Churches in Frackville pay homage to roots, ethnic origins

FRACKVILLE — In 1925, during one of the longest strikes in anthracite mining history, a group of Polish immigrants — most of them miners — sought to establish a Catholic church in their new community.

The group, however, realized a major problem stood in their way: Due to the ordeals brought about by the five-month strike, they lacked sufficient funds to build their own church.

With limited resources, the immigrants did what any group of aspiring parishioners would when faced with such a predicament: They perused the pages of the Sears Catalog.

From Sears, the parish ultimately acquired a “pre-fab” building, ready-made and shipped from the company. It arrived in two pieces, and the church was dedicated Dec. 21, 1925, as the St. Ann Roman Catholic Church.

From its humble beginnings as a “Sears Catalog” structure, the church, at 49 N. Line St., has continued to display its Polish roots proudly for a century hence.

Even now, in its current iteration as St. Joseph the Worker Parish, those attributes are reflected prominently in the colorful artifacts, sculptures and icons that line the walls of the nave.

The church — which became St. Joseph the Worker in 2013, when the parishes of the St. Joseph, Annunciation BVM and St. Ann churches consolidated into one — has retained virtually all the features from its original iteration, providing a daily reminder of its origins to parishioners.

“It shows how universal the church is,” said the Rev. Giuseppe Esposito, the church’s pastor. “ ‘Catholic’ actually means ‘universal.’ It’s beautiful to preserve the heritage of all these countries. It’s good to preserve it and to remember history.”

One corner of the church features a wooden relief depicting Our Lady of Cz?stochowa, a famed icon of Mary.

The relief is modeled after the original gold-covered sculpture, which is displayed in the Jasna Góra Monastery in Cz?stochowa, Poland.

Also, the church has an original Polish statue of St. Anthony of Padua — the patron saint of lost things — holding the child Jesus. Another statue depicts the church’s namesake, St. Ann, holding the child Mary.

At the head of the sanctuary, meanwhile, parishioners are treated to the sight of a majestic white altar, also from the original church, which depicts the Last Supper.

Like many Catholic churches, St. Joseph the Worker features relics, or sealed cases containing pieces of bone or hair, which serve as connections to the Catholic saints.

“The body is also sacred, as well as the soul,” Esposito said.

One relic, on the left side of the church, was actually taken from the hair of Pope John Paul II.

It’s displayed near a painting of the former pope that was donated to the church shortly after his death in 2005.

At the entrance to the sanctuary, a series of illustrations graces three transparent etched-glass doors.

The rightmost door depicts a scene of Polish immigrants in the traditional Zakopane style of dress. Another door portrays a group of coal miners clocking in to work.

“I love the roots of (the church),” said parishioner Patti Domalakes, who is descended partly from Polish immigrants. “I think no matter what parish you have, if there’s some roots connected with it, that those roots should be maintained. We should be proud of our roots, and we have a lot to celebrate. … We draw strength from that. We find out those humble beginnings that we had.”

Orthodox churches

Another prominent church, the Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Church, can be easily distinguished in the Frackville skyline by its trio of distinctive gold domes — which, in Eastern Orthodox fashion, represent the Holy Trinity.

“The gold domes are representative of the churches of Russia,” said John Malinchok, treasurer of the church council. “They signify the trinity — the Father, Son and Holy Spirit — the three of them, side by side.”

The church, at 209 S. Lehigh Ave., was built in 1915 by a group of 21 coal miners.

The inside of the church, coated with a soft gold sheen of paint, features several depictions of saints and Biblical scenes, including in the iconostasis, or a wall of icons.

“There’s an ornate iconography that you’ll see as you’re worshiping,” Malinchok said. “The icons are there to remind you of the important saints of the church and that, when you’re worshiping, they are there in your prayers all the time.”

The iconostasis includes scenes such as the Last Supper, as well as depictions of Jesus, Mary, St. Basil and St. Michael.

In keeping with the Russian Orthodox faith, the church contains a three-barred cross, imprinted with a likeness of Jesus.

The church also has a vast collection of gold-tinted stained-glass windows; among them are four windows that portray each of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

“Everything in the church is pretty much original,” Malinchok said.

While the walls were originally a greenish color, he said, they were painted yellow in 1986 to provide for a brighter atmosphere during nighttime rituals, such as Easter Mass.

Another church, St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church, also features a gold dome — this one, however, octagonal, rather than the rounded form of Eastern Orthodox domes.

The Rev. Paul Spotts, the church’s former deacon of 12 years, said Ukrainian Catholic churches typically have a dome with eight or more sides.

The dome was installed in the early 1990s, replacing the former Roman Catholic style of dome that had been in place since the current building was set up in 1959.

“They decided we should have a Ukrainian style dome, which is either 8 or 16 sides,” said Spotts, who now serves churches in Shamokin and Marion Heights. “Most churches that you see that are Ukrainian have a dome like that, or several domes, which makes it distinctive looking.”

The church was established in 1921, with its original building located near the current one at 45 S. Second St., along Route 61.

On the lawn outside the church, a small brick wall features an icon of Mary, installed in honor of the church’s 75th anniversary.

A similar icon of Mary is affixed to the front of the church; below it, a banner says, “Pray for Ukraine.”