-History-
A Brief History of St. Michael Parish
In 1960 Bishop Emmet Walsh established St. Michael Mission to serve the area Catholics. After St. Michael's was given parish status in 1962, Fr. Gallagher was named the first pastor. The cornerstone was laid by Msgr. Owen Gallagher in November of 1963. Mass and programs were held in the new church as early as March 1964, including CCD classes for approximately 230 students. Bishop Walsh dedicated the new church on October 4, 1964. Fr. Gallagher's tenure ended in 1968, and a new pastor, Fr. Orlando D. Rich, succeeded on June 14 of that year.
Fr. Rich realized the financial problems the Parish was facing and directed his efforts toward working as a Parish to eliminate them. Fr. Rich appointed a group to act as the Finance Committee, the first of its kind in the Youngstown Diocese. The Finance Committee, through some wise business investments, the financial backing of the parishioners and generous donations, were able to eliminate the debt in a relatively short period of twelve years.
On June 26th, 1977, Fr. Rich retired as pastor of St. Michael. Succeeding Fr. Rich was Fr. Thomas McCarthy, formerly of St. William parish in Champion, Ohio. When Fr. McCarthy assumed the pastorate at St. Michael, the leadership style changed. Under his stewardship, greater emphasis was placed upon participation of the laity. According to Fr. McCarthy, he had been sent to St. Michael's to accomplish two goals. The first goal was to physically expand existing parish buildings and the second was to expand the staff and thus improve programs. Because the Parish was expanding so rapidly, it became evident that the current facilities were simply too small to meet the needs of the church community. After consideration and deliberation, it was decided that an addition was needed. Ground breaking for a new Parish Center was held on March 2, 1980.
In June of 1983, it was announced that Fr. McCarthy would be leaving St. Michael to accept a position of pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Warren, Ohio. Fr. James E. O'Brien was named pastor in 1983. Under Fr. O'Brien's leadership, the parish continued to prosper and grow. Fr. O'Brien remained as pastor of St. Michael Parish until January of 1997, when the current pastor, Terrence J. Hazel was appointed.
Since Fr. Terry has arrived, many changes have occurred at St. Michael. Through the generosity of several members of our parish community, stained glass windows have replaced the clear glass windows in the church. Each window portrays important people who have played key roles in the development of the Church throughout it's history and each is memorialized in tribute to a loved one or in thanksgiving to God for blessings bestowed on our members. New Italian mosaic Stations of the Cross have been installed, also in memorials to loved ones or in thanksgiving. To accommodate the growing membership, pews were added on the north and south aisles of the church and air conditioning has been installed to eliminate the need to celebrate Mass in the Parish Center during the hot summer months. The current membership of St. Michael Parish is approximately 1,740 families and continues to grow.
