Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish grew out of an independent chapel started in 1978, to celebrate the Tridentine Latin Mass, which was used for centuries in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council, but was discontinued following the council. The independent chapel, which was built through donations by lay Catholics, was originally not recognized by or affiliated with the Youngstown Diocese. Through a dialogue opened under Bishop James Malone during the late 1980s and early 1990s, an arrangement was established to temporarily allow for the Tridentine Mass to be celebrated there as a pastoral experiment to reintegrate Catholics worshipping at the Vienna chapel into the Youngstown Diocese.
Citing the “constructive dialogue” and pastoral experiment which continued, despite some disruptions, early into the 1990s, Bishop Malone announced that he had invited the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, a clerical society of apostolic life of pontifical right that is in communion with the Holy See, to engage in the dialogue with the community.
As a result, members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter came to Vienna in 1994 and 1995 to work with the congregation at the chapel and with the diocese. The process continued when Bishop Thomas Tobin succeeded Bishop Malone in December 1995. On July 1, 1997, Bishop Tobin established Queen of the Holy Rosary as a personal parish—as opposed to a territorial parish. Various priests from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter have subsequently served as pastors and administrators of Queen of the Holy Rosary, overseeing religious education, expanding and upgrading of parish facilities, and fostering numerous devotions in addition to serving the Sacramental needs of parishioners and offering the Tridentine Mass. The community’s dedication to the Blessed Mother reflects their complete devotion to Jesus Christ, and their reverence for Mary as a model of love, faith and Christian virtue.
Description from The March of the Eucharist, 2nd edition (2025) published by The Catholic Echo
