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St. Joseph Church

11045 St. Joseph Blvd.
330-274-2253

A Catholic parish of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio. Located in northern Portage County.   Proud home of the Ox Roast Fair!

Established:
As a Mission in Mantua in 1864; as a Church in 1923.

Location: 
11045 St. Joseph Blvd., Mantua, Ohio 44255
(
off Pioneer Trail in northern Portage County)

Registered Households:
939 (587-Active, 340-Inactive, 12-Homebound)


Yearly Average Statistics:
Baptisms:  15 First Eucharists:  19 Confirmations:  12 Marriages:  4 Deaths:  7


Parish Center & OfficesParish Center & Offices
The Parish Center is the building at the end of the parking lot (it looks like a house and was, in fact, previously used as the priest's residence and parish offices). Here you will find the Pastor's office, the Pastoral Minister's office, secretarial and bookkeeping offices, plus a large meeting room, kitchen, and basement and garage storage areas.

School Building & Hughes Hall
school buildingThe building, which is attached to the church, has 9 classrooms, computer lab and library spaces, kitchen and a social hall for parish and community activities, all-purpose room, conference room, administrative offices, restrooms, and service areas. Currently, the space is used for our PSR program, parish group meetings, events and activities, meetings and activities for Cub Scout Pack #3575 and Boy Scout Troop #575, and Girl Scout troops, AA meetings, Promise Homeschool Co-op sessions, and various community events and other rentals.
St. Joseph Catholic School (1962-2010) closed at end of the 2009-2010 school year due to declining enrollment. For a look at this legacy of quality Catholic education, please visit our history page.

rectory 1935Priest's Residences
First Rectory [Still searching information about the first rectory].

"New" Rectory
In 1935 Father Anton (Anthony) L. Battes built the "new" rectory. In 1968, this building located at 4565 Prospect St. in Mantua (next to the "Old" Church) was bought by the Crestwood School District Board of Education and is currently used as Board and Administration offices.

Rectory & Parish Offices
Rectory & Parish Offices 1963The building now known as the Parish Center & Offices originally served as the priest's home and parish offices. It was built during Father Snock's pastorate and completed soon after the rectory on Prospect Street was sold to the Crestwood School District, around 1970 (temporary rooms were constructed in the school until the new rectory was completed).
The basement served as office of the St. Joseph, Mantua, Federal Credit Union (founded in 1964; merged with SS. Margaret & Gregory Federal Credit Union in South Euclid in October, 1992). The space was then prepared for a pre-school room with a court yard play area). Unfortunately, the certified teacher's husband was transferred out of state and the effort had to be abandoned. For the 1994/1995 school year, the basement meeting room space was converted to the Art Room for school students. Beginning in 2000, the space was used for both Art and Music until the school's closing in 2010.

current rectoryCurrent Rectory
In 1990, Fr. James Fondriest moved into the house that formerly was used as a convent (4534 Pioneer Trail, corner of St. Joseph Blvd.) when Sr. Laura Wallace, OP retired and no other sisters resided at the parish. Since that time, this is where pastors have resided. Soon after Fr. Michael Balash came in 2003, he added more decking and fencing and made landscaping improvements to the property.

Diocese of Youngstown map

144 W. Wood St.
Youngstown, OH 44503
330-744-8451

Established May 15, 1943
(Canonically Erected July 22, 1943)

6 Counties ~ 3,404 Square Miles
94 Parishes, 1 Mission,
1 Catholic University, 6 High Schools, 28 Elementary Schools

Bishop George V. Murry, SJ, Bishop of the Diocese of YoungstownDiocesan Bishop:
Most Reverend George V. Murry, S.J.,
was installed as the fifth
Bishop of the
Diocese of Youngstown on March 28, 2007

Bishops of the Diocese of Youngstown
Most Rev. James Augustine McFadden (1943-1952)
Most Rev. Emmet Michael Walsh (1952-1968)
Most Rev. James William Malone (1968-1995)
Most Rev. Thomas Joseph Tobin (1996-2005)
Msgr. Robert Siffrin, Diocesan Administrator (June 2, 2005-March 28, 2007)
Most Rev. George Vance Murry, S.J. (March 28, 2007-to date)