History

St. Edward Parish was founded in 1917 and named after Father Edward Mears who was the Pastor of St. Columba Parish.
St. Edward Church was originally designed as an auditorium for the school to be used as a church only temporarily.
St. Edward Parish was designed by architect Charles Owsley and built by Moore-Lamb Construction Company.
The first Pastor was Father Maurice Griffin.
St. Edward School opened on September 4, 1917, with 154 children and staffed by the Holy Humility of Mary Sisters who continued to staff the school until the late 1970s.
Sara Sturgeon and Robert Hoellin were the first couple to be married at St. Edward on October 2, 1917.

Rosemary O'Neill and Catherine Ethel Kane were the first babies baptized on November 15, 1917.
Forty-one children received their First Holy Communion in May 1918.
Ninety-one children were confirmed in June 1918.
Father John Maloney succeeded Father Griffin in 1933 but stayed less than one year.
Father William Nash, later named a Monsignor, was appointed Pastor of St. Edward in 1934 and remained so until his death in 1965.
The Mission Club started the annual parish clambakes in the late 1930s.
The junior high building was constructed on the site of the former Yale School which had been donated to the parish by the Bernard Family.
The Yellow Brick Road Building was built by Monsignor Nash with a $50,000 gift he received from parishioners on his 50th anniversary as a priest...it was originally named Edwardian Hall and housed the school's first grade classrooms. Monsignor John Lettau succeeded Monsignor Nash upon his death in 1965.
Gypsy Lane was the original boundary of the parish, but in 1965 the boundary was moved to Tibbets-Wick Road because St. Rose Parish could no longer serve the 300-400 Catholic families living in Liberty.
Enrollment at St. Edward School peaked in the mid-sixties with an enrollment of over 900.
In 1974, the ninth grade was discontinued and a kindergarten class was added to the school.
Father Frank Lehnerd succeeded Monsignor Lettau as Pastor in 1990.
St. Edward School moved all grades to the junior high school in 1992.
In 2003, St. Edward School closed due to declining enrollment.
Monsignor Robert Siffrin was appointed Administrator in 2005.

YSU Oral History Program - History of St. Edward Parish

Click the image on the left to read an interactive History of Saint Edward Parish as conducted by an interview by Wallace J. Dunne with Monsignor John J. Lettau as part of a Youngstown State University Oral Histopry Program dated June 4, 1975.

History

St. Edward Parish was founded in 1917 and named after Father Edward Mears who was the Pastor of St. Columba Parish.

St. Edward Church was originally designed as an auditorium for the school to be used as a church only temporarily.

St. Edward Parish was designed by architect Charles Owsley and built by Moore-Lamb Construction Company.

The first Pastor was Father Maurice Griffin.

St. Edward School opened on September 4, 1917, with 154 children and staffed by the Holy Humility of Mary Sisters who continued to staff the school until the late 1970s.

Sara Sturgeon and Robert Hoellin were the first couple to be married at St. Edward on October 2, 1917.

​Rosemary O'Neill and Catherine Ethel Kane were the first babies baptized on November 15, 1917.

Forty-one children received their First Holy Communion in May 1918.

Ninety-one children were confirmed in June 1918.

Father John Maloney succeeded Father Griffin in 1933 but stayed less than one year.

Father William Nash, later named a Monsignor, was appointed Pastor of St. Edward in 1934 and remained so until his death in 1965.

The Mission Club started the annual parish clambakes in the late 1930s.

The junior high building was constructed on the site of the former Yale School which had been donated to the parish by the Bernard Family.

Gypsy Lane was the original boundary of the parish, but in 1965 the boundary was moved to Tibbets-Wick Road because St. Rose Parish could no longer serve the 300-400 Catholic families living in Liberty.

Enrollment at St. Edward School peaked in the mid-sixties with an enrollment of over 900.

In 1974, the ninth grade was discontinued and a kindergarten class was added to the school.

Father Frank Lehnerd succeeded Monsignor Lettau as Pastor in 1990.

St. Edward School moved all grades to the junior high school in 1992.

In 2003, St. Edward School closed due to declining enrollment.

Monsignor Robert Siffrin was appointed Administrator in 2005.

YSU Oral History Program - History of St. Edward Parish

Click the image on the left to read an interactive History of Saint Edward Parish as conducted by an interview by Wallace J. Dunne with Monsignor John J. Lettau as part of a Youngstown State University Oral Histopry Program dated June 4, 1975.

100th Anniversary of St Edward Parish Youngstown, Ohio October 14, 2017

Rosemary O'Neill and Catherine Ethel Kane were the first babies baptized on November 15, 1917.

100th Anniversary of St Edward Parish Youngstown, Ohio
October 14, 2017