History

produced by Rev. Jim Korda

St. Columba Parish was organized in 1847, and the first building was erected in 1853. A second church was built in 1868, and a larger one in 1897. When the Diocese of Youngstown, encompassing Ashtabula, Portage, Stark, Columbiana, Mahoning, and Trumbull counties, was created in 1943, St. Columba Church was designated the cathedral. A cathedral is the mother church or bishop's church, so called from the bishop's chair (cathedra), symbol of a bishop's authority. St. Columba.

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Designed by Diehl and Diehl, Architects, Detroit, Michigan, and constructed by the Charles Shutrump and Sons Company, Youngstown, Ohio, the Cathedral is an example of modern ecclesiastical architecture. 

Click the right arrow below to read an interactive, architectural and liturgical expression version published in 1958. You may need to wait a moment for the publication to load, but it is worth it.

ST. COLUMBA CATHEDRAL LIES IN RUIN –

Fire destroyed St. Columba Cathedral on Sept. 2, 1954 when a bolt of lightning struck the church during a late evening storm. According to news accounts of the day, firefighters first responding found the blaze well under way with fire outlining the cathedral’s main rose window. Eleven fire companies ultimately responded to the three-alarm blaze. Diocesan officials at the time estimated the blaze to have caused $1.25 million in damage. The new St. Columba Cathedral opened in 1958. (From a photo layout published in the January 2007 print edition of Metro Monthly.) Photos courtesy of Historic Images.

Click here for see additional photos as they appeared in the April 19, 2012 edition of the  Metro Monthly