-lasting impact. It’s fun to listen to them talk about it all,” she said.
The monastery remains the home for retired members of the congregation. At 69 years old, Father Roehrig is the youngest of the seven members living there.
“We enjoy the peacefulness of our community,” he said. “Sometimes, people might be driving by and wonder if anybody lives back here. We’re here and we’re doing what we can.”
Bishop Bonnar celebrated the Paulines’ anniversary Mass on May 18 and later that month, on the feast of Pentecost, the Paulines held a blessing for the new rosary garden on their grounds. Patty Durkin, one of the main backers of the project, meant to create another prayerful space like their stations of the cross and the Memorial to the Unborn.
Nearly 100 people regularly come to Sunday Mass at the monastery. It’s a tradition for its regular attendees, but also a convenient spot for people camping at Lake Milton, Father Roehrig said. In June, the congregation hosted its annual Saint Paul feast day picnic, attracting hundreds of people to the monastery.
As the Society of St. Paul in Canfield marks 80 years, the broader Pauline community also looks to the future. In 2023, the order established a new province in Mexico and Cuba, which also now includes the U.S. province (communities in Canfield, Michigan and New York). St. Paul’s Publishing still operates on Staten Island, and the worldwide influence of the Society of St. Paul continues to expand into ever-new communications initiatives reaching their global audience.
“We’re working together to ensure our longevity and hopefully continue to grow,” Father Roehrig said. “We still have our New York publishing house, which is aiming to drive new members. I’m excited about what we continue to do, and I’m looking forward to having new people come out and join us.”
With the hope of a growing congregation, the priests, brothers and laity involved with the monastery here hope that it will continue to grow and attract pilgrims looking for fulfilling ways to live out their faith.
“You go there for your spiritual guidance, which you clearly get, but then you form a friendship with the place and the people,” Tripp said.
