About St. Dominic · Sigel, Pennsylvania
St. Dominic Church is a small Catholic mission church situated along Route 949 about a mile south of the village of Sigel in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. Established in 1860, it has long served the Catholic families of Eldred Township and the surrounding rural area as a mission of Immaculate Conception Parish in nearby Brookville. Today the mission shares a pastor, secretary, and religious education staff with Immaculate Conception, and Sunday Mass is celebrated at St. Dominic's historic little church while weekday and Saturday Masses are offered at the mother parish in Brookville. The mission belongs to the Diocese of Erie and is the spiritual home of a tight-knit rural Catholic community in the Pennsylvania Wilds.
- Established
- 1860
- Patron
- St. Dominic
- Rector
- Rev. William M. Laska
- Diocese
- Diocese of Erie
Why belong here
St. Dominic offers a small, personal Catholic community in rural Jefferson County where the same pastor and staff care for both mission and mother parish. Sunday Mass is celebrated right in the historic mission church itself (8:30 a.m.), with confessions heard beforehand, so worshippers do not have to drive to Brookville to receive the Eucharist. Religious education for children is provided through the parish's faith-formation program run by Penny Rakovan, and the parish bulletin keeps the mission connected to Immaculate Conception's wider events and devotions. For Catholics in the Sigel, Eldred Township, and southern Jefferson County area, St. Dominic is the convenient local home of the faith that has served these farm communities since 1860.
Mass times at St. Dominic
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:30 p.m. at Immaculate Conception, Brookville
- Sunday 8:00 a.m. – 8:20 a.m. at St. Dominic, Sigel
About St. Dominic Mission
St. Dominic is a Catholic mission church in Sigel, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, operated as a satellite of Immaculate Conception Parish in Brookville. The Diocese of Erie lists its founding year as 1860, and the mission has continued to serve the rural Catholics of Eldred Township and the surrounding area ever since. Parish records, the office, and the secretary are all based at the mother parish in Brookville, but a Sunday Mass is celebrated right in the historic Sigel church so that local families do not have to drive to town.
History
The mission dates to 1860, according to the Diocese of Erie's official parish profile. Local Jefferson County histories add color to that date: during the turbulent 1860s in Brookville, when the congregation there went through a rapid turnover of pastors, Father Snively — a convert priest stationed at Immaculate Conception — encouraged and partly completed a small frame church of about 40 by 30 feet for the Catholics of Eldred Township. That little church was known as 'Fiscus,' a name taken from the nearby post office, and stood about a mile south of the Sigel post office near the Olean road. Through pastorates, mission status, and the eventual consolidation of rural Catholic life around Immaculate Conception in Brookville, St. Dominic has endured as the area's country church for more than 160 years.
- Founded 1860
- Originally called 'Fiscus'
- Built as a 40 × 30 ft frame church by Father Snively
- Served Catholics of Eldred Township
Parish Staff
St. Dominic shares its pastoral team with Immaculate Conception Parish in Brookville. Together they form a single staff serving both worship sites.
- Pastor — Rev. William M. Laska
- Secretary / Support Staff — Chris Koladish
- Religious Education Leader — Penny Rakovan (814-849-8697)
Religious Education
Faith formation for the parish's children is coordinated through Immaculate Conception Parish by Religious Education Leader Penny Rakovan. Families with school-age children can reach the RE office at the parish phone number (814-849-8697) to register or to learn about class times and sacramental preparation.
Visiting Sigel — Location and Directions
The mission sits about one mile south of the village of Sigel along Pennsylvania Route 949, at Catholic Church Road. From Brookville, take the appropriate county road to PA-949 south; the church is easy to spot where Catholic Church Road meets the highway. Mail and parish business go through the mother parish at 129 Graham Avenue, Brookville, PA 15825.
- 7017 PA Route 949, Sigel, PA 15860
- Mailing address: c/o Immaculate Conception Parish, 129 Graham Ave., Brookville, PA 15825
- Phone: (814) 849-8697
- Fax: (814) 849-5265
Why Belong to St. Dominic
For Catholics scattered across the farms and small communities of Eldred Township and southern Jefferson County, St. Dominic is the local home of the faith — a historic mission where Sunday Mass and confession are offered without the drive to Brookville. The mission is supported by a single, experienced pastoral team with Immaculate Conception, a working faith-formation program, and the wider Diocesan Communion of the Erie diocese.