Italian immigrants who
came to Annville to work in the stone quarrisinthe10's not only brought
their skill, they brought their faith.
Even before Saint Paul
the Apostle Church in Annville acquired its first church building in
1928, local Catholics from some 30 families met in homes to provide
religious education for their children. They were led by Father
Leopold J. Stump of Saint Gertrude's Church in Lebanon, PA, the parish
which provided pastoral care for the fledgling Annville mission.
As the parish grew, the
former United Brethren in Christ At West Main and Concord Streets was
purchased and the first ass at Saint Paul's was celebrated on July 20,
1928 and Father Leo B. Kirchner was appointed as the first pastor.
The parish grew at a
steady pace, with World War II and the expanded use of Fort Indiantown
Gap adding an influx of military personnel from around the
country. When Ft. Indiantown Gap served as a resettlement center
for Vietnamese refugees in the 1970's, the parish again opened its
arms to Catholics of another foreign nation.
By 1978, when the parish
celebrated its golden anniversary, it was obvious that planning for a new
building was needed. Ground was broken for a new Saint Paul's
church on July 27, 1980 on eight acres of land on the east end of
Annville, south of Rt. 422. The first Mass in the new church was
celebrated on September 12, 1981 by Bishop William H. Keeler, and
Bishop Joseph T. Daly consecrated the new church on November 1, 1981.
In 1990, Saint Paul's
welcomed its own mission church, Saint Marc's in Haiti, which is the
poorest country in the western hemisphere. More than $56,000 has
been raised for Saint Marc's, which has paid for a new chapel, a well
and other need of the Haitian church which served 70,000 people.
In1992,Saint Paul's celebrated
another milestone with the ordination of a young man born and raised
in the parish, Allan F. Wolfe, son of Dr. and Mrs. Allan Wolfe.
The same year, Saint
Paul's bid farewell to Monsignor Thomas H. Smith, who, after
nineteen-and-a-half years, was transferred to Saint Joseph's Church in
Lancaster.
Three years later,
Father Michael Barrett, assisted with Masses since 1975,
retired. The parish mourned his death on November 1,
1996. Father Barrett was buried from Saint Paul's on November
4, 1996 by Bishop Nicholas Dattilo.
Saint
Paul's continues to grow under the leadership of Father John J. Peck,
OSB, who came to the parish in September of 1999 from Saint Vincent Archabbey
in Latrobe, PA, succeeding the Reverend John D. Hoke who is serving as
a chaplain in the U.S. Navy.
The church welcomed the
new millennium in 2001 and celebrated the new church building's 20th
anniversary with an outdoor Mass.
For Saint Paul's 75th
anniversary in 2003, Father John spearheaded a renewal of evangelization
to reach from the parish into the community.
The church completed the
construction of a new bell tower in 2005, from which the church calls
to its faithful, with bells that include one from the original Saint
Paul the Apostle Church.
Saint
Paul now serves over 1,700 parishioners in 700 households, and has grown
in 20 percent in the last ten years.
