History of St. John Bosco Church
It began with a dream, a Roman Catholic Church in the Conyngham Valley. It ended with the one of the most beautiful architectural structures in lower Luzerne County.
St. John Bosco Church was originally built in 1963 to serve the Catholic families of Conyngham Valley. However it’s history began 20 years earlier when the late Bishop William J. Hafey, acting with what turned out to be great foresight, purchased the land along Route 93 which would become the site of the church.
Before 1963, when the parish was established, the people of Conyngham Valley did not have a place to worship. During the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the valley’s population expanded rapidly.
Mrs. Benjamin Goodyear and Mr. John Humernick circulated a petition to have a Catholic Church built on the property already owned by the diocese of Scranton. After a census was conducted, it was found that more than 100 families were traveling a considerable distance to attend Church from the greater Conyngham valley. A decision was made to construct a church on the site, and the project began in early 1963. The late Bishop Jerome D. Hannan dedicated the church on December 15, 1963 although there was no pastor assigned to the parish. Priests from various other parishes covered masses at St. John Bosco until Mary 4, 1964, when the late Msgr. Joseph T. Shaughnessy was assigned as the first pastor of the parish.
In early 1967, Msgr. Shaughnessy was transferred to another parish and was succeeded by Rev. Edward Gallager. During his tenure the reforms of Vatican II were made. Father Gallagher was reassigned in 1970, replaced by Rev. E. Robert Galligan. Father Galligan was also in charge of the construction and establishment of Bishop Hafey High School in Hazelton.
Rev. Galligan was reassigned in June 1971 after which a temporary administrator was appointed; Rev. Paul Can Maanen served the community only until September when Msgr. George T. Casey was appointed pastor.
During Msgr. Casey’s tenure at St. John Bosco’s many dreams of the parish became reality. A “Crying Room” for children was made, the parking lot was enlarged, and ground was broken for the Parish Center in 1973 and later dedicated in 1974. Msgr Casey retired in 1982 and is now Pastor Emeritus. Rev. Robert Gibson was pastor from September 1982 until February 1983. He formed a Charismatic Prayer Group in the parish. In 1983 Rev. Charles Cummings became pastor until 1984. Rev. John Manno took over the parish from 1984 until 1998, indeed the longest tenure of our parish. During Fr. Manno’s time here there were tremendous accomplishments. As a result of the Diocesan Synod, a number of committees were formed to help carry out the guidelines of the Synod. They included, A Family Life Committee, The Social Justice Committee, The Fall Social Committee, The Finance Committee, Building, Decorating and Outdoor Christmas Crew.
On October 23, 1988, the parish celebrated its 25th Anniversary of the dedication. It was at this time, the needs of the Parish continued to grow, as did its population. Plans were being made to make St. John Bosco larger.
Groundbreaking for the new project occurred on May 10, 1992. The plan was underway. The newly opened Valley Elementary School served as a temporary place of worship while the construction was taking place.
On December 6, 1992 the new St. John Bosco Church and Parish Center was dedicated.
Rev. John Manno was transferred in July of 1998 to his hometown of Williamsport. The former Vicar of Priest for the Diocese of Scranton was announced as his replacement. Rev. Joseph Bambera became the parish’s 8th Pastor. Upon his arrival, Father Bambera was appointed a prelate of the Holy Father and received the title of Monsignor.
Msgr. Bambera was greeted with a surprise upon his arrival as former seminarian, Rev. Albert Leonard, returned as parochial vicar. In the short time Msgr. Bambera and Fr. “Al” were at St. John Bosco, further growth and expansion continued. In the summer of 2001, Msgr. Joe was named pastor of the Visitation of the BVM parish in the Scranton area, and Father Joseph Evanko, a native of the Hazleton area, became our 9th pastor on July 1, 2001. In the fall of that same year, Fr. Al was made administrator of the Holy Child parish in Mansfield. His replacement as Parochial Vicar, was our visiting priest from India, Fr. Thomas George, who arrived in January 2002.
Our parish now has over 1200 families with ministry and activities for all age groups. The Parish now has a 30 member Adult Choir, a 70 Member Children’s Choir, and a new Hand Chime Choir under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Boesch. Our faith Formation program, under the terrific leadership of Gerry Olenick, educates over 500 children and teenagers each year, and is the envy of many in the diocese.
In summary, for almost 40 years St. John Bosco’s has been blessed with talented pastors, vicars, staff members and “giving” parishioners who have all worked tirelessly into making St. John Bosco a wonderful parish in which to be an active member!