YOUNGSTOWN — St. Brendan Church, which many have said has been the anchor for the city’s West Side, has reached 100 years and will host several events this year to mark the milestone, including a special centennial Mass at 9 a.m. May 14 with Bishop David Bonnar.

Debra Flora, a committee member who helped plan the events, said the centennial Mass will be followed by a social called “Brunch with Brendan.”

“This will be one of our big events for the year,” she said.

The centennial coincides with St. Brendan’s Feast Day, which is May 16.

Flora said dinners and a golf outing also are planned this summer, as well as an opening of a time capsule from the former school in June.

“Our church is also going to have a leadership change this summer as Father Steven Agostino is leaving July 1 and is going to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Stephen in Niles. Father John Jerek, the pastor of St. Christine, also will be our pastor as we will be collaborating parishes,” Flora said.

The church’s first Mass was celebrated on May 6, 1923. A rectory was built in 1924, followed by construction of the church-school building from August 1924 to August 1925. A school addition and auditorium now known as Maxwell Hall was dedicated in February 1959.

Dot Kos, a member, said the church has lasted so long with all of the generations of families who have attended.

“I had three generations in my family attend here. My grandmother went here, my mother went here and I went here,” she said.

Rosie Marich, a member, said the K-8 school was open for 80 years with many members attending as children. The school closed in 2005. She said thousands of children attended catechism classes and youth ministry sessions.

Amy Limongi-Pollice said she has been a member for 60 years, and remembers when the school was open there, with 50 children in each grade level. She said her daughter went to school here.

Deb Zalovcik came to the church with her oldest child over 40 years ago.

“The church has been a wonderful family. They have also been a welcoming community,” Zalovcik said.

Marich said many of the members used to live near the church.

“That was why the church and school had so many attending since many of the families lived nearby in the neighborhoods,” she said.

Today, the church has a single Mass each Sunday with 100 to 125 attending, on average.

Flora, who has been a member since 1993, said she always remembers the summer festival held each June. It started indoors in the 1960s and went outdoors later in the 1990s.

“The church has been considered the anchor of the West Side. The first thing I think of is the festival and how popular it was. It drew so many people and was like a reunion for some people. It kicked off the summer because it was held right after Memorial Day,” Flora said.

The festival ended in the 2000s.

Flora said the fish fries also are popular during Lent and continue today.

“People came to the fish fries to enjoy the food and socialize. It was a way we show our faith in caring for one another,” she said.

Flora said she remembers when the Rev. Richard Brobst was the pastor in the 1990s. The church did not have air conditioning and it was summer and one Sunday was very. very hot and everyone was so uncomfortable.

“He went to give his homily, and he looked at everybody and said ‘It’s hot as hell in here and if you don’t repent you are going to hell. End of homily.; He got a big applause. It was the shortest homily I ever heard and highly effective,” she said.

Marich said shortly after that, a capital campaign began to get air conditioning in the church, and everyone contributed.

The original construction on the church building began in 1924 after the church acquired property in 1923. It was completed in 1925 and a wing was added in 1959.

Mike Mraz said there were so many children at the church in the 1950s attending the school, it made the addition necessary.

He said in 1957, a total of $300,000 was raised from fundraisers and donations. The new addition was dedicated Feb, 8, 1959.

Kos and Mraz attended the school together and one year when in seventh grade, they had separate classes of all boys and all girls, which only lasted one year.

“It was an experiment, and it did not work,” Kos said.

They had nuns for the primary grades and lay people for the upper elementary grades.

“We had a teacher who taught fifth and sixth grade together with fifth grade on one side and sixth grade on the other side. We had so many kids then,” Kos said.

Flora said the church has a room for a centennial museum showcasing the church history with memorabilia.

“We want to share the history with people who may not know it or were transplants or were too young. This gives us an opportunity to spread the word about our history,” Marich said.

Marich said seven members of the church have become priests, including her son.

bcoupland@tribtoday.com