St. Thomas the Apostle in Vienna—consisting of the former communities of St. Vincent de Paul in Vienna and St. Bernadette in Masury—celebrated the tenth anniversary of their church in July. The story of the parish of St. Thomas the Apostle serves as a reminder that working together and relying on faith enables us to build anew and thrive.
In 2007, the two communities began collaborating and sharing a pastor. Later, in 2010, Bishop George Murray, S.J., promulgated the Youngstown Diocesan Reconfiguration Plan to begin addressing the realities of population changes and general economic downturn facing the diocese.
When the plan to merge their communities was announced, parishioners from St. Bernadette and St. Vincent de Paul were disappointed at the prospect of losing their individual parish identities but ultimately viewed it as an opportunity to “proceed working together to ensure Catholicism in this part of Trumbull County in the future,” according to Gerard Zarella, a Eucharistic Minister and parish council member at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish.
“It wasn’t all champagne and roses, because we did go through a time of struggle,” he said. “We went through all those emotions too that every church goes through when they go through one of these mergers.”
Zarella is a lifelong Catholic whose parents were founding members of St. Bernadette in the early 1930s. Zarella’s church involvement is a family tradition—his mother taught CCD from the time she was fifteen until she passed away, and his father was also on the parish council and member of the Knights of Columbus. As much as anyone, Zarella understands the frustration and anxiety a community feels when facing the prospect of a merger.
“St. Bernadette [was] a neighborhood parish so there was a neighborhood cohesiveness, a family cohesiveness, and St. Vincent de Paul was the same way. It was a very close-knit group,” Zarella said. “There were many people that were absolutely dead set against it. They saw us as losing our parish, and all that emotion was there—especially with the older people that grew up in [St. Bernadette]. We had a handful of people that literally built St. Bernadette that were still there, and it was very hard on them.”
Thankfully, nothing was lost in the shuffle. According to parishioners of St. Thomas the Apostle, much of the success came down to the leadership of Father Frank Zanni, who had served as pastor at St. Vincent de Paul since 1998 and at both parishes starting in 2007.
“Father Zanni was already doing Masses at both churches,” Zarella said. “He was a very strong catalyst in bringing us all together. He was very empathetic to the fact that we [were] closing two old parishes and that it was going to be hard on people. He treated each congregation with the kid gloves and the empathy that was needed to bring everyone through that.”
Shirley O’Brien, who entered the Catholic Church at St. Vincent de Paul at after growing up Methodist, agreed that Father Zanni was pivotal to the success of the merger.
“A lot of churches have had a hard time with mergers because it’s a huge sense of loss … with his guidance, we saw a future together,” O’Brien said. “Even though we all felt that loss … He made everybody feel a part of it, and we’re all just grateful for him.”
Another factor in the success of the merger, according to parishioners, was the opportunity for the communities to build a new church together because neither church would have been able to house the full congregation. Thankfully, St. Vincent de Paul had previously purchased 36 acres of land nearby for a potential cemetery that was never constructed.
“Early on [Father Zanni] came up with the plan to build a new church and that was kind of a driving force for everybody, too. Once everybody got over the shock of closing our churches and having to merge, it gave us a new aim to work for,” Zarella said. “He was … the glue that held everything together. He managed it all. He was very receptive to what everybody needed and was not stuck in the past and would not get bogged down in the little squabbles and things. He pushed forward.”
While Bishop Murry approved of the ambitious plan to construct a new church building, the diocese didn’t have the resources to support such an undertaking. So Father Zanni and the new parish raised the funds for their church. He also led both parish councils in developing a design for the new church that maintained both communities’ histories, using elements of both churches for the central crucifix, stained glass windows, altars and more.
“This is a very unique experience in church mergers that both of our histories have been pooled into this new church and are very visible,” Zarella said. “That was a selling point, too, that I think he realized would help him garner the support that he needed to build this church.”
Zarella said that his own father had initially refused to be a part of the new church, but as a result of Father Zanni’s empathetic approach, he was there for the dedication—and all the Masses that followed, too.
“Because of the way Father Zanni did things and the way this whole project was done, I was able to turn my dad around and say, ‘look, don’t walk away from your church, it’s still here,’” Zarella said.
For example, beside the main entrance of the new church are three cornerstones: one from each of St. Bernadette and St. Vincent dePaul, and one for the new church. Symbolic imagery like this is more than an artistic flourish—it can serve as a visual reminder which reinforces the community’s mission every time they walk through the doors.
Utilizing elements from both churches in the creation of the new one was not as easy as it sounds, either. St. Vincent dePaul was a more modern-style church with abstract stained-glass windows—a completely different aesthetic from the more traditional stained glass from St. Bernadette. Father Zanni again managed to create something better than the sum of its parts, utilizing the distinct designs of each church to create a cohesive vision: St. Bernadette’s traditional stained glass was incorporated behind the altar, while St. Vincent’s were used on the façade of the building, in the sacristies and the two side chapels.
Parishioners were deeply involved in every aspect of the move. After launching the fundraising campaign in 2010, groundbreaking and construction began in 2015 under the direction of VendRick construction, which was founded by Frank Vendemia and Derrick “Rick” Dickson in 1993—their families were a part of both parishes for years and still worship at St. Thomas the Apostle today.
Even the new parish’s name was decided on by the whole community. Father Zanni suggested a list of potential names and after some debate, the community settled on St. Thomas the Apostle, as Thomas in Greek translates to ‘twin.’
Despite all the challenges—managing disappointed and frustrated communities, honoring the legacies of two churches, the sheer financial cost, and even getting special clearance from Youngstown’s airport—St. Thomas the Apostle was dedicated on July 3, 2016, a testament to the vision,, faith and will of the Catholics in both Majury and Vienna.
Sadly, Father Zanni passed away in 2025. But thanks to his tireless contributions to the community of St. Thomas the Apostle, he can rest easy knowing that 10 years later, the community of St. Thomas is stronger than ever.
“Our church now has one of the strongest congregations, and friendliest and most active,” Zarella said. “It feels like a united family now.”
The community has not only grown in unity, but in size as well. O’Brien says St. Thomas was always built with the intention of not only housing two merging communities, but to accommodate newcomers—foresight she attributes to Father Zanni.
“He was a visionary … he would talk about how this was important for us for the next 75 years. It wasn’t just for us currently, it was for our children, our grandchildren. He mapped out the area, how far our reach would be in parishioners,” O’Brien said. “We’re continually getting new members; every month we’re getting new people.”
O’Brien feels that the church’s unique atmosphere—as well as the accommodating and friendly attitude of the parishioners—makes it an attractive place for young families and new Catholics to worship.
“The church itself is very spacious,” she said. “I think when people come, they feel good here.”
At the ten-year mark, O’Brien says the community is celebrating all those who are still with them from the early days of the merger and all the new people who have joined since. On July 3, 2026, Bishop David Bonnar presided over a Mass celebrating the tenth anniversary of the dedication, with multiple priests and deacons from the parish’s history attending.
This Mass marked the beginning of a year of anniversary events. Following the anniversary Mass, the parish planned a Saint Vincent feast day Mass in September, a community dinner in November, a Mass for Saint Bernadette’s feast day in February, and a parish picnic next summer. O’Brien says the community is excited to celebrate ten years of St. Thomas Parish together.
“There’s a lot of lot of pride in the church itself,” she said. “I just feel a lot of pride in what was done and the parish we created. I think a lot of people feel that.”
Looking forward, one of the parish’s biggest focuses for the next ten years is to build up their youth ministry program to accommodate the new young families in attendance.
“Getting the children more involved in church, that’s where your growth comes from,” O’Brien said. “They’re working with a teen group to continue after their confirmation. Growth with our children [is] going to carry our church into the future, our next generation.”
