Naming Our Merged Parish

In January, Bishop Bonnar announced the merger of the Warren parishes into one parish with three church buildings. The name of the merged parish will take effect by July 1, 2024, the beginning of the Fiscal year. Parishioners can participate in the naming process, which is described below. The name will identify our united community of Catholics and the new parish entity that the merger creates. The church buildings will retain the names by which they were dedicated. We will say: “N.” Parish, Blessed Sacrament Church, “N.” Parish, St. James Church, “N.” Parish, St. Mary Church. The Diocese of Youngstown has approved the following process and criteria for determining the name. Please read it carefully, prayerfully discern, and submit your suggestion to the parish offices or the Sunday collection basket by March 31st, Easter Sunday.

See Bishop Bonnar’s Letter here.

Process

1. Parishioners are invited to suggest names for the merged parish.
2. The parish councils collate the suggestions and rationale and assess if they meet the criteria.
3. Parishioners are invited to vote on the approved suggestions.
4. The top three suggestions along with the rationale are to be submitted to Bishop Bonnar.
5. Bishop Bonnar reviews the suggestions and provides a response regarding the choice of the name.

Criteria

1. Any proposed name should be taken from:
   1. The names or titles of the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)
   2. Our Lord Jesus Christ invoked under a mystery of his life or under his name as used in the liturgy or Scripture
   3. The Blessed Virgin Mary invoked under a mystery of her life or her name as used in the liturgy or Scripture.
   4. The Holy Angels
   5. A saint from the list found in the Church’s calendar of memorials and feasts
   6. Those who are beatified or named “blessed”
2. It is preferable not to choose a name that is already used many times in the Diocese.
   See DoY Parishes here
3. Hyphenated or combined forms of the current parish names or other excluded names are not permitted.
4. The names of other Catholic parishes and non-Catholic churches in or near the territory of the new parish should not be used in the interest of avoiding any confusion.
5. Consider a longer time horizon, more than just the present moment. For example, what name will be a strong, vibrant indicator of who the parish is now and who it wants to become five years from now?

Download the above form and submit to the Parish Office or Sunday Collection or fill-out the On-line form available at the end of this page by March 31, 2024

Parish Names to be Excluded
Blessed Sacrament (Warren)
Calvary (Warren, Presbyterian)
Christ (Warren, Episcopal)
Christ Our King (Warren)
Covenant (Warren, Presbyterian)
Emmanuel (Warren, Lutheran)
Grace (Warren, Methodist)
Holy Resurrection (Warren, Orthodox)
Our Lady of Hope (Kinsman)
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Niles)
Our Lady of Perpetual Help (McDonald)
Queen of the Holy Rosary (Vienna)
Saints Cyril & Methodius (Warren)
Saints Peter & Paul (Warren, Byzantine)
St. Columba (Youngstown, Cathedral)
St. Demetrios (Warren, Orthodox)
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (Warren)
St. James (Warren)
St. John (Warren, Orthodox)
St. John Paul II (Warren)
St. Joseph (Warren)
St. Mark (Warren, Lutheran)
St. Mary (Warren, Mineral Ridge)
St. Mary & St. Joseph (Warren, Newton Falls)
St. Nicholas (Warren, Orthodox)
St. Patrick (Hubbard)
St. Paul (Warren, Lutheran)
St. Pius X (Warren)
St. Robert (Cortland)
St. Rose (Girard)
St. Stephen (Niles)
St. Thomas the Apostle (Vienna)
St. William (Champion)
Trinity (Warren, Lutheran)
Warren Catholic

Please submit this form by March 31, 2024, Easter Sunday. Parishioners may suggest more than one name. Please submit a separate form for each suggestion.