A History of St. Gabriel Parish

The first Masses offered in Port Allegany date back to the 1850’s. St. Gabriel the Archangel Church was officially formed on April 30, 1876 as a mission of St. Mary’s, Sartwell. The building site was donated by Judge Arnold for whom Arnold Avenue is named.  The church was completed in 1882 or 1883 but was not dedicated by Bishop Tobias Mullen until August 26, 1883.

The Reverend Patrick J. Cosgrove ministered the congregation from 1890 to 1897. He was succeeded by the Reverend Hugh Mullen who only served about four months before the Reverend Michael J. Macken was assigned as the first resident pastor.

Father Macken remained for only a few weeks and the Reverend William C. Becker was assigned. Father Becker served the parish for twenty-three years.

Father Becker was assigned to St. Joseph Church, Warren in March, 1923. He was succeeded by the Reverend John W. Murphy who remained until September, 1926.

The Reverend Michael E. Fitzgerald followed Father Murphy in December, 1926. He served until his unexpected death on March 22, 1944.

The Reverend James C. Moriarity followed Father Fitzgerald. Father Moriarity’s sudden death on September 10, 1948 ended his 4 years at St. Gabriel’s.

The Reverend Phillip Herrman arrived on December, 1948. He died on October 14, 1950.

The Reverend Jeremiah J. Cronin succeeded Father Herrman. He remained until his reassignment in August, 1964.

The Reverend Eugene Coleman followed Father Cronin. He was then appointed to St. Patrick Church Franklin in June, 1970. He was succeeded by the Reverend Boles Liubauskas. Advanced in years, Father Boles retired for reasons of health in June, 1974.

Father Boles was succeeded by the Reverend Paul A. Schill who was appointed on May 31, 1974. He then received a sabbatical from August 1991-1992.

The Reverend Frank Przepierski was appointed pastor on August 1, 2001. Father Frank died in 2002.

The Reverend Jerry Priscaro arrived in November 2006 and remained until February 2007.

Temporary priests filled in until the Reverend John Murphy was assigned in June 2007. Father Murphy remained at St. Gabriel's until August 2009.

Father James Campbell was assigned in September 2009 until he was transferred in July 2022.

Father Daniel Hoffman was assigned in July 2022 and is the current pastor.

Who is St. Gabriel?

The name Gabriel means "man of God," or "God has shown himself mighty." It appears first in the prophesies of Daniel in the Old Testament. The angel announced to Daniel the prophecy of the seventy weeks. His name also occurs in the apocryphal book of Henoch. He was the angel who appeared to Zachariah to announce the birth of St. John the Baptizer. Finally, he announced to Mary that she would bear a Son Who would be conceived of the Holy Spirit, Son of the Most High, and Saviour of the world. The feast day is September 29th. St. Gabriel is the patron of communications workers.