Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish sits in the coal country of northern Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in the small borough of Central City. Here, Polish and Slovak immigrants once built two churches that today stand as a single Roman Catholic community under a motto drawn from Pope Pius X: Instaurare Omnia in Christo, "To Renew All Things in Christ." Each weekend the parish gathers at its two church sites to celebrate Mass, teach the faith to children, prepare adults for the sacraments, and quietly assist the needy through its local St. Vincent de Paul conference.
Two Churches, One Parish
The parish operates from two worship sites that lie within walking distance of each other. Sacred Heart of Jesus Church stands at 738 Sunshine Avenue and is the larger of the two sites. It was dedicated in its present form on January 7, 1968, and contains striking mosaics on the sanctuary walls installed in 1971 that feature a coal miner, a nurse, a farmer, a mother, a professional, Shade High School students, and an astronaut - local faces of what the Church calls the universal call to holiness. St. John the Baptist Church stands at 162 Wheeler Street, a few blocks away. Built of stone and brick and topped with a steep roof and a single Wicks pipe organ that is, to this day, the only pipe organ in Central City, St. John's is referred to locally as "The Chapel" and continues to host one of the two Sunday Masses.
Sunday Mass and the Liturgical Schedule
Sunday Mass is celebrated at 8:00 AM at Sacred Heart and at 10:30 AM at St. John. Daily Mass is celebrated at 12:00 PM on Mondays and Fridays, with a small seasonal rotation: from the First Sunday of Advent through Pentecost the weekday Mass is offered at St. John, and from the Monday after Pentecost until the Solemnity of Christ the King the weekday Mass returns to Sacred Heart. Confessions are heard forty-five minutes before the Saturday vigil Mass at Sacred Heart, although Father Aron reminds visitors and parishioners alike that any priest can be asked to hear a confession at any time, regardless of how long it has been since the last one.
On the second Sunday of each month the 8:00 AM Mass at Sacred Heart takes on a particular character as the Holy Name Society receives Corporate Communion together. The Mass is followed by the Society's monthly meeting in the Activity Center.
A Parish Born of Polish and Slovak Immigrants
Although Our Lady Queen of Angels was formally established on October 6, 1999, its roots run back more than a century. The first Catholic Mass offered to Central City's Polish-speaking miners was said by Father Joseph A. Wozny in 1914 in private homes and in Widomski Hall on Lohr Street. In July 1916 Bishop Eugene Garvey, the first Bishop of Altoona, appointed Father Ignatius Pilz, a Salesian priest who had been ordained in Chile and who spoke Polish, German, Spanish, English, and Italian, as the first resident pastor. Arriving with nothing but the assumption that a church and rectory were already waiting, Father Pilz found neither. He personally helped dig out the church basement with pick and shovel, and the completed frame church was dedicated by Bishop Garvey on May 23, 1917.
Across town, Slovak Catholic families who had been worshipping at Sacred Heart grew large enough by 1917 to call for a parish of their own. Construction of St. John the Baptist Church began that same year and the first Mass was celebrated in October. A devastating fire destroyed the church on Christmas Day 1920, but the young pastor Father Michael Kallok promised the congregation that a new church would rise from the ashes. Between 1921 and 1922 the parish built its current home with stone from the Reitz Coal Company, steel from the Cambria Steel Company, a bell from the McShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore, and Gothic altars, communion rail, and statues from the Daprato Studios of Chicago. Bishop John McCort dedicated the rebuilt church on July 3, 1927.
Father Pilz served Sacred Heart for fifty years until his retirement in 1966, and his long pastorate gave the Polish community a stability that anchored the parish through two world wars, the closing of the parish school that had been sold to the United Mine Workers in 1937, and the gradual collapse of the coal industry that had brought the immigrants to these mountains in the first place. He was followed in 1966 by Father Ignatius Wadas, who became the beloved Monsignor Wadas and served the parish for thirty-seven years. Under Monsignor Wadas the present Sacred Heart church was built and mosaics were added; the 8:00 AM Mass was broadcast for many years on local radio at 101.7 FM. The two parishes were clustered under his care in 1990 and merged nine years later as the area's population continued to shrink and the diocese faced a shortage of priests.
The result, Our Lady Queen of Angels, retains the motto Instaurare Omnia in Christo and the conviction that "the faith we profess is ever ancient and ever new." The Italian, Polish, and Slovak families that once built these parishes have largely moved on, but a steady stream of new parishioners, many of them drawn by the parish's traditional liturgy and its outreach to the elderly and homebound, keeps the church very much alive.
Mass Live Recordings
Father Aron celebrates Sunday Mass each week and recordings of recent Masses are posted online so that parishioners who are homebound, traveling, or simply unable to attend in person can follow the liturgy with the parish. The archive stretches back several years and is regularly refreshed with the most recent Sunday's celebration.
Becoming Catholic Through RCIA
The parish welcomes anyone curious about the Catholic faith into the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. RCIA gathers on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM, with flexibility for those whose work or family schedules make Wednesday nights difficult. The process moves through three intertwined areas of formation - catechetical or intellectual, spiritual, and liturgical - and culminates at Easter in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion for those who have not yet received them.
The Saint Vincent de Paul Conference
Quietly and consistently, the parish's St. Vincent de Paul conference reaches out to neighbors in need. Members, known as Vincentians, gather on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM to organize their work of person-to-person service, joining with other parishioners and members of the wider community in everything from food assistance to help with rent and utilities.
The Choirs of Queen of Angels
The parish's musical life runs along two distinct streams. The Women and Girls Choir, under the direction of Joyce Lane, carries on a tradition that grew deep roots at Sacred Heart and gives voice to the rich Polish liturgical music and time-honored devotional hymns that defined the parish's devotional life for many decades. The choir sings at special Masses and devotions throughout the year.
The St. John the Baptist Schola, directed by Marie Eger, is a mixed-voice choir of Queen of Angels parishioners and members of the wider community. Drawing from the best of the Church's musical patrimony and performing pieces in English, Latin, and occasionally Slovak, the Schola sings roughly once a month at the 10:30 AM Mass.
The Organizations of the Parish
Three long-established organizations gather at regular intervals under the parish roof.
The Holy Name Society traces its origins to a thirteenth-century Dominican preaching mission and took root in this part of Pennsylvania in the late nineteenth century. Sacred Heart's chapter was chartered in 1952 and St. John's about 1960; the two chapters merged after the parishes were joined. The society promotes respect for the Church, loyalty to the parish, and a spiritual life that values faith, family, and a strong work ethic. Men of the parish gather on the second Sunday of each month in the Activity Center following the 8:00 Mass, where they receive Corporate Communion together.
The Society of Angels is the women's service society of the parish, formed when the Ladies' Catholic Council of Sacred Heart (founded in 1953) and the Ladies' Guild of St. John the Baptist came together after the merger. Members prepare meals for funeral gatherings, cook for parish events throughout the year, and host fundraisers that support the work of the church. The society gathers on the first Monday of each month at 6:00 PM in the Activity Center.
The Knights of Columbus Light of Christ Council No. 9109 was chartered in Central City on October 27, 1985, and is one of more than 14,000 councils of the worldwide Catholic fraternal organization founded in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney. Local members meet on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM at the St. John site.
Parish Halls and the Queen of Angels Guest House
The parish operates two halls that host weddings, funeral gatherings, anniversary parties, and parish events. The Queen of Angels Activity Center, built in 1983 on the site of the original Sacred Heart church and refreshed in 2017, is air-conditioned, handicapped accessible, and seats up to 350 guests, making it the largest hall in Central City. A raised dais, adjustable lighting, an optional in-house catering service, and ample free parking round out the amenities.
St. Ann Hall, named for the patron saint of grandmothers and one of the patron saints of miners, sits beneath the St. John site. Also refreshed in 2017, it seats up to 125 guests and offers a more intimate setting for meetings and smaller gatherings.
The Queen of Angels Guest House, renovated and redecorated in 2021, offers five bedrooms sleeping roughly ten people, with a full kitchen, washer and dryer, and one and a half baths. It provides a comfortable home base for visiting family members and friends of the parish.
Religious Education and the CCD Program
The parish's program of religious education, often referred to as CCD, accompanies children from kindergarten through high school. Registration is welcomed each year, and students are prepared for the sacraments of First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, and Confirmation. Confirmation is typically conferred in the junior year of high school as part of the program. Older students are encouraged to record their service hours in the parish through the online submission form, with events ranging from altar service and the parish car cruise to the Dyngus Day celebration and the annual Mardi Gras.
Adults who missed Confirmation growing up, or who have not yet been baptized, are pointed toward RCIA, where they will be paired with a sponsor and may choose a Confirmation name that reflects their new identity in Christ.
The Sacraments at Queen of Angels
The sacramental life of the parish follows the rhythm of the Catholic Church as a whole, with seven sacraments available: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance (or Reconciliation), Anointing of the Sick, Matrimony, and Holy Orders.
Parents seeking Baptism for an infant are asked to be practicing Catholics themselves and to choose godparents who are confirmed, practicing Catholics in good standing. Godparents and parents together assume responsibility for the spiritual upbringing of the child, and the parish offers a list of recommended practices including annual celebration of the baptismal anniversary and daily prayer for the godchild.
Couples preparing for marriage are asked to contact the parish office at least nine months before the wedding date, in keeping with diocesan and parish guidelines. Those experiencing marital separation are pointed to the diocesan tribunal, where the annulment process is now offered free of charge.
Hospital patients who wish to receive the Anointing of the Sick should let the hospital know they are Catholic and notify the parish office at (814) 754-5224. In an emergency, the parish's emergency phone line at (724) 953-5347 is available for anointings. Father Aron is happy to visit the homebound or to offer the sacrament after Mass for those who cannot easily leave their homes.
Funeral Liturgies and the Parish Cemetery
When a loved one dies, the parish accompanies the family through the funeral rites of the Catholic Church - a series of liturgies and prayers that unfold in the days between death and burial. The priest meets with the family to provide consolation, to plan the Funeral Mass in keeping with diocesan and parish guidelines, and to answer questions. The parish maintains a Cemetery Database and publishes cemetery policies for those wishing to inter loved ones in its grounds.
Scriptural Rosary and Other Devotions
Thursday evenings at 6:00 PM, the parish gathers at Sacred Heart Church to pray the Scriptural Rosary, with meditations that follow the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary through the lens of Scripture. Near the entrance of Sacred Heart a plaque bears the words of the Polish mystic St. Faustina Kowalska - "Jesus, I trust in you" - words that still help to define the devotion of the people of this parish. Daily Mass at Sacred Heart during the week of the First Fridays keeps the traditional First Friday devotion to the Sacred Heart available to all.
The Restoration of St. John the Baptist
In 2025 the parish embarked on the most ambitious preservation project in its history: a complete interior restoration of St. John the Baptist Church. The work includes repainting the interior with enhanced color schemes and restored stenciling that draws on themes of local nature, ethnic folk patterns, and venerable religious art; refurbishing of the altars and ornamental plaster; and the installation of a stair lift to make the historic building more accessible. A large mural is planned for the vestibule to depict the lived experiences of faith in both the old world and Central City, recalling the medieval church portals that framed the entrance to sacred space. Gifts in support of the St. John's Restoration Campaign can be made by mail, through PayPal, or through Venmo.
Parish Governance and the Mission of Renewing All Things in Christ
The parish is shepherded by Father Aron, who encourages anyone seeking a deeper relationship with God - or simply curious about the Catholic faith - to join the parish for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. "If you have been away from the Church for a long time," Father Aron writes, "please know that you are always welcome to come home." A bi-monthly Parish Council and a quarterly Finance Council assist the pastor in discerning the needs of the community and in stewarding parish resources, while a Social Committee, a Cemetery Committee, a Religious Education Committee, and a Maintenance Committee each keep their corner of parish life running.
Worship, formation, outreach, and the careful preservation of two historic church buildings give Our Lady Queen of Angels its particular shape - a Roman Catholic community at the crossroads of a historic past and a hopeful future, engaged in a challenging present, and convinced, with its founders, that the mystery of Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection unfolds within ordinary human life in this small corner of Somerset County.