More than 250 bid adieu to the Rev. Greg Maturi at St. Dominic

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Rev. Greg Maturi’s six years at St. Dominic Church were shaped by catastrophe and collaboration, both propelling the congregation and the priest into the local to national media.

The pastor, whose term as prior of the South Side church at 77 E. Lucius Ave., ends today, was honored Sunday during a farewell reception in the parish center. More than 250 people attended the event.

Father Maturi began as pastor on Nov. 1, 2009. Just as he was settling into that role, tragedy struck the congregation. Angeline Fimognari, 80, a faithful member, was murdered after she left the 8 a.m. Mass on Jan. 23, 2010.

Just eight months later, parishioner 74-year-old Thomas Repchic was killed and his wife, Jacqueline, was wounded Sept. 25, 2010, as they rode in a car at Southern Boulevard and East Philadelphia Avenue in a case of mistaken identity. She was a secretary at the church.

After the murders of Fimognari and Repchic, Father Maturi said he was motivated into a leadership role. “The goal was to eliminate the blight ... some 65 derelict houses in the neighborhood that were used as gang hangouts, for drug use and criminal activities,” he said.

The priest said he made it his mission to contact state, county and local political leaders about the overall situation of crime and blight. His unrelenting effort earned him the No. 2 spot on The Vindicator’s Top 10 Newsmakers in 2010.

The city launched Operation Redemption on the South Side. As a result, Father Maturi said, some 65 abandoned houses were demolished. The church grounds keeper maintains the lots and keeps them mowed. “The idea was to renew and revitalize the area,” he said.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.