St. Cecilia Parish – from the Closing January 1994
In 1901, St. Cecilia Parish was established. The church was a one story frame building located at the corner of Michigan Way and 8th Street, which was later the site of the convent. At that time, there were 12 Catholic families in town plus those who traveled by skiff across the Mon River from Coal Valley and New England Hollow to attend Mass. The first Mass was celebrated on July 20, 1901. The first Baptism was the next day. The new Parish was growing fast. In 1904, there were 200 dues paying members. As the need for a larger building was felt, plans were made to build a larger church. The Russell family donated a parcel of land consisting of 7/8 of an acre on the corner of 8th Street and Ohio Avenue, the site on which we are now located. On May 29, 1910, the cornerstone was laid. The church was constructed quite rapidly and on March 26, 1911 the first Mass in the new church was celebrated. The cost of the church was $40,000. In 1919 the church had paid off its indebtedness. Although the school had been completed at the same time as the church, it was not put into use until 1919. The nuns who taught at St. Cecilia's were the Mercy nuns, the Sisters of St. Joseph from Wheeling Province and the Sisters of the Divine Providence, who taught until the school closed in the 1980's. The old parish church had been given a facelift and was used for a number of years as a social and activity center. In the early 1920's there was a group of parishioners called the Cecilians, who created a strong feeling of fellowship within the parish with their performances of plays and minstrel shows. In 1925 the old parish house was torn down and an addition to the church and school was constructed at a cost of $25,000. It would house extra classrooms which were sorely needed, plus a library and a meeting room. The parishioners began raising money by sponsoring bingos and card parties. The debt was paid off, and St. Cecilia Parish was one of the few parishes in the Diocese that was debt free. In 1962, fire destroyed our church and school. It was a traumatic time for all of the church family. But with love and financial support of the parishioners, St. Cecilia was repaired and once again alive in God's word. We at St. Cecilia have been blessed with many men and women entering God's service. To date, we have had 13 men enter the priesthood and 11 women enter the convent. On May 2, 1916, 30 women met for the first meeting of the Confraternity of Christian Mothers. The Christian Mothers have been active in our Parish all these years, performing many spiritual and corporal works. They have sponsored Days of Recollection and Retreats and the annual Living Rosary. The Holy Name Society has been active, even though at times there were only a few members to receive Holy Communion. In the past few years, it has been encouraging to see a drive for new members. Many of the new members are the younger men of the parish. On December 5, 1993, the decision by our Bishop was announced that St. Cecilia and Holy Cross Parishes would be suppressed and a new parish established under the name of Queen of the Rosary Parish. Today we celebrate the closing liturgy at both churches and we look forward to a new beginning. May God, through the intercession of His Mother, bless us all and give us the strength we need to contribute as did our early parishioners. Let us make Queen of the Rosary Parish, our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.