Our History
Saint James Church’s History:
* The first Mass was held by Father Augustine Minkel, O.S.B. in the basement of Salemville Public School in 1904.
* Sunday Masses were celebrated in the home of Mr. Andrew Gonda when the school could no longer be used.
* In 1906 preparations were made for the construction of a church on a tract of land donated by the Keystone Coal and Coke Company.
* Work was started in August 1906 by the William Huffman Construction Company of New Alexandria for the sum of $7,000.00 and by fall of that same year the cornerstone was laid. In less than a year, August 4th, 1907 the finished church celebrated its dedication. So many gathered that the church could not accommodate the vast crowd.
* Societies such as the Jednota, Knights of St. George, Holy Name Society, Rosary Altar Society and the Sodality for young women were formed. Fundraisers began to obtain revenues for the Saint James building fund that was started in 1941 by Father Method Mraz, O.S.B. in preparation for a new church. By these efforts in 1957, $50,000.00 was raised for the building of a new church, over half the cost through volunteer labor.
* The dream of a new church edifice became a reality with the purchase of 6.1 acres of land from Mr. & Mrs. Alex L. Seanor on July 27, 1955.
* In 1956 the church censes showed that the parish had 150 families and approximately 450 individuals further suggesting the need for a new and larger St. James Church.
* Permission was granted from the Most Reverend Hugh Lamb, Bishop of Greensburg, on January 21st, 1958, to construct a new church building and ground breaking ceremonies were held on February 23rd, 1958 with a colorful procession from the old St. James Church to the site of the new church. After blessing the ground, the Right Reverend Monsignor Cyril Vogel, Chancellor of the Diocese of Greensburg, broke ground.
* Excavation began on April 10, 1958. Having faced several building issues it was determined that the foundation needed to be moved fifty feet to the east. Work continued uninterrupted until the day after Thanksgiving when a severe cold spell left all tools and equipment buried in the snow until the spring thaw.
* From March 1959 work progressed non-stop with volunteer help by both men and women of the parish. After two years of construction Fr. Aquinas Brinker, O.S.B was appointed pastor of both Saint James and St. Bartholomew in Crabtree. The first Mass was celebrated in the new St. James Church on August 7, 1960.
* On November 5, 1960, the new church was solemnly blessed and the cornerstone erected by the Most Reverend William G. Connare, D.D. Bishop of Greensburg.
* The church was built to seat 358 people. The estimated cost if built by a contractor was $153,000; however, because of the leadership of Father Aquinas and the dedication of so many volunteers, the cost as of the dedication was $80,000.00.
* In 1960 Bishop Connare assigned a diocesan priest to assume pastoral leadership of St. James, appointing Fr. Francis Ott as the first resident pastor.
* The first rectory was a house purchased on Main Street in New Alexandria.
* The parish community began to grow under other pastors, Fr. Rinn DeAndrea, Fr. Bertolina and Fr. Kiniry with membership more than doubling to approximately 325 families.
* In 1979 a new building program began to establish construction of a new rectory and construction of a religious education center.
* In the spring of 1980 the construction began on the rectory and was completed on October 20th.
* In the spring of 1981 construction began on the Religious Education Center to include six classrooms and were ready for use by the CCD program in the fall of 1981.
* On the 75th anniversary of the dedication of the original church, August 4th, 1982, a shrine to the Blessed Mother was erected by the Holy Name Society.
* On October 17, 1982, Saint James celebrated its 75th Anniversary with a Mass of Thanksgiving. The main celebrant of the Mass was Bishop William G. Connare along with the current pastor, Fr. Larry Kiniry and both former pastors and visiting priests.
* From January 1, 1984 to August 31, 1990 many restoration projects began under the leadership of Father Geno Rivi. The new oak altar was installed. A new six and a half foot crucifix, new carpeting, newly renovated pews, new cathedral lights, and fourteen stained glass windows depicting the Stations of the Cross were installed along with many other projects.
* New audio improvements were made when the five year old Allen organ from Seton Hill Chapel replaced the twenty-five year old donated theatrical organ. The church social hall also received renovation.
* In January of 1984 the debt of the church was $250,000.00, but through the sacrifice and dedication of the parish family, by August 30, 1990 the debt had been paid in full.
* In 1997, Fr. Patrick O’Connor was named pastor and the Pastoral Council was established the same year.
* Father Lawrence Persico was assigned administrator in August and in January 1998 he was installed officially as pastor. He, along with the leadership of council members, continued to make many improvements to our facilities including air conditioning in the church and elevator in the social hall.
* On August 5, 2007 Saint James celebrated our 100th Anniversary with a concelebrated Mass with the Most Reverend Lawerence Brandt, JCD, PhD, Bishop of Greensburg and the principle celebrant and homilist. Archbishop Joseph A. DeAndrea, former pastor came from the Vatican to celebrate this anniversary celebration along with 25 other diocesan priests.
* Former Father Larry J. Kulick was appointed pastor of Saint James on September 25th, 2012 and was installed by Bishop Lawrence E. Brant on Sunday, October 21st, 2012. Then Father Kulick also continued with many vital renovations of the facilities, including complete renovation of the social hall; updates to the campus safety and security. Installation of new audio/visual equipment in the church to enhance our connection to the faithful during the pandemic.
* On February 2nd, 2021, Father Tyler J. Bandura was appointed administrator of Saint James. He was officially installed as pastor on August 11th, 2021 by Bishop Larry J. Kulick, J.C.L. at a 6:00 p.m. Mass celebrated by 16 diocesan priests and special guest, former Bishop of Greensburg, Bishop Edward C. Malesic, now the Bishop of Cleveland, Ohio.
* Father Bandura has continued the hard work of instituting new programs and events fostering community togetherness with the faithful of Saint James. One of the first projects he completed was a church census which revealed our current number of families was 246 and 77 individuals. He was instrumental in the improvement of the rectory and education center. In addition, he oversaw a complete renovation of the interior of the church that began in September 2023 that included, restoration of our stained glass windows, installing new tile and carpeting through the church and restoration of all the sanctuary items and pews. The first Mass that was celebrated after this complete renovation was the Christmas Eve Vigil Mass for the Nativity of the Lord on Sunday, December 24th, 2023 at 4:30 p.m.
* Bishop Larry J. Kulick, J.C.L, celebrated Mass on Friday, May 3rd, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. for the Feast of Saint James the Lesser to bless the newly renovated space and give thanks to God for all of the great blessings He has bestowed on our parish. A reception immediately followed in the social hall for all those that were in attendance.
Benedictine Priests Who Have Served as Saint James as Pastor:
* The Rev. Augustine Minkel, O.SB - 1901-1909
* The Rev. Segismund Szydowski, O.S.B. - 1909-1913
* The Rev. Robert Webfer, O.S.B. - 1913-1918
* The Rev. Method Shestic, O.S.B - 1918-1929
* The Rev. Basil Balko, O.S.B - 1828-1931
* The Rev. Wendelin Gallovich, O.S.B - 1931-1934
* The Rev. Philip Geeck, O.S.B. - 1934-1941
* The Rev. Method Mraz, O.S.B. - 1941-1955
* The Rev. Aquinas Brinker, O.S.B - 1955-1960
Diocesan Priests of the Diocese of Greensburg Who Have Served Saint James as Pastor
* The Rev. Francis Ott - 1960-1967
* The Rev. Thomas Rinn - 1967-1973
* The Rev. Joseph DeAndrea - 1973-1975
* The Rev. Thomas Bertolina - 1975-1977
* The Rev. Joseph DeAndrea - 1977-1978
* The Rev. Lawrence Kiniry - 1978-1983
* The Rev. Geno G. Rivi - 1983-1995
* The Rev. Patrick O’Connor - 1996-1997
* The Rev. Msgr. Lawrence T. Persico - 1998-2012
* The Rev. Msgr. Larry J. Kulick - 2012-2021
* The Very Rev. Tyler J. Bandura - 2021-Present
Vocations From Saint James Parish
In the history of Saint James four women have entered the convent
* Sister Mary Jerome Ashbaugh, O.S.B.
* Sister Mary Hugh Stein, C.S.J.
* Sister Mary Damian Repko, V.S.C
* Sister Sara Aldridge, O.S.F.
In the history of Saint James one man has been ordained to the priesthood
* Father Matthew J. Morelli - June 1, 2003 - Diocese of Greensburg.