Queen of Heaven Parish in Southeastern Trumbull County was formed in 2026 with the merger of McDonald’s Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Mineral Ridge’s St Mary Catholic communities.
The Catholic community in Mineral RIdge formed in the early 19th century with the arrival of coal miners from Scotland, Wales, Ireland and England. The first Mass in the town was celebrated in 1858 in the home of James Butler by the pastor of Youngstown’s St. Columba. The Irish contingent of the Mineral Ridge Catholics desired their own parish, and purchased land to be the site of a church in the 1870s. The community celebrated its first Mass on Christmas day of that same year, at Brier Hill’s St. Ann’s Parish. Although the church building was completed in 1881, the community remained a mission until Bishop James McFadden appointed the first resident pastor starting July 4, 1947. For the parish’s 50th anniversary in 1996, the community added new wings to the church and enlarged the sanctuary which was rededicated on November 21, 2000.
Until 1928, McDonald’s Catholic residents had to travel to either St. Rose in Girard or Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Niles for Mass, before being established as a mission church under the name of St. Rose, with Masses celebrated in Roosevelt School’s gymnasium. In 1933, the community acquired a movable school building to serve as a temporary worship site, where Ursuline Sisters taught Catechism classes. The mission became Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in 1943 with the arrival of its first pastor. Youngstown’s Elks Club and St. Edward Parish’s Men’s Club also contributed towards the new church building, completed in 1949 along with a parish hall and a gymnasium. The parish opened the K-8 Our Lady of Perpetual Help School taught by the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which closed in 1972. The church received major renovations and was rededicated by Bishop Thomas Tobin in late 2001.
In 2011, St. Mary began sharing a pastor with St. Stephen in Niles until collaborating with McDonald’s Our Lady of Perpetual Help in 2023. As of January 1, 2026, the communities were merged to form Queen of Heaven Parish.
Description derived from The March of the Eucharist, 2nd edition (2025) published by The Catholic Echo, updated in 2026. All rights reserved.
