A fire in January 2021 destroyed much of the church’s sanctuary

NEWS RELEASE
March 7, 2024

Contact: Dennis Biviano, PR & Media Specialist, (330) 744-8451, ext. 320; dbiviano@youngstowndiocese.org

Bishop David Bonnar will celebrate a Mass of blessing at St. Patrick Church, 357 North Main Street in Hubbard, on Sunday March 17 at 3:00 p.m. A reception for parishioners, family and friends will follow Mass at St. Patrick’s parish center. Sunday’s Mass will be the first at St. Patrick since the church was forced to close its doors three years ago on January 18, 2021 after a devastating fire caused millions in damages to the interior and exterior of the building. The parish, which dates back more than 150 years, had been celebrating Mass in the parish center. 

A relic of St. Patrick will also be loaned to the Diocese of Youngstown from the Diocese of Cleveland for the reopening of the church in Hubbard. The relic will be carried by a deacon in the entrance procession and set in a place of honor during the Mass. Joan Lawson, the Diocese of Youngstown Chancellor & Archivist says, “Catholics honor relics of saints as a way of connecting to the reality of the saints’ lives on earth in the past and their present closeness with God in eternity. Saints inspire catholics by the heroic ways in which they lived a virtuous christian life in their own times and places. Stories of St. Patrick have circulated for centuries, along with the faithful asking for his prayers. In the Diocese of Youngstown, six parishes have carried his name: in Hubbard, Kent, Kinsman, Leetonia, Salineville, and Youngstown.”  Bishop Bonnar will also bless the faithful with the relic. 

A spokesperson for St. Patrick Church in Hubbard says the following items have been rebuilt or replaced: 

• The entire building was rebuilt from floor to roof.
• The sanctuary floor was severely damaged and caved in so was rebuilt.
• Sanctuary back wall rebuilt, all electrical wiring had to be pulled and replaced as well as heating and cooling, boiler system had to be brought up to code and replaced.
• The entire kitchen had to be rebuilt and brought up to code.
• Marble on floors and walls had to be replaced.
• Pews, altar, baptismal font, and ambo all replaced or repaired.
• A new metal roof as well as insulation and church wooden ceiling were all replaced. All new metal, wooden doors were replaced.
• Elevator had to be replaced.
• The new Steinway piano and pipe organ had to be cleaned and rebuilt. Parish had a lot to be resurfaced.

Many parishioners from other churches across the diocese and the Mahoning Valley sent donations and prayers. Parishioners also helped clean, restore, construct and move items back into the church. For more information on events at St. Patrick Church in Hubbard go to their website https://www.stpatshub.org

(Courtesy: Catholic Diocese of Cleveland)