Saint Monica, Wampum

St. Monica was founded in 1902.  In the years prior to the founding of the parish, the Catholic community was served from St. Agatha parish, Ellwood City.  A priest from St. Agatha visited the community and celebrated Mass in the second floor of a store building.  In early 1902 a committee of  local Catholics petitioned the bishop for their own parish.  The bishop agreed and in June of 1902 the parish was established. 

In November of 1903 land was purchased for a church.  The cornerstone was laid on September 25, 1904 and the completed church was dedicated on July 9, 1905.  This parish served the community for close to 90 years.  However, by the early 1990's it became obvious that the population of Lawrence County could no longer support the number of parishes in existence.  In 1992, St. Monica was merged with St. Teresa in Koppel to form the new Queen of Heaven parish.  At the time of the merger, St. Monica Church remained open and served the new parish.  However, shortly after the turn of the century, the parish conducted a study to determine if it needed two church buildings.  The study concluded that they did not, so, on the recommendation of the parish pastoral and financial councils, St. Monica Church closed on September 30, 2008.