St. Therese to complete year-long celebration
St. Therese de Lisieux Roman Catholic Church, located on Mill Street in Uniontown, will complete the year-round commemoration of its 75th anniversary on Saturday at a 5 p.m. Mass. Bishop Anthony G. Bosco of the Diocese of Greensburg will be the main celebrant. “We chose this Saturday because we wanted to get a date as close as possible to the feast day of St. Therese, which was Oct. 1,’ explained the Rev. Kenneth Zaccagnini, pastor. “Bishop Bosco will be here as the main celebrant and homilist for the Mass. And after the Mass, we’ll have a social gathering at the parish center. It will be a time for fellowship and sharing memories of the past.’
The Mass will also include singing by St. Therese’s contemporary, adult and bell choirs. The choirs will sing separately and join together. The altar society will have a display of its organization in the parish center.
The parish is also displaying five large photographs of St. Therese at various ages of her life: 8, 16, 18, 22 and at her death at age 24.
In honor of the anniversary, the parish also created a new directory that includes parishioners, organizations, priests who have served the parish and a history of St. Therese.
According to the history:
Italian immigrants who were attracted to Fayette County’s coal fields first gathered to worship and share their ethnic heritage as parishioners of the Church of the Holy Cross. The original church was located on Morgantown Hill in Uniontown until 1916 when it was discontinued. For 11 years, the Italian community struggled without a church of its own.
In early 1927, the Rev. Henry DeVivo, pastor of St. Rita Church in Connellsville, headed a committee that took its plea for a Uniontown parish to Bishop Hugh C. Boyle of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Approval was given on March 20, 1927 with the Rev. Luigi Tabbia as the first pastor of the new church called St. Therese de Lisieux (St. Therese of the Little Flower of Jesus).
The first Masses were held at the site of the old St. Mary’s School on North Mount Vernon Avenue in Uniontown. The church purchased land on Mill Street in 1928. A new church was opened for worship here on Christmas night, 1937 with a formal dedication on July 4, 1938.
The parish continued to grow with a new rectory constructed in 1962 and a new church built and dedicated in 1967. A new parish center was built in 1972. The church maintains a number of active organizations.
Pastors who have served the church included: the Rev. Luigi Tabbia, 1927-33; the Rev. Thomas Quigley, 1933-35; the Rev. Charles J. Ceradini, 1935-40; the Rev. Ettore Moscoloni, 1940-51; the Rev. Nicholas J. Thomas, 1952-70; the Rev. Francis D. Pirulli, 1970-71; the Rev. Nicholas J. Thomas, 1971-86; the Rev. John Regoli, 1986-98; and Rev. Zaccagnini.
Parochial vicars included the Rev. Thomas Quigley, 1933-35; the Rev. Francis R. Boyle, 1942-46; the Rev. Carl P. Milano, 1948-51; the Rev. Edward J. Boley, 1951-52; the Rev. Raphael Marzilli, 1955-60; the Rev. Geno Rivi, 1961-62; the Rev. Dominic Pozzuoli, 1962-63; the Rev. John P. McQueeney, 1963-65; the Rev. Ronald Hatala, 1965-68; the Rev. Fideles Levri, 1968-70; the Rev. Hugh J. Meehan, 1970-74; the Rev. Aloysius J. Bahleda, 1974-76; the Rev. Emil S. Payer, 1976-77; the Rev. John M. Foriska, 1977-79; the Rev. Roger Sinclair, 1979-80; the Rev. Frank C. Capo, 1980-82; the Rev. Peter L. Peretti, 1982-84; the Rev. John T. Euker, 1984-85; the Rev. Francis H. Rohlf, 1985-91; the Rev. David W. Rider, 1991-95; the Rev. Joseph E. Bonafed, 1995-98; the Rev. Patrick O’Connor, 1999-present.
Celebrating of the 75th anniversary began last October. Events have included a prayer and candle service in honor of St. Therese Oct. 1, 2001, and Oct. 1, 2002. Parish youths dedicating a picture called “Forgiven,’ which shows a young man falling into the arms of Christ, to the parish during Lent. The boosters purchased a new sculpture of the Blessed Mother in May that was dedicated in a ceremony that included a procession through the streets of Uniontown. A parish picnic was held at Idlewild Park in Ligonier on Aug. 4. And a parish family purchased a statue in honor of St. Therese that was dedicated Tuesday.
Talking about the anniversary, Rev. Zaccagnini said, “St. Therese would not have been in existence for 75 years unless for God’s blessings. The anniversary also shows the faith of the people who started this parish. They were originally Italian immigrants, but they were open to the influx of new people. It became inclusive rather than exclusive and that has allowed the church to grow and prosper.”