YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Construction will begin this winter on a project by the Diocese of Youngstown that will create an archive facility on the former Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church property, 252 E. Wood St., downtown.

Work is expected to be completed in 2025, according to a news release from the diocese.

The Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church building, which is no longer in use, will be preserved and repurposed as an exhibit and public programming space.

Founded in 1896, Sts. Cyril and Methodius was the first parish for Slovaks in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. The 1900 church building was closed in 2022.

A new 4,900-square-foot, two-story, climate-controlled building for archives will be built adjacent to the church, on the site of the church’s rectory and garage, which will be razed.

At a meeting of the city’s design review committee last month, architect Paul Hagman, who represented the diocese, said the building will architecturally mirror the red brick church building.

The new facility will provide for the protection and systematic ordering of records required by church law. It will also include a public reading room for visitors and researchers and office space for archives staff.

The property will also have expanded greenspace, energy efficient upgrades and repurposed woodwork salvaged from the former rectory, according to a news release from the diocese.

“The church building will be used as exhibit and public programming space so that visitors can experience the church interior with its soaring, colorful dome and its walls of beautiful stained glass,” said Joan Lawson, diocesan chancellor. “Exhibits will tell the story of the people and churches of the Diocese of Youngstown, and the building itself will emphasize the leading role of immigrants in that story.”

Lawson said there are several characteristics that make the church building desirable for the diocesan archive:

  • Its proximity to the seat of the bishop, which is also on Wood Street.
  • It is within the educational, museum and library district of Youngstown’s downtown.
  • The church building is sound, accessible, beautifully designed and built with quality materials.
  • Its history reflects the immigration history of the Catholic Church of Youngstown.

Diocesan archives from 1943 through 1978 are currently being housed at Kent State University libraries and include 150 cubic feet of materials. Records collected after 1978 are housed in the basements of diocesan buildings. All will be moved to the new facility.

The new archive facility will preserve the records of parishes that have closed, as well as records of diocesan offices and other diocesan organizations, according to Lawson.

Active parishes will still hold their own sacramental records.

Church law states that all documents regarding the diocese and its parishes must be protected.

Bishop David J. Bonnar has made the archive project a priority for the diocese since 2022, stressing the importance of preserving church history.

The Diocese of Youngstown includes all Catholic churches in Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Ashtabula and Stark counties.