Diocese names temporary replacement for Uniontown church
With this past Wednesday’s retirement of Monsignor Andrew A. Chupela as pastor of St. Mary Roman Catholic Church in Uniontown due to health reasons, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg has named the Rev. Kenneth G. Zaccagnini as administrator until a new pastor can be named. Rev. Zaccagnini, who is also pastor of St. Therese Roman Catholic Church in Uniontown, said he will be handling administrative duties for St. Mary while several local priests have volunteered their time help him to say Mass for the parish.
Those priests include the Rev. David Nazimek of Ss. Cyril and Methodius Roman Catholic Church in Fairchance, the Rev. Richard Portasik of St. Anthony’s Friary in Uniontown, and the Rev. Alexander Pleban of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Uniontown.
“If it wasn’t for them, I would have had to change the Mass schedule,’ said Rev. Zaccagnini. “They’ve been real generous and kind with their time.’
Weekend Masses will remain the same at both parishes. There will be one change for St. Mary, however, and that is the temporary elimination of the weekday morning Mass.
“For the weekday morning Mass, they’re asked to go to any Catholic Mass in the region,’ said Rev. Zaccagnini.
He reported that Mass is held at St. Therese Monday through Friday at 7 a.m. and Saturday at 7:30 a.m. St. John the Evangelist Church in Uniontown has Mass Monday through Friday at 7:15 a.m. and on the first Saturday of the month at 7:15 a.m. Ss. Cyril and Methodius has Mass Monday through Friday at 7:30 a.m. St. Joan of Arc in Farmington has Mass Monday, Tuesday and Friday at noon. St. Joseph has Mass Monday through Friday at 7:30 a.m. and on the first Saturday at 7:30 a.m. However, morning Mass at St. Joseph is canceled if there is a funeral.
Meanwhile, the weekend Mass schedule remains the same at St. Mary and St. Therese. For St. Mary, it is Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 8 and 11 a.m., and St. Cecilia at Lemont Furnace has Sunday Mass at 9:30 a.m. St. Therese has Mass Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.
“Everything else will remain the same. The only thing changing at this point is the weekday morning Mass,’ said Rev. Zaccagnini, reporting that weddings and funerals will continue and parish organizations will continue to meet on a regular schedule.
A new pastor is expected to be named in early to mid-July for St. Mary, as part of the diocese’s regular summer reassignment schedule. Normally, the diocese makes reassignments in January and June of the calendar year. Rev. Zaccagnini said this year’s reassignments will be delayed until July. Traditionally, priests start these retirements during these times but health problems led to Monsignor Chupela beginning his retirement now.
“That’s a real good parish and they’re going to put some thought and prayer on who will be pastor there,’ Rev. Zaccagnini said of St. Mary.
He stated the diocese will look for “a person who could do the best job with the parish and replace Monsignor admirably.’
Both St. Therese and St. Mary are large parishes. Rev. Zaccagnini said St. Therese has 1,600 families and has the largest population among Fayette County parishes while St. Mary has 1,100 families.
He said all four Roman Catholic parishes in Uniontown, including St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist, are of significant size.