About Mount Calvary Roman Catholic Church · Erie, Pennsylvania
Mount Calvary Roman Catholic Church is located at 2022 East Lake Road in Erie, Pennsylvania, and has served the northeast section of the city since it was established on December 13, 1951 by Archbishop John Mark Gannon in the wake of post-World War II population growth. Originally a standalone parish, Mount Calvary opened a school staffed by the Sisters of St. Benedict in the 1950s, lost its original church-social hall to fire in 1975, and built a dedicated church as an addition to the school building that was dedicated in 1977. In 2017 it was partnered with Saint Mark the Evangelist Parish in Lawrence Park, and in July 2024 both parishes were extinctively merged into Saint James Parish, Erie, with Mount Calvary church given secondary status (no Sunday or Holy Day Masses permitted). The Diocese of Erie subsequently decreed the building relegated to profane but not sordid use, marking the end of regular liturgical life on the site.
- Established
- 1951
- Patron
- Calvary (the hill of Christ's Crucifixion, also known as Golgotha)
- Rector
- Rev. James P. McCormick (Pastor of St. James Parish, Erie, which since July 9, 2024 includes Mount Calvary church as a secondary church; term effective July 9, 2024 to May 16, 2025)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie
Why belong here
Mount Calvary grew over more than seven decades into a tight-knit sacramental community in northeast Erie, distinguished by its legacy Catholic elementary school staffed by the Sisters of St. Benedict, its 1977 church built as an addition to the school, and a partnership with neighboring Saint Mark the Evangelist Parish that combined shared liturgies, faith formation, and pastoral care. Worshippers today still find a community built around the Eucharist, with daily Mass at noon, a Sunday morning Mass, Saturday confessions, and a clear mission to love God and neighbor, grow in relationship with the Lord, and spread the Gospel in the local community.
Mass times at Mount Calvary Roman Catholic Church
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturdays 3:15 – 4:15 p.m. at St. Mark the Evangelist, or by appointment (combined partner-parish schedule)
Identity and Parish Status
Mount Calvary Roman Catholic Church was a parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie that served the northeast section of the City of Erie, Pennsylvania. After the July 2024 extinctive union, the church building is held as a secondary church of Saint James Parish, Erie — meaning that public Sunday and Holy Day Masses, and the vigil Masses preceding them, are no longer celebrated there. The Diocese of Erie has further decreed the building relegated to profane but not sordid use. The partner-parish website stmarkmtcalvary.church continues to list Mount Calvary alongside Saint Mark the Evangelist as the historic face of the combined community.
- Type: Roman Catholic (Latin Rite) parish, now a secondary church of St. James Parish, Erie
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie
- Patronal identity: Calvary (the hill of Christ's Crucifixion)
- Established December 13, 1951 by Archbishop John Mark Gannon
History
Mount Calvary was one of several new Erie parishes Archbishop John Mark Gannon created after World War II to accommodate a booming northeast-side Catholic population. The community worshipped at the Sunset Inn on Sundays and at Saint Mark the Evangelist on weekdays before its own church-social hall was completed in 1954. A parish school staffed by the Sisters of St. Benedict followed, beginning in the lower grades tuition-free and growing into a full elementary school. A 1975 fire damaged the original hall; the parish responded by building the current dedicated church in 1977 as an addition to the school. The school closed in 2004, the parish partnered with Saint Mark the Evangelist in 2017, and both were merged into Saint James Parish, Erie in July 2024.
- 1951 – Parish established December 13 by Archbishop John Mark Gannon
- 1954 – Original church/social hall completed
- 1954 – Parish school opens, staffed by the Sisters of St. Benedict, beginning grades 1-4 with no tuition
- 1975 – Original church/social hall partially destroyed by fire
- 1977 – Current dedicated church built as addition to the school building and dedicated
- 2004 – Parish elementary school closes
- 2017 – Parish partnered with Saint Mark the Evangelist, Lawrence Park
- July 9, 2024 – Extinctive union into Saint James Parish, Erie; Mount Calvary becomes a secondary church without mission status
- Subsequent diocesan decree relegates the church building to profane but not sordid use
Clergy and Leadership
Since the 2024 merger, pastoral care of the community that includes Mount Calvary is provided through Saint James Parish, Erie. The Diocese of Erie's appointment records list Rev. James P. McCormick as Pastor of St. James Parish (including Mount Calvary church) effective July 9, 2024 to May 16, 2025, and Deacon David E. Jacquel as Deacon Assistant effective August 1, 2024 to August 1, 2029. Msgr. Daniel Magraw served as pastor of Mount Calvary Parish from 1987 for 12 years and previously had been a parochial vicar at Saint Mark the Evangelist.
- Rev. James P. McCormick — Pastor, St. James Parish, Erie (includes Mount Calvary church)
- Deacon David E. Jacquel — Deacon Assistant
- Msgr. Daniel Magraw — Pastor of Mount Calvary 1987–1999
- Rev. Michael G. DeMartinis — Administrator (earlier directory listing)
Faith Formation and Parish School
Religious education programs at Mount Calvary were operating from the parish's earliest years, well before the church-social hall was completed in 1954. The parish school, opened the same year the hall was finished and staffed by the Sisters of St. Benedict, began with grades 1-4 with no tuition charged and expanded to include all the elementary grades. The school was a defining ministry of Mount Calvary for half a century before closing in 2004.
- Religious education programs from the parish's earliest years
- Parish school opened 1954, staffed by the Sisters of St. Benedict
- School initially served grades 1-4 with no tuition, later expanded to all elementary grades
- School closed in 2004
Buildings and Facilities
The Mount Calvary campus sits on East Lake Road in northeast Erie. The first structure, completed in 1954, combined worship space with a social hall. It was partially destroyed by fire in 1975, and the parish responded by adding the current dedicated church to the school building in 1977. Since the 2024 merger and the subsequent diocesan decree, the church building has been relegated to profane but not sordid use.
- 1954 church/social hall (partially destroyed by fire in 1975)
- 1977 dedicated church built as an addition to the parish school building
- Parish school building (school operated 1954–2004)
- 2024 diocesan decree relegating the church to profane but not sordid use
Visiting and Contact
Mount Calvary church is located at 2022 East Lake Road, Erie, PA 16511. The combined parish office serving the former Mount Calvary and St. Mark the Evangelist communities is at 695 Smithson Ave, Erie, PA 16511, telephone (814) 899-3000, email [email protected]. The office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and is closed Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The Mount Calvary building's own phone number is (814) 454-0061, with fax (814) 454-7177.
- Mt. Calvary Church — 2022 E. Lake Road, Erie PA 16511 — (814) 454-0061
- Combined parish office — 695 Smithson Ave, Erie PA 16511 — (814) 899-3000
- Email: [email protected]
- Office hours: Monday–Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (closed Fri/Sat/Sun)
- Website: http://www.stmarkmtcalvary.church/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Msgr. Daniel Magraw1987–1999
Appointed pastor of Mount Calvary Parish in 1987 and served 12 years; previously had served as parochial vicar at St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Lawrence Park.
- Rev. Michael G. DeMartinis
Listed as Administrator of Mount Calvary Parish in later directories before the 2017 partnership.