St Helena Romanian Byzantine Catholic Church

The Romanian Catholic Church in St Helena is located on West 65th Street near Detroit Avenue, marking the location of the largest Romanian enclave in Cleveland in the early 20th century. St. Helena Church was built under the guidance of Father Epinanda S Lukacs, who was the first Romanian priest to serve in the United States. According to the requirements of Cleveland's growing immigrant population, the Bishop of Romania issued an instruction to Father Lucacio to organize a parish and build a church. As early as 1902, the Romanian community in Cleveland discussed the planning of the parish with about 2,000 Romanian immigrants.

Cleveland was one of the largest Romanian immigrant communities in the United States in the early 20th century. Although most Romanian immigrants are members of the Orthodox Church, many belong to Byzantine Catholicism. These Eunice people are often called "Greek Catholics", and they recognize the Pope as the leader of Catholicism. Although it is basically a sister church, at the meeting held in 1902 to discuss the establishment of the Romanian church, the two religious factions quickly disagreed. This requires the construction of two independent churches. St Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church will be built on Detroit Avenue 1908, claiming to be the first Romanian Orthodox Church in the United States. St Helena Church was built in 1905 three years ago. It is the first Romanian Catholic parish in Byzantium. That land was bought in the west. Church 65 serving Byzantine Catholics is only a few blocks from the construction site of St. Mary's Church. While making plans and raising funds to build a new parish house, church services in St. Helena are held at St. Mara Kroma Catholic Church on West 25th Street. St. Helena church was completed on 1906, which took four months. This simple frame structure is the first CIS Romanian Catholic church built in the Western Hemisphere.

Since its dedication, the Romanian Catholic Church in St. Helena has been serving the Romanian CIS Catholic community in Cleveland. The history of the building reflects the aspirations and experiences of the Romanian community in western Cleveland. From the original minimalist design to the repainting of buildings with bricks in the 1940s, the structural changes reflect the transformation of the Romanian enclave in Cleveland from a temporary immigrant community to a permanent residential area.