The origins of Christ the Good Shepherd Parish date back to 1916, when a group of Polish immigrants of East Youngstown—now Campbell—sought to form a parish, but these plans were put on hold when America entered World War I. These settlers attended Mass at St. Stanislaus Church in Youngstown until Bishop J.P. Farrelly of the Diocese of Cleveland (of which northern Ohio was a part at the time) approved the formation of a parish in 1919. This parish was originally named St. John the Baptist (Polish), but was renamed St. Joseph the Provider in 1963, to avoid confusion with the St. John the Baptist (Slovak) community, with which it would later merge, on April 29, 2012.
St. John the Baptist (Slovak) dates to 1919 when a group of Slovak Catholics in East Youngstown also sought permission to form a parish from Bishop Farrelly—they had been worshipping at SS. Cyril and Methodius Parish, Youngstown, and Holy Trinity, Struthers. Other communities that combined to form today’s Christ the Good Shepherd Parish in 2012 include St. Lucy and St. Rose of Lima (Sta. Rosa de Lima). St. Lucy consisted of Italian Catholics from Campbell, whose plans to form a parish were thwarted by the Great Depression, but did eventually celebrate their first Mass in 1937. The Sta. Rosa de Lima community was created after priests at St. Joseph the Provider and the cathedral began offering Masses to Puerto Rican immigrants who were moving to the area in the 1950s. T heir community was officially established in 1961, serving the needs of Spanish-speaking Youngstown residents.
Both St. Joseph the Provider and St. John the Baptist had schools. The school at St. Joseph the Provider opened after World War II, and the Franciscan Sisters of Blessed Kunegunda served as teachers from 1947 to the 1980s— when lay people took over. That school moved to the St. Anthony Parish School in Youngstown in 2011. The school at St. John the Baptist was open 1926 to 1984, and it was run by the Ursuline Sisters. The parish also manages St. John Cemetery, on Villa Marie Road in Lowellville.
When all four communities became one in 2012, parishioners chose the name “Christ the Good Shepherd” for their parish, reflecting their trust in Jesus Christ to lead and protect them.
Description from The March of the Eucharist, 2nd edition (2025) published by The Catholic Echo
