Saint Gregory, Zelienople

Parish History

St. Gregory was founded in 1906.  The impetus for the establishment of the parish was the growth in population of Zelienople in the prior ten years.  Before the parish was founded, priests visited the area from either Butler or Herman and celebrated Mass in private homes.  Construction of a church began in 1906.  While the church was under construction, Mass was celebrated in a local school.  On September 30, 1906, the new church was dedicated.

In 1919, the church was enlarged with the addition of a bell tower, vestibule and choir loft.  The church was remodeled again in 1938 with the installation of stained glass windows and an organ.

On May 15, 1966, ground was broken for a new church.  The cornerstone of the church was laid on October 13, 1967 and the completed church was dedicated on December 10, 1967.  The last Mass in the old church was celebrated on September 15, 1967.  The church was torn down shortly afterwards.

As time went on, the population of the area began a steady decline.  By the early twenty-first century, the area could no longer support the number of parishes in existence.  On July 1, 2016, St. Gregory Parish absorbed the nearby St. Matthias Parish, Evans City.  Both churches remained open after the merger.

In 2018 St. Matthias Church was no longer used for regular Sunday or weekday Masses and only used for special occasions.  On May 29, 2019 St. Matthias Church caught fire and was severely damaged.  The parish made the decision that the damage was too severe to warrant repairing the building and the church was razed in November of that year.

With the turn of the century, trends in the Diocese of Pittsburgh began to reveal a decline in Mass attendance and sacramental participation.  At the same time, the number of priests available for parish ministry also began to decline.

To address these challenges, Bishop David Zubik announced on April 12, 2015 a new diocesan initiative, On Mission for The Church Alive!, a consultative strategic planning process designed to foster viable, sustainable and vibrant parishes.  As part of this process, the Bishop, in consultation with the faithful, began to consider new models of parish life based on pastoral needs, financial and temporal resources and available clergy.

In 2018, following the period of consultation, parishes were grouped together and served by a single clergy team to eventually form one new parish.

During this transition period, St. Gregory Parish remained an independent parish while sharing clergy and staff and eventually publishing a joint bulletin with the other parishes.   This ended on July 1, 2022 when St. Gregory Parish merged with Holy Redeemer Parish, Ellwood City/Koppel/Wampum and St. Ferdinand Parish, Cranberry Township to form the new Divine Grace Parish.  As part of the merger St. Gregory Church remained open as part of the new parish.