Father Frank Zanni, 69, of Youngstown, peacefully passed away on Friday evening, surround by loved ones. Father Zanni will always be remembered for his humbleness, generosity, leadership and devotion to his family, parishioners and friends.
Father Zanni was born March 13, 1955, in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, to Louis and Irene (Cipro) Zanni and came from a family of six other siblings. He was the oldest son of the five boys, and at the age of two his family moved to Lowellville and his family then moved to Struthers when he was three years old. The family made their home on Morrison Street in Struthers, close to the schools and the church of St. Nicholas, where his family were lifelong members and where he attended grade school for eight years, graduating in 1969.
After graduating from St. Nicholas school, he and his siblings attended and graduated from Struthers High School, just a few blocks from their home. He graduated in 1973 and was employed at the time for the Stambaugh-Thompson Company as a stock boy at the Boardman Plaza store. He began seeking a career in Advertising and Public Relations at YSU, in the fall of 1973. With an area of concentration compatible to retail business, Father Zanni was elevated to the company’s Advertising Department in 1978, eventually becoming the Stambaugh-Thompson Company’s assistant advertising manager.
He kept that position until 1982, when he felt drawn to the priesthood. He entered minor seminary at The Pontifical College Josephium in Columbus, Ohio, in the fall of 1982. With one year of courses transferred from YSU, Father Zanni graduated in May of 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts. He went on to Mount Saint Mary’s of the West (The Athenaeum) in Cincinnati, in 1985, where he embarked on a five-year program that begun his final journey to the priesthood. After two years of theological study at the Athenaeum, Father Zanni returned to the Diocese of Youngstown for a one-year parish internship. He was assigned to Our Lady of Peace (now Christ the Servant Parish) in Canton, under the pastorate of the late Father John Nentwick. In the fall of 1988, he returned to the Athenaeum for his final two years of study. On December 9, 1989, Father Zanni was ordained a transitional deacon by the late Auxiliary Bishop Benedict Franzetta at St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown.
On June 9, 1990, Father Zanni was ordained to the priesthood by the late Bishop James Malone at St. Columba Cathedral. His first assignment as an associate pastor was at St. Patrick Parish in Hubbard, from 1990 to 1995, under the pastorates of the late Father Thomas Murphy and the late Father Tim O’Neill. In 1995, Father Zanni was assigned to St. Luke’s Church (now St. Catherine of Siena Parish) in Boardman under the pastorate of the late Father Joseph Fata from 1995 to 1996. In 1996, Father Zanni was assigned to St. Rose Parish in Girard, under the pastorate of the late Monsignor Martin Susko. In the fall of 1998, Father Zanni was assigned to his first (and only) pastorate by Bishop Thomas Tobin at St. Vincent DePaul Church in Vienna. In 2010, St. Vincent de Paul in Vienna merged with St. Bernadette Church in Masury, creating a new parish under the patronage of St. Thomas the Apostle. The merger process was a seven-year undertaking that also led to the construction of the new St. Thomas the Apostle Church, which was dedicated on the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle on July 3, 2016, by the late Bishop George Murry.
Father Zanni retired from active ministry on May 30, 2021, after almost 31 years in the priesthood and 23 years as pastor in Vienna. In his 31 years of service to the diocese, Father Zanni was assigned to be on the diocesan Priests’ Council three times under three different Bishops, he was on the Bishop’s Counselors Board, the Diocesan Worship Commission, he was the Dean of Trumbull County, and in the past, he was spiritual advisor to the Ursuline Sister’s AIDS ministry. He was also involved in the local ecumenical outreach to area churches in Vienna. He helped plan and participated in the Ecumenical Thanksgivings Service every year and, through his leadership, had St. Thomas the Apostle Church host the Lenten Luncheons on the Wednesdays of Lent where pastors from various Christian churches spoke each week, including the chaplain at the Youngstown Air Base.
He is survived by two sisters, Virginia (John) Gordon of Delaware, Ohio, Carol of Palm Harbor, Florida, and two brothers—David of Chillicothe, Ohio, and Steven (Emily) of Chicago, Illinois. He is also survived by countless friends throughout his life that became so close in love and friendship to him, that he considered them part of his family, including his best friend of over 30 years Milan Paurich. He will be sadly missed by all. Father Zanni is preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Irene, two brothers; Father James Zanni and John Zanni, fourteen aunts and uncles and several cousins—all from the Zanni and Cipro families.
Family and friends may pay their respects to Father Zanni at Vespers on Wednesday evening, February 19, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at. St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 4453 Warren-Sharon Road in Vienna. There will be additional time to pay respects to Father Zanni on Thursday morning, February 20, from 11 a.m. until 11:45 a.m.—also at St. Thomas the Apostle—where a Funeral Mass will follow at noon with Bishop Bonnar as celebrant. Internment will take place later that day at St. John the Baptist Cemetery in Coitsville, where he will join many members of his family.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the St. Thomas the Apostle Church mortgage fund: 4453 Warren-Sharon Road, Vienna, OH, 44473. They can also be made to the Ursuline Sisters AIDS Ministry.
