St. Francis of Assisi
Clearfield PA

Welcome to Saint Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church of Clearfield, PA.

Nestled in the rolling foothills of the Allegheny Mountains and along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church is in Clearfield, PA - one of the most beautiful towns in western Pennsylvania. In addition to the church, we offer Catholic education at our parish school, Saint Francis School.

We invite you to join us!

 

https://www.eriercd.org/Parish20708-St-Francis-of-Assisi.html  

 

Nestled in the foothills of the Alleghenies and along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River is one of the most beautiful towns in western Pennsylvania—Clearfield. It was the former site of Chinclacamoose, an Indian village which covered what was known later as the entire County of Clearfield set up by the State Legislature in 1804. Clearfield became the county seat in 1805 when Abraham Witmer, a resident of Lancaster County, provided 250 acres of land to be laid out in town lots. Clearfield was named after Clearfield County and the county after Clearfield Creek. Another explanation is that the town was named from the “cleared fields” found in this locality by the early settlers. It has even been suggested that there were buffalo herds in the area because of the “clear fields.”

By the 1830s Clearfield had a population of about three hundred. Today, there are about ten thousand citizens in the town with another ten thousand in communities immediately adjacent to Clearfield. The first industries were lumbering and farming. There were a few coal mines in operation towards the last quarter of the nineteenth century but on a small scale. Clearfield at one time boasted of twenty-two industries with coal mining and brick being the largest.

The first Catholic clergyman of Episcopal rank to come to Clearfield as a missionary was the Most Reverend Francis P. Kenrick. Bishop Kenrick was born in Dublin, Ireland, December 3, 1796. Ordained a priest in Rome on April 7, 1821, he became the coadjutor to the Bishop of Philadelphia and acted as administrator of the Diocese of Philadelphia which covered the entire state of Pennsylvania and parts of Delaware.

Among the first Catholics in the area there are the names of Robert Collins, James Hamilton, James and John Dougherty, John McLaughlin, Hugh Brody, and Joseph Boone who donated the land on Second Street on which the first church was built. Father Patrick Leavy who came from Lewistown organized the building of the first church. His brother Hugh Leavy was the chief contractor for the building. The church was built of brick and had a seating capacity of about three hundred.

Father Patrick Leavy…..to be continued…