Catholic Diocese announces name of newly merged Columbiana County parish
The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown announced in a news release on Saturday the name that will be used for the newly merged parish in Columbiana County.
On November 29, 2025, it was announced that three parishes in Columbiana County would be merging beginning on January 1, 2026, including the following:
- Saint Jude
- Our Lady of Lourdes in Columbiana
- Saint Patrick in Leetonia
The reason for the merger was described by a petition, led by members of three pastoral and financial councils, to be an acute shortage of priests and a declining number of parishioners participating in weekend Masses.
As a result, the three parishes will merge and will become Saint Carlo Acutis.
The release states that the name honors an Italian saint whose "life exemplifies modern holiness."
The new name and the merger will all be in effect beginning January 1, 2026.
"Saint Carlo Acutis reminds us that holiness is not something that belongs to the past. Instead, we see in our new patron saint that holiness is also something today in this modern time," said Bishop David Bonnar of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown.
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