St. Paul Church History 1881-2006

Page Three

In June 1931 Bishop Joseph Schrembs, accompanied by dozens of priests from the Cleveland Diocese, dedicated the new church. Father William S. Nash preached the dedication homily and the choir on this occasion was directed by Miss Helen Redinger.

Father Casey was succeeded by Father Joseph Mahan in January of 1938. However, Father Mahan's untimely death, August 7, 1942 left the pastorate vacant until Father J. Richard Gaffney was appointed in January of 1943. By 1948 the church debt was cleared, making way for a refurbishing of the interior, including all new chandeliers in time for Christmas 1950.

In May of 1954 the present new school was begun by Father Gaffney, the first section being ready for classes after the Easter holydays in 1955, when the demolition of the old school began. The four rooms in the section were ready for class by the end of January 1956.

In July of 1968 Father Albert J. Rzendarski succeeded Father Gaffney, who had retired, and after one year was himself succeeded by Father George Popovich. After three years Father Popovich was transferred to Youngstown and in June of 1972, Father Blaine F. Pierce, arrived from Conneaut, Ohio to assume charge of the parish.

Early in March of 1975, Father Blaine Pierce organized a Finance Committee to discuss plans to completely renovate the church structure in response to the liturgical changes that Vatican II initiated. The Council called for greater involvement of the laity at Mass. So that the people could participate more fully in the sacred liturgy, the Mass was to be celebrated facing the people. The prayers were to be spoken in the vernacular language instead of Latin.

In the sanctuary the eleven-foot altar and baldachino were disassembled. The altar was placed in the center of the sanctuary in order that the Mass could be celebrated facing the people. The altar was then rebuilt to its present size of seven feet, six inches (7' 6"), The remaining three feet six inches of the old altar was used to create a Eucharistic shrine for the tabernacle in the southwest of the sanctuary. The stone Communion Rail and the three feet high stone wall or riser behind it were removed and open steps built out from the sanctuary towards the pews. A credence table was made from pieces of the Communion Rail and placed in the southeast corner of the sanctuary. The Paschal Lamb, frontispiece of the old altar, was imbedded in the sanctuary wall above the credence table. The massive stone pulpit was cut down to proportionate size and relocated a bit closer to the altar. The baptismal font was moved near the sanctuary according to new liturgical norms.

All chandeliers were refitted and new covers were designed and built for the wall radiators. The interior was then completely painted, except for the ceiling beams, which were merely washed to preserve their original state.