About Saint John the Baptist [Maronite] · New Castle, Pennsylvania
St. John the Baptist Maronite Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic parish serving the Lebanese-Maronite community of New Castle, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding region of western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. Tucked into a small lot at 2 West Reynolds Street in downtown New Castle, the parish belongs to the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, which shepherds Maronite Catholics across the United States. The congregation gathers for the Divine Liturgy in the Maronite (Antiochian Syriac) tradition every Saturday evening, Sunday morning, and weekday morning, served by a pastor, deacon, and subdeacon.
- Patron
- St. John the Baptist
- Rector
- Rev. Hanna Karam
- Diocese
- Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn (geographically within the territory of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh).
Why belong here
St. John the Baptist offers the rare gift of an authentic Maronite liturgical and cultural home in the Shenango Valley, where the Divine Liturgy is celebrated according to the ancient Antiochian Syriac tradition of the Maronite Church. The parish is small enough that nearly every family is connected by ancestry to the original Lebanese founders, yet active enough to maintain weekday and weekend liturgies, a pastor, deacon, and subdeacon, and a calendar of feasts. For Lebanese-American Catholics in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, it is a place to keep heritage, faith, and community alive across generations.
Mass times at Saint John the Baptist [Maronite]
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturdays 3:30 PM (before Vigil Mass)
About St. John the Baptist Maronite Church
St. John the Baptist is the Maronite Catholic parish serving New Castle, Pennsylvania, and the wider Lebanese-Maronite community of western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. Though it stands within the territorial Diocese of Pittsburgh, the parish belongs to the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, the Eastern Catholic diocese that unites U.S. Maronites. The faithful gather at 2 West Reynolds Street for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the Maronite (Antiochian Syriac) tradition.
History & Community Origins
The parish was born from the Lebanese immigration wave that brought Christian families — many from Homs, Syria — to New Castle's mills, shops, and steel mills in the early twentieth century. Community leaders organized civic associations such as the Syrian Ray Society (founded 1926) to promote friendship and education among Arab Americans. Even after the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 sharply restricted further Arab immigration, the local Maronite families built and sustained their church, and today the parish remains 80 to 100 families strong, with most parishioners able to trace their ancestry directly to the founding generation.
- Founded by Lebanese-Maronite immigrants who settled in New Castle in the early 1900s
- Many founding families came from Homs, Syria
- Sister Orthodox parish in New Castle: St. Elias Orthodox Church
- Part of the broader Arab-American community of the Shenango Valley
Maronite Heritage & Eparchy
The Maronite Church is one of the Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with Rome, with its own Antiochian Syriac liturgy, spirituality, and patrimony rooted in St. Maron and the mountains of Lebanon. St. John the Baptist belongs to the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, which was originally erected by Pope Paul VI as an Apostolic Exarchate in 1966 to unify U.S. Maronite Catholics and was elevated to a full eparchy in 1971. The eparchy's see was moved from Detroit to Brooklyn in 1977.
- Eparchy: Saint Maron of Brooklyn
- Eparchy erected as Apostolic Exarchate: 10 January 1966 (Pope Paul VI, bull Cum supremi)
- Elevated to Eparchy: 29 November 1971 (apostolic constitution Quae spes)
- See moved from Detroit to Brooklyn: 27 June 1977
- Current bishop (at time of writing): Bishop Gregory Mansour
Clergy & Staff
The parish is currently served by a Maronite priest, a deacon, and a subdeacon, all listed in the official Eparchy directory and parish roster.
- Rev. Hanna Karam — Pastor
- Deacon Richard E. Stone
- Subdeacon Andrew Demko
Pastoral Succession
Bishop Gregory Mansour's official decrees document the recent pastoral transitions at St. John the Baptist.
- Rev. Claude Franklin, Jr. — Pastor (transferred from St. John the Baptist to St. Joseph Church, Olean, NY)
- Rev. Hanna Karam — appointed Pastor after serving as Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Victory Church, Carnegie, PA; previously also served in Pittsburgh, Boston, Richmond VA, and Wilkes-Barre (Pastor of St. Anthony & St. George, 2011–2018)
Liturgical Schedule
The parish publishes its Divine Liturgy schedule through the Eparchy of Saint Maron and through online directories such as Catholic Church Directory and Discover Mass. Mass is offered every weekday morning, Saturday Vigil, and Sunday, with a summer adjustment for the Sunday liturgy.
- Saturday Vigil Mass — 4:00 PM
- Sunday Mass — 11:00 AM (10:00 AM during summer)
- Weekday Mass — Monday through Friday at 9:00 AM
- Holy Day of Obligation — Vigil at 7:00 PM; Holy Day at 9:00 AM
- Reconciliation — Saturdays 3:30 PM
Visiting & Location
The parish is located in downtown New Castle, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, at 2 West Reynolds Street. Visitors, Maronite faithful traveling through, and Roman Catholics in full communion are warmly welcomed to celebrate the Maronite Divine Liturgy with the parish community.
- Address: 2 West Reynolds Street, New Castle, PA 16101
- Phone: (724) 658-0787
- Fax: (724) 658-2711
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.stjohnmaronite.org/
Connect Online
Beyond the parish website, St. John the Baptist maintains a presence on Facebook where news, photos, and announcements are shared with parishioners and friends of the parish.
- Official Facebook page: facebook.com/p/St-John-The-Baptist-Maronite-Church-100080308393882/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Claude Franklin, Jr.
Served as Pastor of St. John the Baptist before being transferred by Bishop Gregory Mansour to St. Joseph Church in Olean, New York.
- Rev. Hanna Karam
Appointed Pastor of St. John the Baptist by Bishop Gregory Mansour, having previously served as Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Victory Church in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. Ordained background includes service in Pittsburgh, Boston, Richmond, VA, and Wilkes-Barre.