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The fourth St. Columba continues as center of faith, tribute to heritage
St. Columba Cathedral A Festival of Lessons and Carols
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A Festival of Lessons and Carols St Columba Cathedral November 30. 2008
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YOUNGSTOWN — Called the mother church of the diocese or bishop’s church because it is home to the bishop’s chair, St. Columba Cathedral stands as an enduring testament of faith and a legacy of generations in the Mahoning Valley.
The church, founded in 1847, stood long before the Diocese of Youngstown (covering Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Stark and Trumbull counties) was created in 1943 out of the Diocese of Cleveland.
There have been four St. Columba churches; each a link in the history of Catholics in the Mahoning Valley.
The first church was built in 1853 by Irish immigrants. The cathedral of the present, born out of a devastating fire in 1954, reflects the ethnic and multicultural diversity of the families who worship at the parish. Dedicated on April 12, 1959, the present St. Columba is marking its 50th year.
The Rev. John E. Keehner, rector, said two events — June 9 vespers for the feast day of St. Columba and last Sunday’s Festival of Lessons and Carols, which featured Celtic music as a nod to its Irish heritage — were tributes to the 50th anniversary of the cathedral.
The 50th year also has been distinguished by two remarkable events. A marble statue of St. Columba, which stood on the main altar of the church destroyed by fire, has been returned to the cathedral. “It’s from 1898 and came from Italy,” Father Keehner said.
The statue, which has broken fingers from falling debris from the fire, had been salvaged by a local business then spent many years in a local resident’s backyard. “It took six men to get him back here,” Father Keehner said of the statue of the patron saint. “The statue was lovingly cared for,” he said, adding it was returned to the church in September. It is in the baptistry.
Also returned to the cathedral was the head from a statue of St. Joseph. “We plan to get a stand for it,” Father Keehner said. It’s also from the previous church.
Father Keehner said acknowledgment of the 50th year has been somewhat low-key because of impending repairs and uncertainty about when work would be scheduled. “The roof has lasted 50 years but needs to be replaced,” he said.
That, along with repairs to the bell tower and stained-glass windows, are scheduled for this spring.
Father Keehner said Bishop Thomas Tobin had held a capital campaign for these projects, whose estimated cost is $1 million. When he was named bishop of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., in 2005, repairs were on hold as the architectural firm did a study of what needed to be done and the diocese was in transition until Bishop George V. Murry was appointed Jan. 30, 2007. Bishop Murry is considered the pastor of St. Columba and the Rev. Edward Brienz is associate pastor.
Leadership may change, the cathedral remains as a symbol of the faith foundation of the diocese.
Father Keehner and Sister Isabel Rudge, pastoral minister, exemplify the strong family ties to the church.
Father Keehner said his own great-grandparents were among the early members of St. Columba. So for him to serve as rector, handling the daily business at the cathedral, is a homecoming of sorts. “I came across a pew with my great-grandmother’s name [Marguerite Keehner] on it,” Father Keehner said. He noted that a family member must have made a donation in her name toward the pews. “I’ve recognized names from the North Side,” Father Keehner said.
Father Keehner has a treasured memory of the cathedral as the site of his ordination in 1993.
Sister Isabel was baptized and made her confirmation at the church. She also took her first vows as an Ursuline nun there in 1950 after entering the order in 1948. The cathedral family also celebrated her 60th anniversary as an Ursuline during a reception there.
Sister Isabel’s family name of Rudge is among the 100 surnames that appear on what is known as the “silent bell,” which is next to the cathedral bell tower. The 3-ton bell, from the second church, heralded midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in 1867. Early parishioners donated the bell to “St. Columbkille’s Church in Youngstown for the Greater Glory of God and the Blessed Virgin Mary.” Along with G. (which Sister Isabel said stood for George) Rudge, some other names are McBride, McGinn, Kennedy, O’Larke, Gallagher and Burke.
Father Keehner said the patron of the cathedral, St. Columba of Iona, was an Irish missionary. “The name came about because of the idea of exiles ... the people, the Irish immigrants, were like exiles from their country,” he said. “St. Columba was in a self-imposed exile from Ireland and went to Iona.”
A brochure on the cathedral’s history notes that St. Columba went to the Island of Iona, where he evangelized the Scottish Picts. Though St. Columba did visit Ireland, Iona remained his home, and he was known as a man of prayer and wisdom. St. Columbkille (the Irish spelling) is described as the “dove of the church,” Father Keehner said.
The legacy of St. Columba, known as a “lover of man and beast,” is honored at the cathedral, which is very much a part of the fabric of the city. “I give a lot of tours to parochial school students, CCD groups, eighth-graders to be confirmed and community groups,” Sister Isabel said, noting that the beauty and history of the church can be appreciated by many.
Father Keehner and Sister Isabel said that the cathedral is the stage for ordinations, some confirmations, baccalaureates of Cardinal Mooney and Ursuline high schools and the special 25th and 50th wedding anniversary Masses honoring married couples. “It’s a parish, but it’s a mother church ... the major events of the diocese are held here,” Father Keehner said.
Sister Isabel, who has served as pastoral minister for 11 years, said St. Columba also has a small food pantry and outreach to the poor by giving food vouchers for the St. Vincent de Paul food bank. “I think everyone knows Sister Isabel,” Father Keehner said of his co-worker, noting that she networks with many agencies to help those in need.
As pastoral minister, Sister Isabel also handles the religious education program and visits hospitals and nursing homes.