About SS Peter / Paul Croatian Catholic Church (Holy Apostles Parish) · Youngstown, Ohio
SS. Peter & Paul Croatian Catholic Church is a 114-year-old parish on Covington Street on Youngstown's North Side, founded in 1911 by Croatian and Slovenian immigrants and originally known as Ss. Peter and Paul Parish. In 2011 it joined with Our Lady of Hungary and St. Stephen of Hungary to form Holy Apostles Parish, and on January 1, 2025 it was further grouped with St. Edward Church and St. Columba Cathedral under the newly created St. Columba Cathedral Parish in the Diocese of Youngstown. As of late 2025 the Covington Street church has been declared a secondary worship site (or oratory) by Bishop David Bonnar, meaning weddings, funerals and baptisms may still be celebrated there and patron-feast and other occasional Masses continue, but its regular weekend Mass schedule has ended.
- Established
- 1911
- Patron
- Saints Peter and Paul (Apostles)
- Rector
- Very Rev. Msgr. Robert Siffrin, V.F. (Rector of St. Columba Cathedral Parish, which now includes SS. Peter & Paul as a secondary worship site)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Youngstown
Why belong here
SS. Peter & Paul is the spiritual home of a tight-knit Croatian and Slovenian Catholic community on Youngstown's North Side — a place where, as the parish's own history page notes, families still celebrate their cultural connection to the faith through music, patron feast day traditions and holy day customs particular to their heritage. The parish welcomes longtime descendants, newer neighbors, and visitors to occasional Masses and the full sacramental life (baptisms, weddings and funerals) still offered in the church, and the attached hall continues in active use. Even as the parish has entered a new chapter under St. Columba Cathedral Parish, the Covington Street building remains a living oratory and a touchstone of Mahoning Valley ethnic Catholic life.
Mass times at SS Peter / Paul Croatian Catholic Church (Holy Apostles Parish)
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- Eucharistic Adoration: 3rd Sunday of the month, prior to morning Mass
History of SS. Peter & Paul Parish
The parish was begun in 1911 by a young Croatian priest, Fr. Mijo (Michael) G. Domladovac, who gathered the local Croatian and Slovenian community into a converted frame house on Covington Street, then built the present Romanesque brick church dedicated in 1915. Under the long pastorate of Rev. John A. Stipanovic (53 years) it grew to include a parish school, a renovated interior, and outreach to European refugees after World War II. The parish school closed in 1973, and in 2011 Ss. Peter & Paul merged with two Hungarian-heritage parishes to form Holy Apostles Parish.
- Founded July 2, 1911 — first Mass in a converted frame house at Covington & Thomas (now Arlington) Streets
- Cornerstone for the Romanesque brick church laid within two years; building dedicated in 1915
- Parish school opened 1929; closed in 1973 after 58 years
- Rev. John A. Stipanovic served 53 years as pastor (built the school, renovated the church interior, aided post-WWII refugees)
- Merger into Holy Apostles Parish in 2011
Our Founders: Croatian and Slovenian Immigrants
The parish was created to serve the Croatian and Slovenian Catholic families of Youngstown, Campbell, Struthers, Girard and the surrounding Mahoning Valley. The community's cultural connection to the faith remains central to its identity — Croatian heritage music, feast day celebrations and holy day traditions are still actively maintained, and the parish has historically also welcomed Polish Catholics (notably from the closed St. Casimir Church in Brier Hill in 2012).
- Founding communities: Croatian and Slovenian immigrants of the Mahoning Valley
- Cultural traditions still observed: Croatian music, feast day and holy day customs
- Polish parishioners from St. Casimir (closed February 2012) absorbed into the parish
Merger into Holy Apostles Parish (2011)
In 2011, in line with diocesan regionalization, Ss. Peter & Paul joined with Our Lady of Hungary and St. Stephen of Hungary to form Holy Apostles Parish, uniting the area's Croatian, Slovenian and Hungarian Catholic communities under one pastorate while continuing to honor each community's heritage.
- Merged in 2011 with Our Lady of Hungary and St. Stephen of Hungary to form Holy Apostles Parish
- Each ethnic community continued to celebrate its own heritage feasts and holy day traditions
Current Status: St. Columba Cathedral Parish and the Closing of Regular Masses (2025)
On October 4, 2024 Bishop David Bonnar announced that Holy Apostles Parish would merge with St. Edward Church and St. Columba Cathedral effective January 1, 2025, creating the new St. Columba Cathedral Parish. The Covington Street church was designated a secondary worship site, and its final regular Sunday Mass was celebrated on November 2, 2025. Weddings, funerals and baptisms still take place there, the hall continues in use, and one Mass a month is planned under Rector Msgr. Robert Siffrin.
- Announced October 4, 2024; merger effective January 1, 2025 into St. Columba Cathedral Parish
- Designated a secondary worship site / oratory by Bishop David Bonnar
- Final regular Sunday Mass: November 2, 2025 (concelebrated by Msgr. Robert Siffrin, Fr. Joseph Rudjak and Deacon William Bancroft)
- Baptisms, weddings and funerals still celebrated at the church
- Msgr. Siffrin plans one Mass per month at the oratory
The Church Building
The present church is a Romanesque-style brick building dedicated in 1915, occupying the same block on Covington Street where the original frame chapel stood in 1911. Its interior was later renovated under the pastorate of Rev. John A. Stipanovic, and the parish has continued to care for and upgrade the church, hall and rectory into the present day.
- Romanesque brick church dedicated 1915
- Interior renovation completed under Fr. John A. Stipanovic
- Complex includes church, parish hall and rectory — all maintained by the parish
The Parish School
A parish school was opened in 1929 under Fr. John A. Stipanovic's pastorate. It served the children of the Croatian and Slovenian community for 58 years before being closed in 1973 due to shrinking enrollment, a decision that was a major turning point in the parish's twentieth-century history.
- School opened 1929 under Fr. John A. Stipanovic
- Operated for 58 years
- Closed in 1973 due to declining enrollment
Parish Life, Music and Heritage Celebrations
Even in its new status as a secondary worship site, SS. Peter & Paul remains a living expression of Croatian and Slovenian Catholic heritage in the Mahoning Valley. The parish continues to mark the Feast of Ss. Peter & Paul (June 29) with a special Mass, hosts occasional holy day and cultural celebrations, and keeps its hall in active use for community gatherings.
- Annual Feast of Ss. Peter & Paul Mass (June 29)
- Croatian and Slovenian cultural music and traditions
- Parish hall available for community and family gatherings
Clergy and Pastoral Staff
Under the new St. Columba Cathedral Parish, SS. Peter & Paul is served by Rector Very Rev. Msgr. Robert Siffrin, V.F. and Parochial Vicar Rev. John T. Rovnak, together with Permanent Deacons William Bancroft, Tony Falasca, Mark Izzo and Sylvester Frazza. Rev. Joseph S. Rudjak, who was pastor for 20 years and led the parish through the 2011 merger, now serves as Pastor Emeritus after retiring in July 2023.
- Rector: Very Rev. Msgr. Robert Siffrin, V.F.
- Parochial Vicar: Rev. John T. Rovnak
- Pastor Emeritus: Rev. Joseph S. Rudjak, M.A., M.Div. (retired July 1, 2023)
- Permanent Deacons: William Bancroft, Tony Falasca, Mark Izzo, Sylvester Frazza
Contact and Location
The church is located on the North Side of Youngstown at 421 Covington Street. Parish phone lines and email are now handled through St. Columba Cathedral Parish, and current information is published through the cathedral parish website.
- Address: 421 Covington St., Youngstown, OH 44510
- Parish phone: (330) 743-1905
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: stcolumbacathedral.org/ss-peter-paul-church-1
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Mijo (Michael) G. Domladovac1911–
Founder; ordained June 10, 1911 in the Diocese of Cleveland; said his first Youngstown Mass on June 11, 1911 and the first parish Mass on July 2, 1911 in a converted frame house; led the building of the Romanesque brick church dedicated in 1915.
- Rev. John A. Stipanovicapproximately 53 years of service
Built and opened the parish school in 1929; oversaw church interior renovations; organized relief for European refugees after World War II.
- Rev. Joseph S. Rudjak, M.A., M.Div.2003–July 1, 2023
Pastor of Ss. Peter & Paul from 2003; oversaw the 2011 merger into Holy Apostles Parish; retired July 1, 2023 after 20 years and is now Pastor Emeritus of Holy Apostles.
- Very Rev. Msgr. Robert Siffrin, V.F.2025–present
Rector of St. Columba Cathedral Parish under which SS. Peter & Paul now serves as a secondary worship site/oratory.