Funeral services for our Bishop George V. Murry, S.J.  will be celebrated on Friday, June 12.  Bishop Murry was the fifth bishop of our Diocese of Youngstown.  He died June 5 at approximately 6:15 a.m. at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York after a two-year battle with leukemia. He was 71.  His funeral Mass at St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown will be private due to pandemic guidelines on mass gatherings, and will be presided by Cincinnati Archbishop Most Rev. Dennis Schnurr, the Youngstown diocese’s metropolitan bishop.  You can view his funeral Mass livestream on Friday, June 12, at 1:00 p.m. by going to www.WKBN.com  Also, more information regarding coverage of calling hours, Evening Prayer, Morning Prayer, as well as the funeral Mass can be found on the diocesan webpage www.doy.org

The College of Consultors for the Diocese of Youngstown, which is made up of six priests, met recently to choose a Diocesan administrator, who will oversee the jurisdiction of our diocese until the Vatican names Bishop Murry’s permanent successor.  Rev. Msgr. Robert Siffrin was chosen to be the Diocesan Administrator.  Most likely, Pope Francis will not name a new Youngstown bishop for at least a year.

At the end of May 2020 Bishop Murry announced his intent to resign as bishop, after 13 years leading the diocese, citing “reasons of ill health” in his letter to Pope Francis.  He battled two reoccurrences of acute leukemia. He was first diagnosed in April 2018 and soon after stepped back from his daily duties with the diocese. He recovered and then returned to the diocese on a part-time basis that September.Bottom of Form  The cancer returned in July 2019, however, and he underwent a second round of treatment, which put the disease into remission.  Bishop Murry’s leukemia returned again in April 2020. He was receiving outpatient treatment at his home, until his admission to the New York hospital Monday, June 1, 2020.  Even before Bishop Murry received the diagnosis of leukemia he was a man of patience. He truly weighed all the aspects of any decision that he needed to make for the good of the Diocese of Youngstown. He did not move hastily, but put his dependence on God.

George Vance Murry was born on December 28, 1948 in Camden, N.J., the son of the late George and Viola (Brown) Murry.  He has one brother, who resides with his wife and family in Omaha, Nebraska. Saint Pope John Paul II in January 1995 appointed Bishop Murry Titular Bishop of Fuerteventura and Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, where he was ordained to the episcopacy in March 1995. In June 1999 Bishop Murry then became Bishop of the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.  He then succeeded Bishop Thomas J. Tobin as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown, [preceded by Bishops McFadden, Walsh, Malone and Tobin].  He was installed on March 28, 2007 at St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown, becoming the first African-American bishop to lead our diocese.

Bishop Murry also served on the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops committee to address racism, which developed the conference’s pastoral letter on racism, used as an educational tool in church jurisdictions across the country.  He was also among 18 members appointed to the Ohio Task Force on Community-Police Relations by then-Governor Jon Kasich.

Bishop Murry attended St. Joseph College Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, Connecticut and St. Mary Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1972. He entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) that same year and was ordained a priest June 9, 1979. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkley, California in 1979 and a doctorate in American cultural history from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. in 1994.

Bishop Murry served as a faculty member and dean of student activities at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. from 1974 to 1976. He was assistant professor of American studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. from 1986 to 1990, and also served as president of Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. from 1989 to 1994. He was named Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Detroit-Mercy in 1994.

Eternal rest grant unto your soul, Bishop Murry, and may God’s perpetual light shine upon you.   May you rest in peace.  Amen.  May your soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.  Amen.

Bishop Murry’s Coat of Arms

Directives and Guidelines for the Diocese of Youngstown

In light of the decision to resume the celebration of public Masses and liturgies by the Bishops of Ohio, the following Directives and Guidelines are issued for all parishes of the Diocese of Youngstown.  These take into consideration how to best proceed under these unusual circumstances while remaining pastorally sensitive to the People of God and adhering to restrictions issued by the State of Ohio.  The guidance provided aims to clarify how such spiritual care can be responsibly offered to the faithful during this period and have been formulated with great care to preserve and respect the powerful liturgical and sacramental symbolism of the rites of the Mass.  These directives/guidelines currently remain in effect by order of Bishop Murry and will be revised or changed should any further directives be issued by the Governor of Ohio, the Bishops of Ohio, or Bishop Murry.  They are considered to be temporary until it is determined safe to return to the normal circumstances.

1. Understanding the desire of many to return to church, it remains important for those who are at greater risk to refrain from returning until such time they feel confident to do so.
2. Those who are symptomatic or who have been exposed to another with the virus within 14 days should not attend Mass in accordance with national, state and local health directives.
3. Appropriate cleaning of high use areas within the church is to be done before and after each service.
4. Every effort to ensure appropriate physical distancing before, during, and after liturgical celebrations is required. Methods will vary depending on capacity and arrangement of church buildings. Parishes will decide how best to configure seating to maintain proper physical distance.
5. No more than one family is permitted in the Cry Room at each Mass.
6. No receptions or social gatherings (i.e. coffee/donuts) are to be held.
7. While not mandatory, those attending Mass may wear masks or face coverings.
8. Bulletins will be available for pick-up at each exit. Greeters and Ushers will not pass them out.
9. All in attendance should wash or sanitize their hands before and after Mass being mindful not to touch their face, eyes, or nose.
10. All should make every effort to continually model and encourage good hygienic practices.

• Holy water fonts are to remain empty until further notice.

• The practice of passing baskets throughout the assembly is temporarily suspended. Contribution baskets will be placed at all the entrances of the church for worshippers to drop their offering at the beginning of Mass or when leaving Mass.

• Physical contact during the Lord’s Prayer (holding hands) and the Sign of Peace is suspended. For the Sign of Peace those present are encouraged to make a slight bow or nod to others and offer words of peace.

• It is highly encouraged and strongly recommended that the reception of Holy Communion be given in the hand.

• Reception of the Precious Blood from the chalice by the assembly is temporarily suspended.
• The location of stations for the distribution of Holy Communion should be considered to facilitate orderly movement and to maintain proper physical distance. One-way traffic patterns are encouraged.
• Appropriate spacing between individuals in the Communion Procession is to be maintained.
• Holy Communion is not to be distributed with gloves, nor may it be received in the hand with gloves.

Dear St. Patrick Parishioners,

As the “Responsible Restart Ohio Plan” is implemented during the ongoing COVID19 pandemic allowing a gradual return to work and the lifting of some of the restrictions regarding consumer, retail and services, the Catholic Bishops of the State of Ohio have announced directives for the safe return to the public celebration of the Mass.

On May 8, 2020 the priests of the Diocese of Youngstown were informed by Bishop George V. Murry, S.J. that we will begin celebrating Mass again with our people. Please note that at St. Patrick Church weekend Masses will begin again on Pentecost weekend, May 30-31, 2020. Weekday Masses at St. Patrick Church (Tuesday thru Friday) will begin June 2, 2020.

The Worship Office of the Diocese of Youngstown, in consultation with Liturgical Commissions throughout the dioceses of Ohio, has provided Directives and Guidelines for the Diocese of Youngstown outlining the safe practices and procedures we must implement for the resumption of public liturgies. Among other practices, these detailed directives and guidelines will include maintaining social distancing, recommendations to provide a safe environment and instructions for the distribution of Holy Communion.

Please note that the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass still remains in effect. Bishop Murry dispenses the Catholic faithful who reside in the Diocese of Youngstown and all other Catholics currently in the diocese from the obligation of attending Sunday Mass until further notice. As our bishop, he states, “I continue to be cautious and concerned for those who are most at risk, the elderly and those with serious health issues. I strongly urge those who are most vulnerable to stay at home and I implore those who are not feeling well to refrain from coming to church”. Bishop Murry thanks the faithful for their patience, understanding and cooperation as we implement this return to the public celebration of Mass.

When we gather on the Solemnity of Pentecost, it will have been 77-days since we celebrated the Eucharist together. If you are feeling well, I hope to see you again at Mass on May 30-31. I know things will perhaps “look” a bit different and “feel” a bit different….but one thing will never change: the love our God has for us through good times and bad, and our need to gather as His people to give thanks for the blessings that are ours. Know that you and your intentions are remembered in my daily prayers. Stay safe, my friends.

God’s blessings – always,
Fr. Richard Pentello
Pastor