Photo courtesy of Tom Balog
I learned recently through a post on a Youngstown Facebook group by Tom Balog that the Holy Name of Jesus Church is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. This brought back many memories because Holy Name served as the parish for many of the families in my neighborhood and many of the kids I grew up with.
The Holy Name of Jesus Church is located at 613 N. Lakeview Ave., at the corner of Midland. During most of my growing up years, Interstate 680 separated our neighborhood and the portion of N. Lakeview one block east of us from the church. But many of my Catholic friends talked about going to Mass, taking CCD classes, confirmations and more at Holy Name. My earliest exposure to Holy Name was going to the church festivals held there every summer, enjoying the good food, rides, and games of “skill”, all of which made money for the parish. Even though I was not a member, I made my contribution!
Photo from 50th Jubilee Yearbook, 1966 (courtesy of Tom Balog)
In junior high and high school, I met a number of students who came from Holy Name School, across the street from the church. It seemed that a number of those in my classes were among the best students in the class. We always heard that the threat was that if you didn’t behave, you could always be sent to public schools!
The Holy Name of Jesus Church was established in 1916 to serve the Slovak Catholic families who moved into the Steelton area of the lower West Side. From a history published for the 75th anniversary celebration, I learned that the parish’s first priest was Father J.A. Stipanovic, a Croat who came from Chicago and quickly learned Slovak to serve the parish! The cornerstone of the church was laid November 5, 1916, and while the building was under construction, the parish met in a former barroom owned by a Jewish landlord. Father Stipanovic was succeeded by Fathers Dubosh and Kocis. Father, later Monsignor Kocis, oversaw the construction of Holy Name School, beginning in 1926 and completed in 1927, and also expansion of the church rectory. Monsignor Kocis died in January 1952.
Holy Name School, from 50th Jubilee Yearbook, 1966 (photo courtesy of Tom Balog)
He undertook a remodeling of the church during his last years that included a mosaic of Christ the Teacher, stained glass windows telling the story of Christ, a Carrara marble main altar, and Stations of the Cross ceramic statuary of which the molds were broken after their completion so they could not be duplicated. When Bishop Emmet Walsh dedicated the renovation in 1953 he called Holy Name “the gem of the Youngstown diocese” and his “little cathedral.” Though I was not a Catholic, in high school I would sometimes slip into the church when it was open but no mass was occurring, just to sit in the quiet, to take in the magnificence of the building, and the sense of wonder and mystery I rarely had seen elsewhere. I can understand Bishop Walsh’s comments.
Monsignor Stephen Begalla served the parish during the time I and my contemporaries were growing up, until Father Franko took over in 1968 upon Monsignor Begalla’s retirement. He served until 1989. In more recent years as parish numbers declined, the school was closed and sold, and the church became part of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, consisting of three churches: Holy Name of Jesus, St. Matthias, and Sts. Cyril and Methodius, all of which serve the Slovak Catholic community in Youngstown. Currently, Mass is held at Holy Name at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Holy Name, and the other churches of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish grew up with the working class neighborhoods near the mills and other related industries, serving those of Slovak heritage who moved into these neighborhoods. With the changing demographics of the neighborhoods and the consolidation of the parish one wonders about the future of the churches which served the families of so many people we grew up with. Perhaps they will re-conceive their mission in light of the needs of the current residents in what were formerly their parish boundaries. Whatever may be, I want to extend my own congratulations to Holy Name of Jesus Church on its 100th anniversary for serving the spiritual, social, and educational needs of generations in the area in which I grew up.
Boh ti žehnaj (God bless you)!
Hello, my Dad’s family was involved with the original building of the church–living on Midland Avenue. I attended the school from 2 thru 6 grades and then went to West Junior High. My family lived on South Lakeview. The school was taught by Ursuline Nuns–a strict order with a no nonsense discipline code. My education was excellent there but I left to enroll in many advanced classes at West especially science. I agree that the church was very beautiful. I received my sacraments and both my parent’s had their funeral masses there. I hope that it is maintained and appreciated for future Youngstown people of all faiths. Thanks Bob for the good summary. M
Thanks Michelle. I share your hope.
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I went to Holy Name School from grade1 to grade 5 Georgia Silver (Wooten) I miss those days
I attended Holy Name School from grades 1 through 8 with, yes, the strict order of Ursuline Nuns teaching in addition to ‘lay’ teachers for some grades. Sister Roberta was principal & she was definitely no nonsense. Remember hanging your coats in the coat closets in the back of the classroom. It someone threw up, Sister Roberta would bring sawdust to sprinkle on it before cleaning it up. Milk in the little cartons that was in the cooler on the floor in the back of the room, I seem to remember you had to pay 12 cents a week for milk if you wanted it, I think chocolate milk was more (?) & only the rich (!) kids got orange drink because it was 35 cents a week. Recess. Tuition was $8 for the school year & I remember that being a lot of money for my parents to pay. Oh yes, one other strong memory is that we attended Mass every (and I mean EVERY) morning before class. Mass started at 8:07 am if I remember correctly, & then class started after Mass. That’s when Mass was in Latin.
I attended Holy Name for all eight years of elementary school, graduating in 1967. I was an alter boy and remember Sister Roberta, Sister Lucielle, Sister Helen Terese, and Sister Francis Marie. A student was chosen to ring the bell after recess was ovmoralser, and you had to stop whatever you were doing, and then form a line and file back into the school. What good memories !!! I am 68 years old now and will forever treasure those long ago years at Holy Name. I only wish that I could go back in time and thank the nuns and lay teachers for the knowledge, morals, values, and disipline they instilled in me for the rest of my life. Wonderful memories indeed.
P.S.— Regarding previous comment, it should have read ; ” after recess was over ” .
Thanks for sharing these memories. So many of us in that era were shaped by schools like this.
I attended holy name school first through eighth grade. I have many amazing memories and I remember so many changes. Sister Francis, Sister Janice, Mrs. Fleming, miss Sunoco, when they put the mosaic picture above the gym door, doing the Wizard of Oz in the third grade play, being a cross guard, Cheerleading, church choir. I could go on and on. Graduated class of 77.
Hello Bob! I’m sure you wrote this piece several years ago but just discovered it while looking for some info on the last mass that was sadly celebrated at Holy Name on November 12th, just a few weeks ago. I just heard last month that the church was being sold and was so very sorry to hear that news! I was one of the many who were blessed by attending the school there and along with my brother and sister were baptized in that very church and well. I have wonderful and lasting memories of the area you spoke about as we lived on Wellington Ave. just a few short blocks away from the church and school. I was not aware that you also grew up in that area! You may not remember me but we attended West Jr. High and graduated from Chaney High School together. Thank you for such a wonderful article and if you have any information on the last mass before they locked the doors of Holy Name of Jesus Church for good, I would love to hear about it! Thank you again for taking me back to a simpler time. Sincerely, Cathey Sinkovich Marker
Cathey, I do remember you. I also heard about the sale of the church and the last mass being held there but I don’t have any details. Yes, it is sad and reflects how much the lower West side has changed since we lived there. But so many classmates who had gone to Holy Name were some of the best students. My main memories were of the festivals, but it was such an important part of religious, educational, and cultural life that I am very sorry to see it gone.
I was the last kindergarten class at this school. I’m a west side kid, born and raised. My grandfather was a parishioner till the day he died
Thanks for posting this! It was sad to hear of the closing of such a great school, as well as the more recent closure of the church.
Went to school at Holy Name from 1’st thru 7’th grade when my family moved to Boardman in 1963. Lived on Salt Springs Rd not too far from the school. The festivals in the summer were awsome.
Patrick Burns