About Our Lady of Hungary (Holy Apostles Parish Bingo Hall) · Youngstown, Ohio
Our Lady of Hungary was a Hungarian-American Catholic parish on the west side of Youngstown, Ohio, founded in the late 1920s to serve Hungarian steelworkers and their families who could not easily reach St. Stephen of Hungary on the east side. Organized in 1926, formally established in 1928, and blessed in its brick form in 1950, the parish was for more than 80 years a center of Magyar Catholic life — bilingual Masses in Hungarian and English, devotions such as May crownings and Good Friday entombment, and a tangible outreach to Hungarian refugees after the 1956 Revolution. It was pastored for most of its mid-century life by Hungarian Franciscans from nearby Mount Alverna Friary. Following diocesan regionalization, Our Lady of Hungary, St. Stephen of Hungary, and Ss. Peter and Paul merged in 2011 into Holy Apostles Parish; Our Lady of Hungary Church celebrated its last regular Sunday Mass on February 12, 2012, and the property is remembered today as part of the Holy Apostles complex. Holy Apostles itself later joined St. Columba Cathedral Parish on January 1, 2025.
- Established
- 1928
- Patron
- Our Lady of Hungary (Blessed Virgin Mary under the Hungarian title commemorating King St. Stephen of Hungary's 1038 offering of his nation to the Mother of God)
- Rector
- Rev. Joseph S. Rudjak (pastor at the time of the parish's closure in 2012)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Youngstown (merged into Holy Apostles Parish in 2011; Holy Apostles further merged into St. Columba Cathedral Parish on January 1, 2025)
Why belong here
Our Lady of Hungary was a welcoming parish for Hungarian-American Catholic families on Youngstown's west side, blending English and Hungarian in a single liturgy and preserving beloved ethnic devotions. Parishioners sustained an active lay life through the Altar Society, Rosary Society, Holy Name Society, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Sodality of Mary, and Scout Troop. The parish was also notable for its outreach: it helped resettle Hungarian refugees after the 1956 Revolution and hosted Cardinal Mindszenty during his 1974 U.S. tour. Today, while the church building itself closed in 2012 and the parish has been folded into Holy Apostles (and subsequently St. Columba Cathedral Parish), the legacy of bilingual Mass, May crownings, Good Friday entombment, and Midnight Mass Christmas pageantry remains an important part of Mahoning Valley Catholic heritage.
Mass times at Our Lady of Hungary (Holy Apostles Parish Bingo Hall)
Weekly Mass schedule
Founding and Early Years (1926–1929)
Hungarian families on Youngstown's west side organized in 1926 to petition for a second Hungarian Catholic parish, since St. Stephen of Hungary on the east side was overcrowded and hard to reach. A building fund was started, and in June 1928 the committee petitioned Bishop Joseph Schrembs of Cleveland. On December 21, 1928 Bishop Schrembs appointed Rev. Istvan Nyiri to organize the new parish of 150–200 families, and land on North Belle Vista Avenue was purchased from the Carnegie Corporation. Construction began in 1929 with a basement church.
The Basement Church and the Depression Years (1929–1950)
The Great Depression prevented completion of an upper church for more than two decades; a roofed basement served as the worship space for 21 years. A small frame school opened in 1930 staffed by the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown but closed just two years later because of hard times. Despite this, the 1930s and 1940s saw the rise of an enduring parish culture with the Altar Society, Rosary Society, Scout Troop, Holy Name Society, St. Vincent de Paul Society, and Sodality of Mary.
Hungarian Franciscan Era (1948–1989)
The first Hungarian Franciscan pastor, Rev. Tarcisius Kuk, arrived in 1948. Under Rev. Peter Hegyi, O.F.M. — a refugee from Communist Hungary — parish steelworkers raised the brick upper structure on double shifts during off hours. Bishop Emmet M. Walsh blessed and dedicated the new church on April 23, 1950.
Refugee Outreach After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
Following the Soviet crushing of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Our Lady of Hungary, together with other local Hungarian churches, helped resettle Freedom Fighter refugees arriving in the Mahoning Valley. The parish also assisted Hungarian refugees after World War II, extending housing, jobs, and spiritual support.
Vatican II and Devotional Life (1960s–1970s)
In 1960 an 8-foot marble shrine of Our Lady wearing the crown of St. Stephen of Hungary with its bent cross was dedicated. Rev. Nicholas Dengl, appointed pastor in 1965, implemented the decrees of Vatican II. Rev. Ban Vitez was appointed in 1973; he hosted Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty during his 1974 U.S. tour. The church steeple was added in 1978.
- May crownings
- Good Friday entombment of the dead Christ behind a sliding panel of the front altar
- Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve with pageant
- Holy Thursday pilgrimages (bus tour of six local churches for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament)
Closing of the Hungarian Pastorate (1989–1993)
The Hungarian pastorate ended with Rev. Ban Vitez in 1989, and after the fall of the Iron Curtain many elderly priests returned to Hungary. The nearby Mount Alverna Friary — Hungarian Franciscan headquarters on Belle Vista Avenue that had supplied seven pastors to Our Lady of Hungary — closed in 1992 as a monastery due to a lack of vocations. Rev. John Reiss became the parish's first non-Hungarian pastor in 1993.
The Final Years and Closure (2005–2012)
Rev. Joseph S. Rudjak, a Polish priest, was appointed pastor in 2005 and served until the church's closure. He encouraged preservation of Hungarian heritage within the English Mass: the Sign of the Cross, First Reading, some petitions, a Hungarian hymn, and the Our Father sung in Hungarian; on national holidays the Mass closed with the Hungarian National Anthem. Sister Rose Huber served as pastoral associate from 2007 onward. Following diocesan regionalization, Our Lady of Hungary merged with St. Stephen of Hungary and Ss. Peter and Paul to form Holy Apostles Parish in 2011. The last regular Sunday Mass was celebrated on February 12, 2012 with Bishop George V. Murry and Father Rudjak as celebrants.
Merger and Legacy (2012–Present)
After its 2012 closure the property became part of the Holy Apostles Parish complex. Holy Apostles Parish later joined St. Columba Cathedral Parish on January 1, 2025. The Good Friday entombment statue is preserved in the diocesan archives, and the parish's legacy of Hungarian faith, bilingual liturgy, and refugee outreach is remembered as part of the broader Hungarian-American Catholic heritage of the Mahoning Valley.
Architecture and Sacred Art
The brick church on North Belle Vista Avenue was built by the hands of the parish's own steelworkers in the late 1940s and dedicated on April 23, 1950. Notable interior elements included the 1960 shrine of Our Lady wearing the crown of St. Stephen of Hungary with its bent cross, the sliding-panel front altar used in Good Friday entombment, and stained-glass windows honoring Hungarian saints.
Parish School
A small frame school was opened in 1930, staffed by the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown, but it closed after only two years due to the Great Depression. According to diocesan records the school operated from 1929 to 1931 (with Ursuline staffing).
Mount Alverna Friary and the Hungarian Franciscans
Headquartered on Belle Vista Avenue near the parish, Mount Alverna Friary was home to the Hungarian Franciscan community that provided seven pastors to Our Lady of Hungary across the mid-20th century. The friary closed as a Hungarian Franciscan monastery in 1992 due to declining vocations and the return of elderly priests to Hungary after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Istvan Nyiri1928–
Appointed by Bishop Schrembs on Dec. 21, 1928 to organize the new parish; directed construction of the basement church in 1929.
- Rev. Tarcisius Kuk, O.F.M.1948–
First Hungarian Franciscan pastor; ushered in a new era.
- Rev. Peter Hegyi, O.F.M.1949–
Refugee from Communist Hungary; under his leadership parish steelworkers raised the brick upper church on double shifts; blessed by Bishop Walsh in April 1950.
- Rev. Nicholas Dengl1965–
Implemented the decrees of Vatican II.
- Rev. Ban Vitez1973–1989
Last Hungarian pastor; hosted Cardinal Mindszenty's visit in 1974; steeple added in 1978.
- Rev. John Reiss1993–2005
First non-Hungarian pastor.
- Rev. Joseph S. Rudjak2005–2012
Polish-born pastor; encouraged preservation of Hungarian traditions; celebrated the parish's final Mass with Bishop Murry on Feb. 12, 2012.