Bishop: Portage parishes to merge under diocese plan

Two Roman Catholic parishes in Portage County will merge, according to a reconfiguration plan announced Sunday in churches in the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown.

St. Joseph Parish in Suffield and St. Peter of the Fields Parish in Rootstown Township will merge as part of an ongoing process to address the decline in parish membership and a shortage of priests.

The Portage County merger is among a large number of consolidations announced during Sunday’s Masses throughout the Diocese. Others include:

• Stark: The Basilica of St. John the Baptist and St. Peter Catholic Church in Canton; and St. Joan of Arc and St. Joseph parishes, both in Canton.

• Mahoning: Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish and St. Joseph Parish in Austintown; St. Charles Parish and St. Luke Parish in Boardman; and St. Columba Cathedral Parish, St. Edward Parish and Holy Apostles Parish in Youngstown.

• Trumbull: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and St. Stephen Parish in Niles; and Blessed Sacrament Parish, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish and St. Mary and St. Joseph Parish in Warren.

• Ashtabula: St. Mary Parish in Orwell and Sacred Heart Parish in Rock Creek.

Two churches become one in Portage County

St. Joseph, at 2643 Waterloo Road, was started in 1831 by Rev. J.M. Henni of Canton, and Masses were held in parishioners’ homes until a log cabin and schoolhouse was built in 1935. A frame church was built in 1938 in the spot where the church’s Grotto now stands.

It soon burned to the ground and was replaced after the parish was reorganized under the Rev. John Neumann, who led an effort to build a new church in 1845. A bigger church was built after the Civil War, and was dedicated in 1866. It was used until it was destroyed by fire in 1904.

The current church was built and dedicated in 1905, and underwent its most recent restoration in 1998.

St. Peter of the Fields, at 3487 Old Forge Road, was started in 1866 when 18 German Catholic families bought its grounds for $100. The church was built in 1868, and it remained a mission of St. Joseph in Randolph.

Stained glass windows and stations of the cross were added between 1900 and 1910. In June 1941, the church was renamed to St. Peter of the Fields, in an effort to distinguish the parish from similar parishes in the Cleveland Diocese.

A new church was built in 2006, and the old church became a chapel, then was rechristened as “The Oratory.”

A look at the website for the two churches reveals that they’re ready to operate as one “Pastorate Community.” The announcement says they will share a pastor, the Rev. Zachary Coulter, and will be “collaborating on mission, evangelization, catechesis, and worship.”

“While two parishes, we strive to serve all the needs of Southern Portage County,” the announcement reads.

Diocese moves have been ongoing since 2019

Youngstown Bishop David Bonnar accepted the recommendation for the mergers earlier this month at a meeting of the Diocesan Presbyteral Council.

As a result, almost all of the diocese’s 80 parishes are now part of a collaborative unit, or exist as a multi-site parish.

The plan was introduced by the late Bishop George Murry in 2019 and continues to be developed after Bonnar's installation in 2021.

The parish moves also are being driven by parish finances, population shifts within the region and the effective use of buildings.

Since 2021, there have been five mergers between parishes – in which two or more parishes become one parish community – within the six-county Diocese of Youngstown. In most cases, parish mergers mean that churches maintain their identities while sharing a priest and lay leadership.

Bonnar has tasked the affected parishes with formulating a plan for their mergers.

“I am grateful to the Presbyteral Council for making this important recommendation, which will help ease the burden of pastors who currently need to oversee the administration of separate entities and attend multiple sets of meetings, including parish pastoral councils, finance councils, and parish staff," he said in a statement. "The time is right for these particular parishes to come together and form one community. We are better when we are together.”

Canton Repository Staff Writer Charita Goshay contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Bishop David Bonnar: Mogadore, Rootstown Twp. parishes to merge