YOUNGSTOWN — Bishop David Bonnar has appointed the Rev. Shawn Conoboy as director of ecumenical and interreligious affairs for the Diocese of Youngstown, effective immediately.

Conoboy will remain pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Aurora, where he has served since 2019.

In December 2021, Conoboy received a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He previously earned a Sacred Theology Bachelor’s, equivalent to a Master of Divinity, from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and a specialized Sacred Theology Licentiate in Spiritual Theology from the Teresianum, Pontifical Institute for Spirituality.

Conoboy was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Youngstown in 2006 and has been a member of ecumenical and interreligious clergy associations at his various assignments as a priest.

Before being appointed pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, he served previously at St. Charles Parish in Boardman (as parochial vicar), Christ the Good Shepherd Parish in Campbell (as parochial vicar, and then as pastor), Holy Family Parish in Brewster and Navarre (as sacramental minister), and at Sts. Mary and Joseph Parish in Newton Falls (as administrator).

Since 2007, Conoboy has been a member of the Youngstown-Warren Chapter of the Society of St. John Chrysostom, an ecumenical association of clergy and lay people organized to promote an understanding of Eastern Christianity. Since 2008, he has served the interdenominational efforts of Hartville Migrant Ministry, including celebrating Mass in Spanish.

Conoboy succeeds the Rev. Joseph Witmer, who served as the Diocese of Youngstown’s Ecumenical Officer since 1971, except for eight years when he served in the national office of ecumenism for the U.S. Bishops, and the Rev. George Balasko, who has served as the diocese’s interreligious officer and is recognized locally and nationally for Jewish-Christian dialogue.

“Thanks to the over half century of commitment of Father Joseph Witmer and Father George Balasko, the Diocese of Youngstown has been a leader in the efforts of ecumenism and interreligious relations. There is a solid foundation in place for Father Conoboy to keep the tradition going as a pastor, teacher and theologian. I am grateful for Father Witmer and Father Balasko’s accomplishments and excited about the zeal and possibilities that Father Conoboy brings to this endeavor,” Bonnar said.

Conoboy said “The divisions among Christians and in the human family are a wound that needs healing. In this position, I am glad to join the efforts of the church to help heal that wound.”