The Mother Church: The History of St. Elizabeth Church, St. Anthony de Padua, and Our Lady of Fatima Church by William Lombardo (140 pages, paperback, 5.5 x 8.25”)

“The Mother Church: The History of St. Elizabeth Church, St. Anthony de Padua, and Our Lady of Fatima Church” was written in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the current Our Lady of Fatima Church in 2002. The book chronicles key moments in the congregation’s existence through in-depth research, vivid detail, and nearly 70 photographs of past religious leaders, architectural details, and church buildings.

St. Elizabeth Church was a result of the dedication of its founding members who, at the turn of the 20th century, were settling in the borough of South Sharon, now known as Farrell, Pennsylvania. The surge in Irish Catholics immigrating to the Shenango Valley who came to find work in the bustling steel mills allowed the magnificent $50,000 Gothic church to be built on the corner of Roemer Boulevard (formerly Haywood) and Wallis Street. Designed by Oil City, Pa. architect, Joseph P. Brenot, the showplace house of worship was illuminated with over 2,000 electric light bulbs, quite a spectacle at that time. Built of Cleveland stone and Kittanning buff brick with cornices and finials of copper, the imposing ecclesiastical building was noted as one of the most beautiful church building in the state.

At the same time, a large number of Italian immigrants were locating to the village of South Sharon to find work in the steel mills. As a result, St. Anthony de Padua parish was created to fill the need for a Catholic church with an Italian-speaking pastor who understood their language and customs from back home. On March 5, 1952, Archbishop John Mark Gannon ordered the consolidation of St. Elizabeth’s and St. Anthony’s into one, unified church honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima, which would be housed in the former St. Elizabeth Catholic Church. In 1960, the Our Lady of Fatima elementary school, chapel and convent were erected. This would later be renamed Monsignor Geno J. Monti School in honor of Our Lady of Fatima Church’s first pastor. The congregation’s of the past, present and future, have and will celebrate joyous and mournful occasions in the revered house of worship. The magnificent Gothic church, both exterior and interior, like a piece of art or classical music, has endured the test of time. It is said that “a thing of beauty is a joy forever.”