(This Novena is to be said at the same time every hour for 9 consecutive hours in 1 Day!)
O Jesus, Who hast said, "ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you"; through the intercession of Mary, Thy most Holy Mother, I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be granted.
(Make your Request)
O Jesus, Who hast said. "all that you ask of the Father in My Name, He will grant you"; through the intercession of Mary Thy Most Holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask Thy Father in Thy Name that my prayer be granted.
(Make your Request)
O Jesus, Who hast said "Heaven and Earth shall pass away but my word shall not pass," through the intercession of Mary, Thy Most Holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted.
(Make your Request)
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the divine power, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Saturday 4:00 PM Sunday 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM Daily 8:00 AM Mon through Fri Holy Day 8:00 AM and 7 PM
PRO-LIFE ROSARY before morning Mass
RITE OF RECONCILIATION before all weekend Masses
OFFICE HOURS: Monday 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM
Serving God's people from this mountain top since 1850
On September 29, 2000, St. Demetrius Catholic Parish was established when the following two congregations united as one:
ST. PATRICK 1850 Mission established 1869 Parish established 1884 Corner stone of the present Church building
OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA 1902 Organized 1904 Established 1905-1906 Church built
Prince Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin
Being brought up as an atheist, the Russian Prince Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, upon the conversion of his mother, studied religious systems to see if any were worth following. As a result, he concluded that Roman Catholicism held the only route to salvation and so became a Catholic.
He sailed to the newly formed United States to study engineering, to find to his amazement that there were very few Catholics. Determined to build up the Church, even though against the wishes of his Orthodox Church relatives, he attended seminary and was ordained in 1795.
Prince Gallitzin took over a small parish of a dozen members in Pennsylvania in 1799. He tirelessly worked to bring Catholicism to the pioneers of South Central Pennsylvania. Heir to one of the largest fortunes in Europe, he bought lands for Catholic settlers and financially supported many new and growing parishes.
Known as "The Apostle of the Alleghenies", his responsibility grew to 10,000 members over an area that included the Altoona/Johnstown diocese.
Forty-one years after he began his work in America, he died on Easter Sunday, May 6, 1840. In all those years, he never took a penny of salary even after Russia confiscated most of his fortune because he had converted to Catholicism.
Although raised as an atheist, his parents were Catholic at the time of his birth. So it is very likely that he was named after a saint, as was the tradition in those days.
However, it is hard to know which St. Demetrius the Reverend Prince might have been named after as there are at least 5 saints with this name.
He most likely was named after the St. Demetrius who served as the Patriarch of the Church in Alexandria, Egypt, from 188 to 231 A.D., whose feast day is observed on October 9th.
Or, he may have been named after the martyred St. Demetrius, who as early legends narrate, was extremely popular as a military officer in the Middle Ages. This St. Demetrius and St. George were the patrons of the crusades.
The people of the Altoona/Johnstown diocese hope and pray that some day their Prince Demetrius will be canonized. We are honored to carry his name in the name of our parish and the name of our city.
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