From its beginning in 1871, Cleveland's Lithuanian community grew to approximately 1,000 members by the turn-of-the-century. The earliest records of practicing Lithuanian Catholics in the diocese dates back to 1873 records at Saint Stanislaus parish. During the first two decades of the twentieth century, this nucleus attracted large numbers of Lithuanian men, who emigrated to the United States to escape serving in the Russian Czar's army. By 1915, the community had reached 10,000 members, many of whom had settled on the city's East Side, where men found jobs in the nearby steel mills. Lacking a Lithuanian nationality parish, the settlers celebrated Mass at St. Joseph Parish on Woodland Avenue. During these early years, the community placed significance on its Easter celebrations, at which Lithuanian priests from Chicago, Detroit, or Pittsburgh would hear confessions and celebrate Mass. Fr. Joseph Maszotas, a Lithuanian seminarian ordained by Bishop Richard Gilmour in 1889, served briefly at Saint Stanislaus. He organized a Society of St. George for other Lithuanians but there were not enough families to support a congregation. In 1895, Bishop Ignatius F. Horstmann secured the services of Father Joseph Delininkaitis. Confident in the ability of Father Delininkaitis and the enthusiasm of the Lithuanian community, Bishop Horstmann established St. George Parish in August 1895. However according to Christine L. Krosel of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese Archives Department, ``Because there was a severe shortage of pastors in the early history of the Diocese, the date of establishment of a parish in the Cleveland Diocese is generally based upon the date of the first parish settlers". According to Ms. Krosel, ``This shortage of Catholic Priests to serve the Lithuanian immigrant community of pre 1900 was no accident with the Czar deliberately limiting the emigration of Lithuanian Catholic priests and the Czar deliberately exporting Orthodox priests to evangelize the expatriate Lithuanian communities". Hence 1873 may in fact be the establishment date of the parish if it is compared on an even scale with other early ethnic Eastern European parishes in the Diocese. This may make Historic Saint George's Parish the oldest still functioning Lithuanian parish in North America and possibly even in the Western World. There are other older parishes built by Lithuanians but one thing that uniquely distinguishes St. George's Parish is that it is believed to be the oldest fully functional Lithuanian parish. The parishioners of St. George's Parish are proud of the fact that masses are being conducted daily and they have weekend Sunday mass still in the Lithuanian language by Father Joseph Bacevice (Bacevicius), a third generation Lithuanian American. Before the community completed work on a church, it moved its Eucharistic celebrations to St. Peter Parish on Superior Avenue. On September 8, 1898, Father Delininkaitis left St. George Parish. Under the supervision of his successor, Father Joseph Jankus, the parish purchased land at the corner of Oregon Street (now Rockwell Avenue) and East 21 St. Street, on which it converted an existing house into a rectory and erected a small frame church/school. In 1903, the first St. George Church was dedicated. Following Father Jankus' departure in 1905, the community welcomed two short-term pastors, Father Matthew Plausinaitis and Monsignor Victor Paukstis. On January 29, 1907, the parish welcomed Father Joseph Halaburda. Under the direction of Father Joseph Halaburda, St. George Parish continued to develop. In 1908, the parish secured the teaching services of the Sisters of Notre Dame and opened its school. The Sisters of St. Francis of the Providence of God, who replaced the Notre Dame Sisters as teachers in the school in 1932, staffed the school until it closed in 1970. During the decade preceding the First World War, the parish welcomed many Lithuanian immigrant families, who recently had left the harsh conditions of the Pennsylvania coal country. Recognizing the new community soon would need a new church, Father Halaburda purchased property at the corner of East 67th Street and Superior Avenue. He, however, did not see the completion of his project, being transferred in February 1919. Under the direction of his successor, Father Vincent Vilkutaitis, the parish broke ground for the new church in 1920. Work on the building proceeded quickly, allowing the building to be dedicated in September, 1921. It was in this church, that the members of St. George Parish and sought solace through the difficult years of the Great Depression and the Second World War. With the beginning of the Cold War, St. George Parish welcomed a new generation of Lithuanian immigrants. It was this parish that opened its arms to the exiled President of Lithuania, President Antanas Smetona. It also acted as the focus of activity for keeping attention on not forgotten American Citizens who were enslaved in Communist Post War Siberian Gulags. On June 10, 1959, on the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination, Father Vilkutaitis retired and Archbishop Edward F. Hoban appointed Father Bernard Bartis the parish's new pastor. During Father Bartis' short pastorate, the community renovated the church. On September 14, 1961, the parish welcomed its next pastor, Father Balys Ivanauskas, who led the community through one of the most difficult periods of its history. In the wake of the Hough and the Glenville riots, many of Cleveland's urban parishes lost members and teetered on the brink of closure. St. George was no exception. Due to declining enrollment and increasing costs, the parish was forced to close its school in June 1970. Discussions of the closure of the parish surfaced regularly during the next ten years. Many parishioners, however fought to maintain the parish at least until Father Ivanauskas' planned retirement in 1980. Upon his retirement on December 23, 1980, the Diocese appointed Father Joseph Bacevice (Bacevicius) parish administrator and assigned him the task of evaluating the viability of the parish. During the next three years, St. George Parish embarked on an extensive self-study, which concluded its primary mission was to the Lithuanian community in Cleveland and to the members of its neighborhood. In 1988, Bishop Anthony M. Pilla elevated Father Bacevice to Pastor of the community, a position he currently holds. He serves on several local community organizations and has the attention of the international community of our parish's ancestors. Father Bacevice has been visited at Saint George's by the U.S. Ambassador from Lithuania, Stasys Sakalauskas, the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Algirdas Saudargas, as well as fourth generation Lithuanian, Congressman John Shimkus (R. Illinois). Under Father Bacevice's vision, the parish and its Hunger Center have undertaken several technical initiatives to make the operations more efficient and are now the model for other diocesan operations. Today, the St. George community, 200 families, is small by diocesan standards, with only a fraction of its members living in the neighborhood. While small, the parish recently has experienced renewed growth as some individuals rediscover their religious and ethnic roots and others find new solace in a church which has been a part of its neighborhood for over 100 years. |
Saint George Lithuanian Parish,