About St. Nicholas · Nicktown, Pennsylvania
St. Nicholas Parish is a historic Roman Catholic parish in the village of Nicktown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. Founded in 1861 and staffed from the start by the Benedictine Monks of St. Vincent Archabbey, the parish traces its roots to the German-Catholic farming families who settled the Allegheny foothills of central Pennsylvania. The current church sits on Alverda Road (Route 553) and is the mother parish of St. Nicholas Catholic School, a PreK-8 institution also shaped by the Benedictine tradition. Today St. Nicholas continues the rhythm of a classic rural Catholic parish: multiple weekend Masses, weekday Masses, weekly adoration, regular confession, and an active school and faith-formation program serving the surrounding Northern Cambria communities.
- Established
- 1861
- Patron
- St. Nicholas
- Diocese
- Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown
Why belong here
St. Nicholas is a Benedictine-rooted parish in the heart of rural Northern Cambria, with three Sunday Masses (plus a Saturday Vigil), daily weekday Masses including a Wednesday evening Mass, weekly Eucharistic adoration, and regular confession times that make daily sacramental life easy to access. The parish runs St. Nicholas Catholic School, a PreK-8 faith formation program, youth ministry, music ministry, lectors, Eucharistic ministers, altar servers, and ushers — so there is a concrete way for almost anyone to plug in. For a Catholic family in the Nicktown area, it offers the rare combination of a historic, traditional parish, a parish-based Catholic school, and a faith community that has served the same villages for more than 160 years.
Mass times at St. Nicholas
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesday 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM (before evening Mass)
- Saturday 4:00 PM – 4:30 PM (before Vigil Mass)
- 1st Saturday 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Adoration times
- Wednesday 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (before evening Mass)
- Friday 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Parish History
St. Nicholas Parish was founded in 1861 by the Benedictine Monks of St. Vincent Archabbey and has served the German-Catholic farming communities of what is now Northern Cambria for more than 160 years. The original church was constructed in 1866, the village around it was first called St. Nicholas and later renamed Nicktown, and the current church was built after a 1914 fire destroyed the earlier structure and was dedicated in 1915. The parish preserves its story in the 1977 book The History of Saint Nicholas Catholic Church, which is held by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and traces founding families such as the Leib and Kirsch families.
- 1861 — Parish founded by Benedictine Monks of St. Vincent Archabbey
- 1866 — Original church built
- 1914 — Fire destroyed the earlier church
- 1915 — Present church dedicated
- 1977 — Parish history published
Benedictine Heritage
From the very start, St. Nicholas was founded and staffed by the Benedictine Monks of St. Vincent Archabbey — the same monastic community that established St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The parish and its school continue to be shaped by the Benedictine values of love of Christ and neighbor, prayer, discipline, stewardship, hospitality, and community life. According to the parish school, 'Simply by proxy was our school established in 1923 to facilitate the education of young students with the Benedictine Rule as its educational measuring guide.'
- Founded and staffed by the Benedictine Monks of St. Vincent Archabbey since 1861
- Benedictine values: prayer, hospitality, stewardship, community, love of neighbor
- Same monastic community that founded St. Vincent College
Parish School — St. Nicholas Catholic School
St. Nicholas Catholic School is the parish-affiliated PreK through 8th-grade school founded in 1923 by the Benedictine monks to educate the children of the parish in the Benedictine tradition. Today the school continues to operate on Blue Goose Road in Nicktown with an enrollment of about 128 students under principal Theresa Burba. Gospel values are woven through every subject, and the school emphasizes community service, faith formation, and academic rigor as part of its Benedictine identity. In 1971 St. Nicholas joined the Northern Cambria Catholic school consolidation, and in 1992 a new addition on the St. Nicholas campus became home to NCCS; the Felician Sisters staffed the school for decades until 2013, when Mrs. Burba became its first lay principal.
- Founded 1923 by the Benedictine Monks of St. Vincent Archabbey
- Grades PreK–8
- Principal: Theresa Burba
- Address: 3278 Blue Goose Road, Nicktown, PA 15762
- Phone: (814) 948-8900
- Website: https://www.stncs.org/
- Member of the Northern Cambria Catholic (NCCS) consolidation since 1971
Faith Formation & Youth Ministry
Faith formation for parish children and youth runs alongside the parish school, supporting sacramental preparation (First Communion, Confirmation) and ongoing religious education for students whose primary schooling is elsewhere.
- Faith Formation program for parish children
- Youth Ministry program (Junior High and High School)
- Sacramental preparation for First Communion and Confirmation
Parish Ministries & Organizations
The parish runs the classic ministries that keep a Catholic parish functioning liturgically and socially. Lay faithful serve as lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, altar servers, and ushers at Mass, while a music ministry supports sung worship.
- Altar Servers
- Ushers
- Lectors
- Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
- Music ministry / Choir
Contact & Visiting
Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office by phone, mail, or email during the week. The parish's mailing address is PO Box 37, 1169 Alverda Road, Nicktown, PA 15762, and the church is located on Route 553 (Alverda Road) in Nicktown.
- Phone: (814) 948-9614
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.saintnicholasparish.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicktown.pa/
- Parish office: PO Box 37, 1169 Alverda Road, Nicktown, PA 15762