St. Columba Cathedral Parish is the site of Saint Columba Cathedral and the heart of our diocese. The parish consists of several significant historic communities: the original St. Columba community; St. Casimir, which was founded in 1901 to serve Polish Catholics; St. Edward, which was founded in 1916 to serve Catholics on Youngstown’s north side; St. Stanislaus Kostka, which was founded in 1902 to serve Polish Catholics on Youngstown’s south side; St. Stephen of Hungary, which was founded in 1905 to serve Youngstown’s Hungarian Catholic community, Peter and Paul, which was founded in 1911 to serve Youngstown’s Croation Catholic community; and Our Lady of Hungary, which was formed in the late 1920s to serve the Hungarian Catholic steel workers living in Youngstown’s west side.
Yet the earliest Catholic presence in what would become the City of Youngstown can be traced to 1843, with the arrival of missionaries from Akron. Four years later, the St. Columba community was established, with a priest traveling from Dungannon to celebrate Mass in the home of the Woods family. The patronage of Saint Columba was chosen for the community to honor the great Irish saint who founded a monastery in the sixth century and spread Christianity to what is now Scotland.
Over the decades, the community built several churches—the first was a wood-frame building completed in 1853, the second was completed in 1868 and housed the first church bell in Youngstown, the third was a grand Gothic-style structure completed in 1902 and the fourth is the Romanesque structure that stands today—it was built in the 1950s after a fire destroyed the Gothic church.When Pope Pius XII created the Diocese of Youngstown on May 15, 1943, he named St. Columba the cathedral parish.
St. Columba had a school, which was open from 1871 to 1972 and was staffed by Ursuline Sisters as well as lay people throughout the course of its history. St. Casimir, which merged with St. Columba in 2010, also had a parish school, which operated from 1927 to 1972, and was staffed by Franciscan Sisters and later Holy Ghost Sisters. St. Edward, which merged with St. Columba on January 1, 2025, also had a school from 1917 to 2003 and was staffed by Humility of Mary Sisters until the late 1970s. SS. Peter and Paul, St. Stephen of Hungary and Our Lady of Hungary had previously merged to become Holy Apostles, which also joined St. Columba Cathedral Parish on January 1, 2025. SS. Peter and Paul had a school, which was open from 1929 to 1973, and Our Lady of Hungary did as well—it was open from 1929 to 1931 and was staffed by the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown.
As is customary for cathedral parishes, it retained its name throughout the mergers, even though it represents a unified congregation. Today, the cathedral serves as the home parish to over 300 families, while also operating as the focal point of the entire Diocese, with priest ordinations, the annual chrism Mass, a concert series and more within the beautiful structure.
Description from The March of the Eucharist, 2nd edition (2025) published by The Catholic Echo
