About Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary [Ukrainian] · Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church (also listed by the Eparchy and GCatholic as the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God) is a small Byzantine Catholic parish at 526 Hillview Avenue in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Founded by Carpatho-Rusyn immigrants who came to the coal and coke country of western Pennsylvania in the late 19th century, the parish belongs to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church's Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma and sits geographically within the territory of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg. The community continues to celebrate the Byzantine Divine Liturgy in the Ukrainian tradition and is the spiritual home of a multi-generational faithful who preserve their Eastern Catholic heritage in the Latrobe area.
- Established
- circa 1894 (organized as a parish by 1910, with the first pastor Reverend Myron Mcdonylouych appointed in 1910)
- Patron
- The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (also venerated in the Byzantine tradition as the Dormition / Assumption of the Mother of God)
- Diocese
- Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church); geographically located within the territory of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg
Why belong here
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary offers Byzantine Catholics in the Latrobe area the chance to worship in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic tradition that their Carpatho-Rusyn forebears brought to western Pennsylvania in the late 1800s. As a small parish it offers the warmth of an intergenerational community in which Ukrainian heritage, the Byzantine liturgical calendar centered on the Feast of the Dormition, and the rhythms of Eastern Christian prayer are still lived out week by week. Visitors and members can join the Divine Liturgy on the weekend, mark the great feasts of the Eastern Church with their neighbors, and continue a missionary-founded parish that has served the local faithful for more than a century.
Mass times at Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary [Ukrainian]
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity & Eparchy
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic (Byzantine rite) parish belonging to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and assigned to the Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma. Although it observes the Byzantine liturgical tradition and falls under an Eastern Catholic eparchy, the parish sits geographically inside the territory of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg. Directory listings render the parish name variously as 'Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary' and 'Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God.'
- Rite: Byzantine (Ukrainian Greek Catholic)
- Eparchy: Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma
- Diocesan territory: Diocese of Greensburg (Latin/Roman)
- Ruling Bishop (Eparchy): Bishop Bohdan Danylo (since 2014)
- Cathedral of the Eparchy: Cathedral of Saint Josaphat, Parma, Ohio
Founding & Early History
The parish traces its origins to the Carpatho-Rusyn migration of the 1870s, when families from what was then Austria-Hungary settled in the coal and coke country of western Pennsylvania. By 1891 the first Ukrainian Catholic church in Pennsylvania had been built and missionaries were organizing additional congregations, including in the Latrobe area, which the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh places among parishes organized in 1894.
- 1870s – Carpatho-Rusyn immigrants arrive from the mountains of Austria-Hungary
- 1884 – Fr. Ivan Wolanskyj, organizer of the first U.S. Greek Catholic parish at Shenandoah, ministers to the local faithful
- 1891 – First Ukrainian Catholic church built in Pennsylvania
- c. 1894 – Parish organized in the Latrobe/Westmoreland County area
- 1910 – Reverend Myron Mcdonylouych appointed as the first pastor; first funeral on April 27, 1910
Buildings, Rectory & Construction Milestones
The parish's physical infrastructure took shape over several decades. A rectory on Miller Street was purchased in 1921 by Father Peter Solvay for $3,500. A new rectory house was acquired from Mr. and Mrs. Walter Yourish in 1961. In 1963, under the leadership of Father Tereschuk, ground was broken for the present church building, completed in subsequent years and still serving the community at 526 Hillview Avenue.
- 1921 – Father Peter Solvay purchases the Miller Street rectory for $3,500
- 1961 – Rectory house purchased from Mr. and Mrs. Walter Yourish
- 1963 – Groundbreaking for the present church; Father Tereschuk visits the clergy
- Present address: 526 Hillview Avenue, Latrobe, PA 15650
Pastorate / Succession of Priests
A succession of pastors has shepherded the community from its first organized years to the present. The parish's history records four pastors through the mid-twentieth century and a more recent administrator linked to the American Ukrainian Catholic missionary pipeline through the Pontifical Ukrainian College of Saint Josaphat in Rome.
- Rev. Myron Mcdonylouych — first pastor, appointed 1910
- Rev. Peter Solvay — purchased the Miller Street rectory, 1921
- Rev. Vladimir Vereschuk — appointed 1952
- Rev. Walter (Walker) Kachmar — appointed 1965
- Rev. Yaroslav Koval — administrator 2012–November 2018; previously served at St. John the Baptist, Pittsburgh
Liturgy & Schedule
Like other parishes of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrates the Byzantine Divine Liturgy, which is the central act of worship of the parish week. Public sources list Sunday morning and a Saturday Liturgy; the parish Facebook page (facebook.com/ABVMUGCC) is the primary place to confirm current times and feast-day additions.
- Sunday Divine Liturgy — 10:30 AM
- Saturday Divine Liturgy — 4:00 PM (per neighboring parish schedule notices)
- Major Marian and Byzantine feasts observed in keeping with the UGCC liturgical calendar
- Languages: Ukrainian with English used as needed
Community & Heritage
The parish is a living link between contemporary western Pennsylvania and the Carpathian homeland of the original immigrant founders. As one of several Ukrainian and Byzantine Catholic parishes across the Latrobe/New Alexandria/Jeannette corridor, Assumption maintains a distinctive Ukrainian (rather than Ruthenian) identity and serves families whose attachment to the Byzantine tradition spans multiple generations.
- Descendants of 19th-century Carpatho-Rusyn immigrants who settled in the coal and coke region
- One of three Ukrainian/Byzantine Catholic parishes in the Latrobe area (alongside St. Mary in Trauger and others in New Alexandria and Jeannette)
- Identity preserved through Ukrainian-language liturgical singing and the Eastern Christian calendar
Practical Information & Contact
Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish through the church office phone number and stay informed of feast-day and schedule changes through its Facebook page. The Eparchy of Saint Josaphat publishes a directory listing that names the parish as 'Assumption of the Mother of God' in the Eastern Deanery.
- Parish phone: (724) 537-6450
- Rectory/social hall phone: (724) 537-0364
- Parish address: 526 Hillview Avenue, Latrobe, PA 15650
- Eparchy directory address (also listed): 4827 State Route 982, Latrobe, PA 15650
- Deanery: Eastern (Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma)
- Primary online presence: facebook.com/ABVMUGCC
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Reverend Myron Mcdonylouych1910 –
First pastor of the parish; first funeral recorded under his pastorate on April 27, 1910.
- Reverend Peter Solvay1921 –
Purchased a home on Miller Street as the parish rectory in 1921 for $3,500.
- Reverend Vladimir Vereschuk1952 –
Appointed pastor in 1952; later oversaw the 1961 acquisition of a new rectory house from the Walter Yourish family.
- Reverend Walter (Walker) Kachmar1965 –
Appointed pastor in 1965; led the parish following the construction of the present church built after the 1963 groundbreaking.
- Reverend Yaroslav Koval2012 – November 2018
Ordained in 2010 after studies in Rome; served as administrator of the parish from 2012 until his November 1, 2018 transfer to Saint John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Pittsburgh.