St. William Parish in Champion is one of the more recent parishes to be established in the Diocese of Youngstown. In the mid-1900s, the Catholic community in Warren was primarily served by St. Mary Parish, but the steady population growth of the area prompted the purchase of 75 acres in 1958 in preparation for a new parish.
Bishop Emmet Walsh established the mission church in 1961 to serve the 450 Catholic families living in the townships of Champion, Southington, Bristol, Bloomfield, Farmington and Bazetta-West. The community’s first Mass was celebrated in the Champion Elementary School cafeteria. The community immediately formed ministry groups to serve the needs of their parishioners, including a CCD program, a Women’s Guild and a Men’s Club. After raising the funds, work began on a church building in 1962. The mission was elevated to a parish in May of 1963, and the church was completed the following month, though Mass continued to be held in the school until the church was fully furnished. Saint William was chosen as the name of the mission in honor of Father William Dunn, the first priest to serve the community. It was only upon achieving parish status that the church was formally dedicated to Saint William of Vercelli, due to his renown as a missionary priest who established missions and monasteries in Southern Italy.
From 1964 to 1969, the parish’s CCD classes were taught by Notre Dame Sisters from St. Mary convent. The parish received renovations and upgrades in the early 1970s, including the addition of new carpeting, stained glass windows and new seating. The parish continued to grow, and the community began gathering funds for a new church, which was completed in July, 1984. The new church was designed to reflect the Resurrection in its art and architecture, with a mosaic of the risen Christ, stained glass windows telling the story of the Resurrection, and a baptistry window with inverted arched shapes and colors, symbolizing dying and rising again.
The parish is involved in many ministries focused on serving the poor, such as a quilting group that makes blankets for foster children, volunteer work at the local St. Vincent de Paul center and more.
Description from The March of the Eucharist, 2nd edition (2025) published by The Catholic Echo
