About St. Dominic · Youngstown, Ohio
St. Dominic Parish is a Catholic Dominican parish on the South Side of Youngstown, Ohio, founded in 1923 by the Order of Preachers at the invitation of Cleveland Archbishop Joseph Schrembs. The parish is served by the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph and belongs to the Diocese of Youngstown (Mahoning Deanery). Today it is a bilingual (English and Spanish), community-oriented parish known for its commitment to preaching, Eucharistic adoration, Hispanic ministry and local outreach, including the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
- Established
- 1923
- Patron
- Saint Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Order of Preachers
- Rector
- Rev. Frassati Davis, O.P.
- Diocese
- Catholic Diocese of Youngstown (Mahoning Deanery)
Why belong here
St. Dominic offers a rare combination in the Diocese of Youngstown: a historic Dominican preaching parish with daily Mass, weekday Eucharistic adoration, and one of the few regular Sunday Spanish Masses in the area (12:00 p.m.). Its ministries — a Lay Dominican program, Catholic Men's Fellowship, Parish and Family Life, the Hispanic Ministry, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society — give parishioners concrete ways to live the faith together. The friars of the Province of St. Joseph have served this South Side community for over a century, and the parish remains deeply committed to its neighborhood through initiatives like Operation Redemption.
Mass times at St. Dominic
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesday 11:15 AM – 11:55 AM
- Friday 11:15 AM – 11:55 AM
- Saturday 11:15 AM – 11:55 AM
- Saturday 4:00 PM – 4:55 PM
- Tuesday 7:15 PM – 7:45 PM (per Diocese of Youngstown directory)
- Sunday 11:30 AM (per Diocese of Youngstown directory)
Adoration times
- Tuesday 12:30 PM – 4:45 PM, followed by Evening Prayer at 4:45 PM
Parish History
St. Dominic Parish was established by the Dominican Order of Preachers on February 23, 1923, at the invitation of Cleveland Archbishop Joseph Schrembs. At the time Youngstown was still part of the Diocese of Cleveland. The first Mass was celebrated in a storeroom at the corner of Market Street and Ravenwood Avenue. Within a year a combined church/auditorium/school was built on Auburndale Avenue just off Southern Boulevard, and Dominican Sisters from Caldwell (Akron) and then the Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron staffed the school for decades.
- Founded: 1923
- First Mass: storeroom at Market Street and Ravenwood Avenue
- 1924: combined church/auditorium/school built on Auburndale Avenue
- 1929: school wing and separate auditorium added
- 1939: three-story convent built for the Dominican Sisters
- October 1952: new priory completed
- April 28, 1957: current Romanesque church dedicated
- 1958: 14-classroom school with library, gym and cafeteria
- 1963: school expansion
- Late 1960s: old church/auditorium converted to social hall
- 1978–79: church and parish hall renovated for Vatican II
- 1999: parish school closed
- May 20, 2023: centennial Mass celebrated by Bishop David Bonnar
Dominican Identity & Charism
St. Dominic is one of only a handful of parishes in the Diocese of Youngstown served by a religious order rather than diocesan clergy. The Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph staff the parish and priory, carrying on the preaching and teaching mission of Saint Dominic de Guzman — "to praise, to bless and to preach." This order is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical rite founded in France and approved in December 1216 by Pope Honorius III.
- Order: Order of Preachers (O.P.)
- Province: Province of St. Joseph
- Lay Dominican program available to parishioners
Worship & Liturgy
The parish offers a robust schedule of daily Masses along with Saturday Vigil and three Sunday Masses, one of which is celebrated in Spanish. Music is led by Music Director Mr. Alec Ring.
- Saturday Vigil: 5:00 PM (English)
- Sunday: 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM (English); 12:00 PM (Spanish)
- Weekday Mass Monday–Friday: 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM; Tuesday also 5:00 PM
- Saturday: 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM
- Rosary before the Saturday 12:00 PM Mass (11:40 AM)
- Holy Day Vigil 5:00 PM; Holy Day 8:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 7:00 PM (Spanish)
Clergy & Staff
The parish and priory are staffed by Dominican friars of the Province of St. Joseph, supported by a small lay staff.
- Pastor: Rev. Frassati Davis, O.P.
- Associate: Rev. Charles Marie Rooney, O.P.
- In Residence: Rev. John Chrysostom Kozlowski, O.P.
- In Residence: Rev. Bernard Confer, O.P.
- In Residence: Rev. Gregory Salomone, O.P.
- Music Director: Mr. Alec Ring
- Parish Secretary: Mrs. Sylvia Gould
- Parochial Assistant (Spanish Ministry): Paulina Montaldo — [email protected]
Hispanic Ministry & Bilingual Outreach
Around 2020, the parish began reaching out to Spanish-speaking neighbors by launching a weekly Sunday Mass in Spanish and a bilingual RCIA process. The ministry welcomes worshippers from across the greater Youngstown area — including Campbell, St. Brendan Parish on the West Side and St. Rose Catholic Church in Girard — and is coordinated by Parochial Assistant Paulina Montaldo.
- Weekly Sunday Spanish Mass at 12:00 PM
- Holy Day 7:00 PM Spanish Mass
- Bilingual Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA)
- Contact: [email protected]
Community Life, Outreach & Ministries
St. Dominic has always had a community-oriented approach to its ministry. In 1970 the parish was divided into smaller "mission" neighborhoods, each hosting Masses in homes and organizing communal activities. Today, the parish supports a Lay Dominican program, a Catholic Men's Fellowship, the Parish and Family Life ministry, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which partners with the wider St. Vincent de Paul Mahoning District Council.
- Lay Dominican program
- Catholic Men's Fellowship
- Parish and Family Life (community-building events)
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul
- Small faith-sharing / Synod groups
- Parish hall available for community events (Rental Facilities)
Operation Redemption & Neighborhood Revitalization
In 2009, after two shootings targeted parishioners, St. Dominic worked with local law enforcement, city officials and neighborhood volunteers to form Operation Redemption, a collaborative effort to address crime around the parish. As part of the same initiative, the parish sold the closed school building in 2010 to be reopened as a charter school and used the proceeds to open a new parish hall in 2013 without taking on debt.
Saint Dominic School (1958–1999)
A 14-classroom school building with library, gymnasium and cafeteria was completed and dedicated in 1958, then expanded with six additional classrooms in 1963. It was staffed first by the Caldwell Dominican Sisters of Akron and later the Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron. The school closed in 1999 due to declining enrollment; the building was sold in 2010 to reopen as a charter school.
Visit & Contact
Parishioners and visitors are warmly welcomed at the church and priory campus on East Lucius Avenue on Youngstown's South Side. The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM and is happy to help with Mass intentions, sacramental preparation questions and parish registration.
- Address: 77 East Lucius Avenue, Youngstown, OH 44507-1898
- Phone: (330) 783-1900
- Fax: (330) 783-2396
- Email: [email protected]
- Office hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM
- Website: https://saintdominic.org
- Driving directions are linked from the parish homepage
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Vincent DeLucia, O.P.through ~2023 (in role as of parish centennial coverage)
Prior/pastor during the 2023 centennial; joined St. Dominic around 2016 from New Haven, Connecticut.