About Immaculate Conception [Ukrainian] · Altoona, Pennsylvania
Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church is a Byzantine-rite parish of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church located at 2020 Twentieth Street in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It is one of a small cluster of Ukrainian Catholic parishes serving western Pennsylvania within the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma (Ohio). Locally the parish is also known simply as "St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic," reflecting its dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of her Immaculate Conception. It belongs to the Eparchy's Central Deanery and serves a worshipping community in the city of Altoona that has its roots in the great waves of Eastern Slavic (Ruthenian/Ukrainian) immigration into central Pennsylvania in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- Patron
- Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Diocese
- Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma
Why belong here
Immaculate Conception is a small, mission-focused Ukrainian Catholic parish that brings the Byzantine liturgical and spiritual tradition of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to worshippers in central Pennsylvania. It celebrates the Divine Liturgy weekly (with a Saturday Vigil service and weekday observances) and belongs to the Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma, the canonical Ukrainian Catholic jurisdiction for western Pennsylvania, Ohio and several southeastern states. For Byzantine-rite Catholics in the Altoona area — and for anyone drawn to the Eastern Christian liturgical tradition — it is a regular place of worship, catechesis and community.
Mass times at Immaculate Conception [Ukrainian]
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity and Patron
The parish is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the same patronal title used by many of the earliest Ruthenian/Ukrainian Catholic congregations in Pennsylvania. Locally parishioners and visitors often refer to it simply as 'St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic.' It is one of two distinct Immaculate Conception churches in Altoona — the other, a Latin-rite parish, sits at 1405 5th Avenue under the name St. Mary Immaculate Conception.
Byzantine and Ukrainian Catholic Heritage
Immaculate Conception is a Byzantine-rite (Greek Catholic) parish, meaning it follows the liturgical, spiritual and canonical traditions of Eastern Christianity while being in full communion with the Bishop of Rome. As a Ukrainian Catholic parish, it is part of the worldwide Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which traces its roots to the Kyivan-Rus' baptism of 988 and is headed today by Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych.
- Rite: Byzantine (Eastern Christian), not Latin/Roman.
- Sui iuris church: Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
- Liturgical language(s): English, with elements of Ukrainian and Church Slavonic typical of the rite.
Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma
The parish belongs to the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma, one of four U.S. Ukrainian Catholic eparchies and a suffragan of the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolia of Philadelphia. The eparchy was canonically erected on December 5, 1983 by Pope John Paul II; Bishop Robert Moskal was its first ordinary (serving until 2009), followed by Bishop Ivan Bura as Apostolic Administrator (2009–2014). The current bishop is Bohdan Danylo, rector-emeritus of the St. Basil the Great Theological Seminary in Stamford, Connecticut, ordained November 4, 2014. The cathedral church of the eparchy is St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Parma, Ohio.
- Erected: December 5, 1983 (split from the Philadelphia Archeparchy).
- Patron: St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, O.S.B.M.
- Current bishop: Most Rev. Bohdan Danylo (since 2014).
- Cathedral: St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, Parma, Ohio.
- Territory: Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.
- Immaculate Conception is in the eparchy's Central Deanery.
Altoona and the Ukrainian Catholic Presence in Central Pennsylvania
Altoona grew rapidly after 1849 around the Pennsylvania Railroad shops, attracting German, Irish and Eastern European Catholic workers and their families. While the city's first Catholic parish (1852) was the Latin-rite St. John's — now the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament — Byzantine-rite Eastern Slavic Catholic immigrants eventually organized their own congregations. Immaculate Conception, on Twentieth Street, serves as the Ukrainian Catholic worshipping community in this part of central Pennsylvania, alongside other eparchial parishes at Northern Cambria, Johnstown, Ramey and Revloc.
- Deanery: Central (St. Josaphat Eparchy).
- Other nearby eparchial parishes: Saints Peter and Paul (Aliquippa), Saint John the Baptist (Johnstown), Annunciation of the Mother of God (Ramey), Protection of the Mother of God (Revloc), Immaculate Conception (Northern Cambria).
Liturgy, Schedule and Devotions
Immaculate Conception celebrates the Byzantine Divine Liturgy — the Eastern-rite equivalent of the Roman Mass — on a weekly schedule at its Twentieth Street church. Publicly listed schedules vary slightly by directory source; the most consistently cited Saturday Vigil Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the evening. Weekday and holy day observances are listed through the parish's phone line (814-762-9846).
- Saturday Vigil Divine Liturgy: most commonly cited at 5:00 PM; one directory source lists 7:00 PM.
- Weekday/feast-day Liturgies: contact the parish office.
- Confession and other services: call the parish for current times.
Contact and Pastoral Care
Parishioners and visitors reach Immaculate Conception through the eparchial directory, by phone, or by email. As a smaller mission-style parish, day-to-day inquiries are best handled by calling the listed telephone number during parish hours.
- Address: 2020 Twentieth Street, Altoona, PA 16601.
- Telephone: 814-762-9846.
- Email (parish contact): [email protected].
- Directory listing: St. Josaphat Eparchy 'Parishes' page (stjosaphateparchy.com/parishes).