St. Mary's in New Kensington reopens 2 years after sustaining damage in tornado

Denise Zellefrow’s mother was baptized in this very church 100 years ago.

Tillie Stelmach was married in it in 1953.

Patty Solobak buried her husband here in 2012.

Nearly everyone who attended the reopening of St. Mary of Czes­tochowa church in New Kensington on Sunday had a personal story about the 110-year-old building and the impact it had on their lives.

The large brick church on Kenneth Avenue sustained $3 million in damage on April 8, 2020, when an EF-1 tornado — with winds of up to 100 mph — tore through New Kensington.

About half of the church’s roof was blown off and a substantial portion of the belfry came down, said the Rev. Ken Zaccagnini, who took over as pastor a short time later.

The inside of the sanctuary sustained water damage, including the plaster and murals on the ceiling on the left side.

The roof has now been shored up with a temporary one until spring, when its permanent replacement can go up, and the murals have been painstakingly restored, Zaccagnini said.

“When you look up, you can’t even tell,” he said. “I’m really excited for the people here.”

The church, which counts about 350 families as its members, had its celebratory reopening service Sunday, led by Bishop Larry J. Kulick of the Diocese of Greensburg. The Rev. Chris Pujol served as the bishop’s master of ceremonies during the Mass and assisted during the blessing of the church.

During the Mass, Kulick blessed the inside of the church — the walls, windows, altars and parishioners — with holy water, and gave Holy Communion to the hundreds who attended.

With music sounding down from the church choir and the pipe organ — originally built in 1913 and restored in 1993 with 1,665 pipes — in the balcony, the service was filled with joy.

Kulick, who noted that Sunday was the first day of Advent, said the first virtue to celebrate was hope.

“It is truly a day of great rejoicing,” he said, “a day to celebrate new life.

“And we are called by mother church to be filled with joy, hope, peace and love. What a beautiful day and a beautiful time to be here.”

Kulick recalled turning on the television the morning St. Mary’s was damaged, and looking in horror at the pieces of roof lying along the roadway.

It was at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, he said.

“It seemed as though the perfect storm of tragedy was rearing its head,” Kulick told those gathered. “As we stood there that day and in the days ahead, the response was, ‘That’s it. It’s over. We’re done. St. Mary’s will be closed.’ ”

That might have been the rational and logical decision, Kulick said.

“But as people of faith, we do not see, we do not judge and we do not speak with the eyes, the lips or the minds of the world,” he said. “We are called to see, to speak and to think through the eyes of faith.”

Rebuilding, Kulick said, was one of the easiest decisions he had to make.

“The diocese is in service of our parishes,” he said. “Without our parishes, there is no diocese. It is the people’s church.”

Kulick announced Sunday that the diocese has finally gotten the church’s insurance carriers to sign off on the completion of the permanent roof and the rebuilding of the belfry — using its original bricks. It will be done at virtually no cost to the church.

“That’s monumental,” he said. “The restoration and reopening of this parish church is about much more than saving a building.”

It is about being a community that is welcoming and a church that is vibrant, he said.

“It is an example of how patience, perseverance and faith do pay off.”

Zaccagnini said that during the time the church was closed, 85 members of the parish died and their families were forced to have their funerals elsewhere.

On March 25, he said, there will be a “Coming Home” Mass, where those names will be read, candles will be lit and bells will be rung for each person.

“My heart, when I woke up this morning, was pounding,” Zaccagnini said during the Mass. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”

The moment that felt most special to him, he said, was at the end of the service when Bishop Kulick placed the Blessed Sacrament back in the Tabernacle.

“That shows everyone who enters that Christ is here,” Zaccagnini said. “The church is alive.”

Andrew and Samantha Cain, of New Brighton, sat near the front of the church with their three young children: Aaron, 4, Elizabeth, 3, and Sarah, 18 months.

They, too, were married at St. Mary of Czestochowa and felt compelled to return for the reopening.

“It’s a really special church,” said Samantha Cain, who had been a member there growing up. “I can’t believe there was a tornado.”

Just before the start of Mass, Mary Jane Zdila, of the Natrona section of Harrison, approached Bishop Kulick to praise him for the diocese’s decision to rebuild the church. Zdila was particularly happy, she said, because she had been a member of St. Ladislaus, which closed in September.

Zdila was baptized at St. Mary’s in December 1949.

“This is so wonderful to be able to come back to the parish,” she said. “I was thrilled to be able to celebrate the reopening.”

Stelmach, 92, of Lower Burrell has been a member her whole life and was excited to attend the reopening.

“It’s the most beautiful altar of any church,” she said. “I feel better every time I see it.”

Joan Runco of New Kensington said she was first introduced to St. Mary’s by her mother, who was Polish and would drive people from the community to daily Mass.

“They welcomed me like I belonged here forever,” Runco said. “The church is small, so when there’s a need for anyone, it becomes personal.

“It’s small enough they care for each other.”