ST. PATRICK \ Through the years

1911: Bishop John P. Farrelly of the Diocese of Cleveland established the parish of St. Patrick on the South Side of Youngstown. The Rev. Charles A. Martin was the first pastor. While a temporary church was built on the southeast corner of Oak Hill Avenue and Cleveland Street, the parish held services in the lower hall of St. Columba Cathedral. The California mission-style church was built in five months for $16,000.
1912: Ground was broken for the rectory and funded by a parish benefactor.
1913: Cornerstone of St. Patrick School is laid and 22 classrooms open six months later.
1914: Sisters of St. Joseph of Cleveland staff the school until 1944 when the Ursuline Sisters, the first to teach catechism at the school, return.
1922: The church membership had increased rapidly, and a new, larger church was planned.
1926: The completed church was dedicated June 8. The cross-shaped church reflects modern Gothic design with chapels on either side of the nave, the body of the church. The church is distinctive in its detailed brickwork; seven of the 72 stained-glass windows are 24 feet tall.
1933: Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Novena began and continues today with a weekly service at 8:30 a.m Mondays.
1954: St. Patrick Church is designated the temporary cathedral when St. Columba Cathedral is destroyed by fire. Ground is broken for a school annex, which serves the parish for 13 years and is sold to the Salvation Army in 1971.
1979: The Rev. Vincent J. Lisi initiates an education development fund to help the school.
1983: A capital fundraising campaign, St. Patrick Restoration and Preservation Campaign, takes place.
1985: The Rev. Edward P. Noga is appointed pastor and is the longest resident pastor of the church. Under his guidance, the church has undergone remodeling. Pews in the rear of the church were removed to create a gathering space; the original baptismal font was placed near the front entrance of the church; the organ was moved to the main body of the church; the roof was replaced debt-free.
1996: St. Patrick School is closed because of declining enrollment and finances. New Hope Academy opens there and closes in 2002; Summit Academy opens there in 2003.
1998: Father Noga and the Rev. Thomas Eiswerth of Sacred Heart Church, Youngstown, bring a faith-based organization, Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods (ACTION), into the community. The organization of 25 congregations throughout the county works together for social and economic change.
2001: Restoration of the stained-glass windows. ACTION is credited with being instrumental in getting a Youngstown school bond issue passed, enabling a capital improvement campaign to revamp, rebuild and renovate city school buildings.
Source: St. Patrick Church