On the corner of Boardman Center, nestled in the hustle and bustle of one of the area’s biggest retail hubs, sits a quiet place to worship and practice the Catholic faith. The St. Charles community, now part of St. Catherine of Siena Parish, has a rich and unique history of ministry, service and community outreach that has now spanned a century.
The history of the parish begins in the 1700s when Boardman consisted of just 200 residents. During this time, members of Boardman Township began to meet in Boardman Town Hall for Mass. As the congregation grew, so did the need for more space. In 1926, Bishop Joseph Schrembs of the Cleveland Diocese purchased an acre of land on the northeast corner of Boardman Center for the growing congregation.
St. Charles, now part of St. Catherine of Siena Parish, has weathered several changes over the last century. In 1927, the parish community realized its need for not only a larger place of worship, but a school as well. St. Charles school opened that very year, and parishioners not only raised money for these updates—they helped build the facilities. Change continued over the years, and in January 2025, St. Charles merged with the St. Luke community to form St. Catherine of Siena Parish.
Through all of these changes, what remains is a tightly-knit, diverse group of parishioners who are welcoming, willing to be of service and find the utmost joy in practicing their Catholic faith.
Dawn Kiraly is one of those parishioners. She began attending the former St. Charles parish around 2003, where she completed the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA). For Kiraly, her experience converting to Catholicism is one of her fondest memories of her early days in the Parish.
“It was a great process, and I loved Deacon Mike,” she said. “He was just super nice, always smiling, and it was just a great experience.” Kiraly mentioned that even outside of the parish walls, she was truly made to feel like a member of the community. “I was pregnant going through OCIA, and I had my daughter in January. Deacon Mike actually came to the hospital and blessed her.”
Kiraly is one of many parishioners who speaks fondly of Deacon Michael Kocjancic. He has been a part of the parish community since December 1989, and he currently serves as the Parish Director of Worship and as a member of several other parish committees.
“[I enjoy] getting to know the people and having them accept me, and having them share their lives,” said Kocjancic. The openness of having them share their thoughts with me.”
Kiraly’s positive experiences as a member of the St. Charles community have continued to grow since her time as a new parishioner in OCIA, and she said this is largely due to opportunities for involvement in parish activities.
“The atmosphere is one of belonging. There’s a Bible study that I used to participate in when my kids were younger, donuts and coffee on Sundays after Mass, and even a parish library,” she said.
She was also very involved in St. Charles School when her children attended, “You can be as involved as you want to be,” she said. “I worked in the lunchroom and counted the lunch tickets, and I coached cross country and track.”
Deacon Kocjancic agreed, and said that what makes the parish community unique is the plethora of opportunities for service and stewardship. “Whenever there’s a need out in the community, we go overboard and do more than expected,” he said.
Parishioner Frank Lazzeri joined the parish in 1988. Like Kiraly, Lazzeri said he finds solace and joy in the opportunities the parish provides to be of service. “I joined the Pastoral Council around 2018. My wife and I have done various ministries, and we once mentored young couples getting married in the Catholic Church.” Lazzeri and his wife Charleen are both Eucharistic ministers at St. Catherine of Siena, and they’ve both spent time volunteering at the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Lazzeri’s fondest memories of the parish community stem from attending Mass before the present church was erected. “I go all the way back to when we had Mass at the gym. At the time, I was living in Columbiana, and I would attend Mass at St. Charles … on my lunch break at Sears. That place was just jam-packed, standing room only, and I said to myself—this place needs more space to hold this many people.”
Father Daniel Venglarik (1995-2007) heard Lazzeri and other parishioners loud and clear. During his pastorship, he led the parish through several upgrades and additions. In the early 2000s, the parish expanded its parking area, broke ground on a new ministries building, and made several improvements to the schoolm such as a dedicated art room and gymnasium.
In the mid-2000s, during Father Venglarik’s leadership, parishioners traveled to El Salvador and developed a sister parish—another way of building community and being of social and economic service.
Jackie Pavlinic and her sister Paula Lane joined the parish in 2018, while Father Phillip Rogers was pastor. Pavlinic explained that while she and Lane had attended Mass throughout their lives, being a part of the St. Charles community granted them opportunities to truly grow in their faith.
“We really got involved in 2022 because a friend of ours recommended we go through OCIA classes to help bring us back to the faith.” Pavlinic said that during their first year in OCIA, they enjoyed it so much that they both joined the OCIA team and helped facilitate the classes for about six years.
“OCIA challenged our faith,” said Lane. “We were Catholic, but we didn’t know our faith. That’s all I read anymore are things on the apostles [and] saints, and I have continued to learn.”
“We used to just go to church before, but being involved in OCIA at St. Charles made me part of a community. It’s not just going to church anymore,” Pavlinic added.
One hundred years and seven pastorships later, the St. Charles community and leadership continue to thrive. Parishioners hope that the church community continues to expand.
“I would like to see our ministries grow, for people in the pews to be more involved,” said Deacon Kocjancic. “I have lately seen a larger number of young families with young kids attending Masses at our Sunday worship. It’s amazing to see the faith these young people have.”
Kiraly agrees and mentioned that she would love to see the church community grow to what it was in the early 2000s. “There used to be four Masses on Sunday, and now we have two. I would like to see churches grow back to what they used to be, all Catholic churches.”
For parishioners, it’s about more than growing and attending Mass on Sunday. It is, as Lane mentioned, about truly experiencing faith together. “It used to always just be ‘church,’ but at St. Charles, it’s now community and church. I get to spend time with my community.”
