About Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary [Ukrainian] · Middleport, Pennsylvania
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church is a small Eastern Catholic parish in Middleport, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania — a historic anthracite coal-country borough in the heart of the state's coal region. The parish belongs to the Ukrainian Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia, the U.S. jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and serves faithful of the Byzantine liturgical tradition in this stretch of eastern Pennsylvania. As is typical of the small Ukrainian parishes that immigrant mining families founded here a century ago, Divine Liturgy is celebrated on Sunday mornings, with the faithful able to receive the sacrament of Confession a half-hour before the service.
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary (Nativity)
- Rector
- Rev. Mark Fesniak (Administrator; Pastor of St. Nicholas, Minersville)
- Diocese
- Ukrainian Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia
Why belong here
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary offers a rare opportunity in the heart of Pennsylvania's anthracite region to worship in the Byzantine-Ukrainian liturgical tradition, in a small, tight-knit community rooted in the immigrant mining heritage of the coal country. Worship takes place in the Divine Liturgy celebrated on Sunday mornings, with the sacrament of Reconciliation available a half-hour beforehand. For Ukrainian Catholics — and anyone drawn to the spirituality and chant of the Byzantine rite — in and around Middleport, Minersville, Pottsville, and the wider Schuylkill County, it is one of the few remaining places to keep that tradition alive locally, currently served by Rev. Mark Fesniak from his base at St. Nicholas, Minersville.
Mass times at Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary [Ukrainian]
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Half hour before Divine Liturgy
Parish Identity & Location
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the small Ukrainian Greek Catholic parishes that immigrant mining families founded in the anthracite coal region of eastern Pennsylvania. The parish sits on Kaska Street in Middleport, a Schuylkill County borough in the southern coal field near Minersville and Pottsville. Although it lies geographically within the boundaries of the (Roman-rite) Diocese of Allentown, the parish belongs to the Ukrainian Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia, the U.S. arm of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and worship is celebrated in the Byzantine rite — in Ukrainian and English.
- Patron: Blessed Virgin Mary (Nativity)
- Feast day: September 8
- Address: Kaska St, Middleport, PA 17953
- Jurisdiction: Ukrainian Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia
History of the Parish
The parish traces its origins to the great Ukrainian (Ruthenian) immigration into the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Settlers who came to work the mines in the Middleport–Minersville corridor brought their Byzantine Catholic faith with them and established Nativity of the BVM as one of the small Ukrainian parishes in this stretch of the coal region. By the late 20th century it was being served jointly with neighboring Ukrainian parishes; today it is administered alongside St. Nicholas in Minersville.
- 1982: 40th anniversary of ordination of Very Rev. Canon Basil Stebelsky celebrated at the parish (he had served Nativity of the BVM since 1978 and St. Nicholas, Minersville, for 29 years).
- May 1, 2020: Per Archeparchy clergy assignments, Rev. Mark Fesniak appointed Pastor of St. Nicholas, Minersville, and Administrator of Nativity of the BVM, Middleport, succeeding Rev. Paul Makar, who was moved to Holy Ghost, West Easton.
Clergy & Pastoral Care
The parish is administered as part of a two-parish pastorate with St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Minersville. The administrator since May 1, 2020 is Rev. Mark Fesniak, who also serves as a Consultor of the Ukrainian Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia. His mailing address and parish office is at St. Nicholas, 415 N Front St, Minersville, PA 17954 (570-544-4581, [email protected]).
- Rev. Mark Fesniak — Administrator (since May 1, 2020), also Pastor of St. Nicholas, Minersville
- Parish secretary/contact email: [email protected]
Worship & Liturgical Schedule
Public worship centers on the celebration of the Divine Liturgy (the Byzantine-rite Eucharistic service) on Sunday mornings. The Archeparchy-published schedule lists Sunday Liturgy at 8:00 AM. The sacrament of Reconciliation is heard a half-hour before the Divine Liturgy, in keeping with traditional Ukrainian Catholic pastoral practice.
- Sunday Divine Liturgy — 8:00 AM
- Confessions — a half-hour before the Divine Liturgy
- Liturgical language: Ukrainian (with elements in English)
Sacraments
The parish celebrates the Byzantine-rite sacraments under the authority of the Ukrainian Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia. The Archeparchy's parish page notes that Confession is offered a half-hour before each Divine Liturgy; parishioners seeking information about other sacraments (baptism, marriage, anointing, first Holy Communion / Chrismation, etc.) should contact the parish office at the Minersville address.
- Confession (Reconciliation) — half-hour before Divine Liturgy
- Eucharist (Divine Liturgy) — Sundays at 8:00 AM
Visiting the Parish
The parish welcomes visitors to its location on Kaska Street in Middleport, in the heart of Pennsylvania's Southern Anthracite Coal Region. Local directory listings invite people to 'come, visit, and worship with us up in coal country.' Because the parish is administered from St. Nicholas in nearby Minersville, telephone and email inquiries are typically handled there.
- Address: Kaska St, Middleport, PA 17953
- Phone: (570) 544-4581
- Email (parish): [email protected]
- Email (pastor): [email protected]
- Mailing/office address: 415 N Front St, Minersville, PA 17954
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Very Rev. Canon Basil Stebelsky1978–at least 1982
Celebrated the 40th anniversary of his priesthood at Nativity of the BVM in September 1982; longtime pastor of nearby St. Nicholas, Minersville (29 years).
- Rev. Paul Makarthrough April 2020
Listed as Pastor of St. Nicholas, Minersville, and Administrator of Nativity of the BVM, Middleport, prior to the May 1, 2020 reassignments.
- Rev. Mark FesniakMay 1, 2020–present
Appointed Pastor of St. Nicholas, Minersville, and Administrator of Nativity of the BVM, Middleport, effective May 1, 2020, per Archeparchy clergy-assignments announcement.