About St. Andrew · Erie, Pennsylvania
St. Andrew Church is a historic Roman Catholic parish on Erie, Pennsylvania's west side, founded in 1871 to serve the Irish, German, and Portuguese Catholics of northwestern Erie. For more than 150 years it stood as an independent parish with a stone church, two school buildings, and a large rectory on West Seventh Street. In 2017 the parish entered a pastoral partnership with Sacred Heart and Saint Paul parishes, and on July 9, 2024 Bishop Lawrence T. Persico merged St. Andrew into Saint Jude the Apostle Parish, where the church continues as a secondary mission church sharing Sunday Mass and pastoral staff with Saint Jude.
- Established
- 1871
- Patron
- St. Andrew the Apostle
- Rector
- Rev. Michael Polinek
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie
Why belong here
St. Andrew continues as a mission church of Saint Jude the Apostle Parish, offering a Sunday Mass each week at its historic West Seventh Street location and welcoming parishioners across the west side of Erie and Millcreek Township. As Bishop Persico noted, the mission designation responds to 'the need for a stronger and more sustainable means to provide for the care of souls' in the area, so worshippers can still celebrate Mass in the church their ancestors built and attended for 150 years. The parish shares its clergy, religious education, and pastoral staff with Saint Jude and the San Esteban Hispanic community, while keeping St. Andrew's legacy of Marian devotion (including the Fatima Shrine) alive.
Mass times at St. Andrew
Weekly Mass schedule
History of Saint Andrew Parish
Saint Andrew parish history goes back 150 years to the efforts and sacrifices of many wonderful people who founded the parish in 1871. In the early years, most of the Catholic community in the city of Erie were of Irish and German descent, with a sizable group of Portuguese settled in the northwest area of the city. In 1870, a delegation of Irish, German, and Portuguese approached Bishop Mullen and asked that a parish be established in northwestern Erie; until that time Catholics attended services at St. Patrick Church. The parish grew from a wooden church at West Sixth and Raspberry Streets to a complex of two school buildings, a stone church, and a large rectory.
- Established and dedicated in 1871 by Bishop Tobias Mullen.
- 1896 fire destroyed the original frame church during Forty Hours; Mass moved to a basement nicknamed 'The Catacombs.'
- Present stone church begun 1915, completed 1916 under Father Michael Desmond.
- St. Andrew School operated 1929–2006.
- Parish celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2021, opening a 1915 time capsule.
Marian Devotion and the Fatima Shrine
Saint Andrew parish has always had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because of this devotion, a shrine to Our Lady of Fatima was built during Msgr. Gerald Dugan's pastorate. It was constructed under the leadership of Father Robert Reilly, who was the spiritual director of the Men of Fatima, and was formally dedicated during Forty Hours devotion on September 30, 1956.
St. Andrew School
St. Andrew School opened in December 1929 after ground was broken under Father Dennis Sheehan in May of that year. Through the decades it expanded with an annex that provided four classrooms for the lower grades, and a library and additional classroom space added under Msgr. James I. Gannon. The parish operated the school until 2006.
- Ground broken May 1929; school building ready for occupancy December 1929.
- Four-classroom school annex added for lower grades.
- Library built in basement of main school and two additional classrooms added under Msgr. Gannon.
- School closed in 2006.
Merger into Saint Jude the Apostle Parish (2024)
On April 11, 2024, Bishop Lawrence T. Persico issued a decree effecting the merger of St. Andrew Parish into St. Jude the Apostle Parish, effective July 9, 2024. On April 24, 2024, parishioners of St. Andrew Parish presented a canonical petition asking the bishop to revoke his decision and instead create two independent parishes sharing a single pastor. After extensive consultation with parish leaders and the diocesan priest council, Bishop Persico issued an amended decree on May 29, 2024 designating St. Andrew as a secondary mission church so that Mass may still be celebrated there on Sundays, holy days, and the evenings which precede them, so long as priests are available. All sacramental records, assets, responsibilities, and liabilities were transferred to Saint Jude the Apostle Parish.
- Original decree issued April 11, 2024.
- Parishioner petition filed April 24, 2024.
- Amended decree issued May 29, 2024, adding mission status.
- Merger effective July 9, 2024.
- St. Andrew retains Sunday Mass at 9:15 a.m. under mission status.
Clergy and Staff
Following the 2024 merger, pastoral care of St. Andrew is provided by the clergy of Saint Jude the Apostle Parish, including the pastor, parochial vicar, and two permanent deacons, with shared support and religious education staff.
- Rev. Michael Polinek — Pastor
- Rev. Kevin Holland — Parochial Vicar
- Deacon Miguel Alvarez
- Deacon Matthew Ochalek
- Sara Comi — Religious Education Leader
- Timothy Rydberg — Support Staff
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. James McCabe1871–
First pastor; directed construction of the original rectory.
- Rev. William Dwyer1889–1915
Second pastor; the 1896 church fire led to years of worship in 'The Catacombs'; died May 7, 1915 before the new church was completed.
- Rev. Michael Desmond1915–1916
Third pastor; completed the present stone church in 1916.
- Bishop John Mark Gannon1916–1920
Fourth pastor; built the present rectory in 1919 after the porch collapsed on him.
- Rev. Dennis Sheehan1921–1935
Fifth pastor; broke ground for the school in 1929; died in office 1935.
- Msgr. Gerald Dugan1936–1966
Sixth pastor; redecorated the church (1941); oversaw the Fatima Shrine dedicated September 30, 1956.
- Msgr. James I. Gannon1966–1987
Seventh pastor; built school library, two additional classrooms, parking lot and playground; retired at 75.
- Rev. William Miller1987–1988
Parish Administrator until a new pastor was named.
- Rev. Walter E. Packard1988–1996
Eighth pastor of St. Andrew.
- Rev. Mark O'Hern2017–2024
Pastor of the partnered parishes of St. Andrew, Sacred Heart, and St. Paul.