St. Joseph

About the Parish

St. Joseph Parish is a Roman Catholic parish serving the Slovak-heritage Catholic community of Toronto, Ohio, in the Diocese of Steubenville. It is paired with neighboring St. Francis of Assisi Parish under a clustered arrangement that shares clergy, staff, and many ministries while each parish keeps its own identity and canonical status. The two parishes share the office and rectory at 1225 N. River Avenue.

• Pastor: Rev. Thomas A. Vennitti
• Secretary: Michelle Fouts
• Clustered with St. Francis of Assisi Parish since 1986

Parish History

St. Joseph was founded in 1926 to serve the Slovak Catholic immigrants who had begun arriving in the Toronto area in the 1880s. A 1906 committee had asked the Bishop of Columbus to organize a parish, but a Slovak-speaking priest was not available until Father Andrew R. Beros arrived in 1926. The church was in use by fall 1927 and the parish school opened under the Sisters of Loretta. Over the following decades the parish built a recreation hall (1939), welcomed new teaching sisters (Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius, 1949), erected the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima (1950), remodeled and enlarged the convent (1960), and renovated the church for Vatican II (late 1960s).

Liturgical & Devotional Life

Beyond Sunday and weekday Mass, the parish gathers each Advent and Lent for Sunday Vespers — a devotional tradition introduced under Father Foys in the 1980s — and runs a Summer Vacation Bible School. A combined choir, cantors, lectors, and Eucharistic ministers (who bring Communion to shut-ins on the first and third Sundays of each month) support the parish's liturgical life.

• Advent and Lenten Sunday Vespers
• Summer Vacation Bible School
• Combined parish choir, cantors, funeral choir
• Eucharistic ministers visit shut-ins 1st and 3rd Sundays

Faith Formation & Religious Education

The Parish School of Religion (PSR) provides religious instruction for children from Pre-K through 8th grade who do not attend a Catholic school, including sacramental preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Classes are held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month, September through April, and have been directed for many years by Judy Koehnlein. The RCIA team, marriage-preparation team, confirmation-preparation team, adult religious education program, and small faith-sharing groups round out the parish's formation offerings.

• Parish School of Religion (PSR) — Pre-K through 8th
• RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)
• Marriage preparation team
• Confirmation preparation team
• Adult religious education
• Small faith-sharing groups

Sacraments

The parish celebrates Baptism during any of the weekend Masses and asks families to call the rectory well in advance of a child's birth. First Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday in May at the 11:00 am Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church; children not enrolled at Bishop John King Mussio Elementary must attend the PSR. Confirmation inquiries are handled through the parish office.

• Baptism during weekend Masses — call rectory in advance
• First Communion — 1st Sunday in May at 11:00 am at St. Francis
• Confirmation — call 740-537-4433

Parish Ministries, Organizations & Outreach

St. Joseph and St. Francis together support a wide range of lay ministries and service organizations. Faith-focused groups include RCIA, marriage preparation, confirmation preparation, F.A.I.T.H. (Friends Actively Involved to Help — supports the school), adult religious education, small faith-sharing groups, and the youth group H.O.P.E., Inc. Service and fellowship groups include the Catholic Men of Toronto, Knights of Columbus, CWC units, the funeral luncheon committee, and Saint Francis Central Boosters. Liturgical and parish-life groups include the combined choir, cantors, lectors, ushers, funeral choir, liturgy committee, parish council, finance council, maintenance committee, and school board.

• Catholic Men of Toronto
• Knights of Columbus
• Catholic Women's Conference (CWC) units
• F.A.I.T.H.
• H.O.P.E., Inc. (youth group)
• Saint Francis Central Boosters
• Ushers, lectors, cantors, combined & funeral choirs
• Liturgy, Parish Council, Finance Council, Maintenance Committee
• Funeral Luncheon Committee, School Board

Parish School & Catholic Education

St. Joseph's parish school has been part of the parish's life since 1927. After the sisters were withdrawn in 1970, the school became Saint Francis Central School serving both Toronto parishes. The parish supports the school through F.A.I.T.H. and Saint Francis Central Boosters, and an early-development center for Saint Francis Central School was created in the former St. Joseph rectory during the building campaigns of the clustered-parish era.

• Saint Francis Central School (serves both Toronto parishes since 1970)
• F.A.I.T.H. — supports the school
• Saint Francis Central Boosters
• Bishop John King Mussio Elementary (referenced for sacramental preparation)

Buildings, Grounds & Facilities

The parish campus includes the church at the corner of River and Belmont, the church hall, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima (built 1950). The former convent was repurposed as the rectory under Father Voytko, and the former rectory was converted into a meeting facility and later an early-development center for Saint Francis Central School. Across both clustered parishes, reroofing, parking-lot resurfacing, and renovations to foyers, restrooms, the church hall, and an elevator addition at Saint Francis Church have been completed.

• Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima (1950)
• Faceted stained glass windows installed under Fr. Voytko
• Former convent became rectory; former rectory became meeting space and early-development center

Annual Pastor's Lawn Party

Since 1981 parishioners of both clustered parishes have gathered in late August on the parish grounds for the Pastor's Lawn Party — a parish tradition begun by the priests who serve Toronto to thank parishioners for their support of Catholic life in the community. Attendance has grown from 68 people in its first year to more than 600.

• Held annually since 1981 in late August
• Grew from 68 attendees to over 600

Clustered Parish Partnership with St. Francis of Assisi

Since March 2, 1986, St. Joseph Parish has been clustered with neighboring St. Francis of Assisi Parish in response to a diocesan-wide concern about the shortage of priests. Monsignor Roger J. Foys was appointed eighth pastor of St. Francis while retaining Saint Joseph, and the parishes merged advisory bodies and sacramental-preparation teams. Although the two parishes maintain separate identities and canonical status, the unity of the Catholic faith binds their parishioners into one community, sharing clergy (Pastoral Vicar Fr. Kurt H. Kemo, Pastoral Associate Brother Anthony Motto, and later Fr. Vincent J. Huber), staff, and ministries.

• Clustering began March 2, 1986
• Shared Pastoral Vicar and Pastoral Associate
• Merged advisory and sacramental-preparation teams
• Each parish retains its own canonical identity

Diocese of Steubenville

St. Joseph Parish is part of the Diocese of Steubenville, a missionary diocese in southeastern Ohio that was established on October 21, 1944, by Pope Pius XII and canonically erected on March 15, 1945. It was carved from the eastern part of the Diocese of Columbus and made a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, with the Most Rev. John King Mussio as its first bishop. St. Joseph falls within the Mother of Hope Deanery.

• Established October 21, 1944 by Pope Pius XII
• Erected March 15, 1945; carved from Diocese of Columbus
• Mother of Hope Deanery

Visiting & Contact

The parish office and rectory are at 1225 N. River Avenue, Toronto, OH 43964. Telephone: 740-537-4433. The St. Joseph church building sits at the corner of River and Belmont. Inquiries about sacraments, ministries, and the Parish School of Religion can be directed to the parish office.

• Parish office / rectory: 1225 N. River Ave., Toronto, OH 43964
• St. Joseph church: Corner of River & Belmont
• Phone: 740-537-4433