Two Canton parishes merge to become St. Francis of Assisi Church

What once was four Catholic parishes in Canton now has become one. More than 124 years of tradition has been reborn as St. Francis of Assisi Church.

St. Anthony/All Saints of Canton and St. Mary/St. Benedict of Canton merged into the single parish, effective July 1.

The Most Rev. David J. Bonnar, bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown, said the merger was the result of discussions with the pastor of both churches – the Very Rev. Thomas Kraszewski of St. Anthony/All Saints and St. Mary/St. Benedict – and Deacon Randy Smith, pastoral associate at St. Mary/St. Benedict, and the pastoral and financial councils of both parishes.

The new church’s name was selected from three submitted by the churches’ congregations.

Catholic tradition deems that the original churches shall retain their names, thus Masses will be held at St. Francis of Assisi at St. Anthony/All Saints of Canton, for example. The parish’s Masses will remain at the two individual parishes.

Taking over as pastor of the new church is the Very Rev. Kevin Peters, who also is the diocese's new director of Rural Life and Ministry. Peters also will be pastor of Holy Family Church in Navarre and Brewster.

Bonnar announced the new name to the churches via a letter read at Masses.

“With St. Francis as your patron, I encourage you to follow his example in caring for the poor and fostering dialogue among diverse cultures and peoples, which I know is already a strength of both parishes,” Bonnar wrote.

Parish histories

St. Anthony/All Saints, at 1530 11th St. SE, was founded in 1908 as an Italian immigrant mission under the Cleveland Diocese. A new church then was built at 918 Liberty St. SE. The current building, and an adjoining school, were dedicated in 1927.

In 2005, St. Anthony's welcomed Latino parishioners from All Saints, a former Polish parish. The All Saints building was sold. In 2011, the two parishes merged as St. Anthony's/All Saints.

St. Mary's Church and School were founded in 1899 to accommodate members of St. John and St Peter who lived in southeast Canton. St. Benedict was established in 1923 under the Benedictine Fathers of the Archabbey of St. Vincent in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The current church building was constructed in 1925. The two parishes were merged in the spring of 2011.

Why are they merging?

This merger is an outgrowth of the 2019 Pastoral Plan developed by late Bishop George Murry to address the shortage of priests. Criteria included the number of parishioners and worshipers, parish finances, and effective use of buildings, priests and lay ministers.

Last year, nine priests retired from the diocese.

One aim of the plan was to increase the average attendance per Mass from 174 in 2019 to 218. A Georgetown University study found that although church membership is growing, the number of American parishes without a priest has risen from 549 to 3,496 over the last 55 years.

It's estimated that the parishioners-to-priest ratio in the Youngstown Diocese has risen by more than 600 people; from 1,794 in 2019 to 2,423 today.

That trend might be slowing. Catholic seminaries have had a small but steady uptick in admissions in the United States every year since 2013. Last month, the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown ordained three new priests. The Rev. Frederick “Fritz” Schuleter, who was ordained on June 17 at St. Columba Cathedral, will become parochial vicar for St. Francis and Holy Family parishes.

Pastor Kraszewski from St. Anthony/All Saints and St. Mary/St. Benedict, and Deacon Randy Smith, from St. Mary/St. Benedict, will get new ministry assignments in the diocese.

More: The Girls of St. Mary's School in Canton: A 70-year sisterhood and friendship

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Two Canton parishes merge to become St. Francis of Assisi Church