Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bobtown

Parish History

St. Ignatius was founded in 1928.  At the time of church's founding, Bobtown itself was only three years old, having been constructed by the Shanopin Coal Company beginning in 1925.  At that time, catechism teachers from the Mission Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (MCCD) had been regularly visiting the nearby town of Poland.  By 1928 construction of the town had advanced to the point that it was practical for the MCCD to organize a permanent catechism class on May 27 of that year.  On June 10, the first Mass was held in Bobtown in a hall over a bowling alley.

The next year the coal company donated land for a church and ground was broken on June 24, 1929.  The cornerstone was laid on August 11, 1929 and the church was dedicated in October.  The parish remained in the care of the MCCD until July 20, 1937, when it became a mission of St. Hubert Church, Point Marion.  St. Ignatius remained a mission of St. Hubert until the Diocese of Greensburg was created on March 10, 1951.  As St. Hubert was in the new diocese, St. Ignatius again fell under the care of the MCCD.  Finally, on February 7, 1952, St. Ignatius became an independent parish.  A few years later, Holy Family Church in Greensboro became a mission of St. Ignatius.

This church served the community for over 40 years.  However, faced with the need of making substantial changes to the building following the Second Vatican Council, the parish decided that it would be better to build a new church.  Groundbreaking for the new church took place on February 10, 1974 on land donated by the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation.  The completed church was dedicated on April 20, 1975.  This church remained open.

With the turn of the century, trends in the Diocese of Pittsburgh began to reveal a decline in Mass attendance and sacramental participation.  At the same time, the number of priests available for parish ministry also began to decline.

To address these challenges, Bishop David Zubik announced on April 12, 2015 a new diocesan initiative, On Mission for The Church Alive!, a consultative strategic planning process designed to foster viable, sustainable and vibrant parishes.  As part of this process, the Bishop, in consultation with the faithful, began to consider new models of parish life based on pastoral needs, financial and temporal resources and available clergy.

In 2018, following the period of consultation, parishes were grouped together and served by a single clergy team to eventually form one new parish.

During this transition period, St. Ignatius Parish remained an independent parish while sharing clergy and staff and eventually publishing a joint bulletin with the other parishes.   This ended on July 1, 2019 when St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish merged with the parishes of Our Lady of Consolation, Nemacolin; St. Ann, Waynesburg; St. Hugh, Carmichael and St. Thomas, Clarksville to form the new St. Matthias Parish.  As part of the merger, St. Ignatius of Antioch Church remains open as part of the new parish.