As the name suggests, Basilica of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel – St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Youngstown consists of two Italian American communities.
Bishop Horstmann of Cleveland established St. Anthony Parish in the Brier Hill neighborhood in 1898, to serve the Italian-speaking Catholics who were attending Mass in other Youngstown churches.
The parish purchased the old St. Ann church—already 25 years old at the time— and rededicated it to Saint Anthony of Padua. In the early 1910s, St. Anthony opened a school, with the Humility of Mary sisters staffing it. Parish buildings were torn down in the 1950s to make room for a highway, but the new campus would include a church, school and social hall, completed in 1959. Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus served in the new school, until it closed in 1995.
In its beginning, the Mt. Carmel community primarily consisted of Italian immigrants who were recruited to move from New York City beginning in 1872, to work in the mines near Coalburg. In 1908, as the Italian Catholic population grew, there was a need for the congregation to become a parish. The first Masses were held in the basement at St. Columba and later at SS. Cyril and Methodius, before they were able to temporarily move into the basement of the church they were building. The completed structure was of Romanesque design, featuring elaborate Italian art and cultural elements. Various buildings have been added to the property over the years, including a social hall in the ‘60s, a shrine garden dedicated to Saint Anthony in 1971, an outdoor shrine to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, an Adoration chapel and much more. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, was elevated to a minor basilica in 2014 by Pope Francis, and it received official affiliation with St. Mary Major Basilica on May 13, 2024.
Today, the parish has events, celebrations and fundraisers year-round—many of which involve home-cooked Italian food. The parish’s devotion to Saint Anthony and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel reflects the strength of their heritage and their desire to be near to Christ.
Description from The March of the Eucharist, 2nd edition (2025) published by The Catholic Echo
