If you are looking for a new church home, there is always room for you in our pews and in our hearts. Since its founding in 1921, Saint James Parish has been a vibrant and faith filled community within the Erie community. Under the leadership of Richard Ford, F.W. Schlindwein, and Henry Schloss, a petition was sent to Bishop John Mark Gannon to erect a parish in southeast Erie at Wesleyville. The
Reverend Francis P. Coughlin was appointed the first pastor. The original frame church was dedicated on November 26, 1922 and a new rectory completed in 1926. A stone Gothic styled church was constructed in 1949. In 1957, a school was opened with an enrollment of 377 students. A parish debt of $176,000 was eliminated by 1969 during the pastorate of Monsignor Francis J. Turner and his assistant Reverend Robert W. From 1970 to 2003 the parish was under the guidance of Monsignor Cohan. The Reverend Father Dennis Hadberg assumed the role of Pastor upon his retirement. Currently our parish is under the leadership of our fifth pastor, the Reverend Father James P. McCormick. The Sisters of the Divine Spirit have staffed the school since 1957. Saint James Parish has remained a vibrant Catholic Christian Community to the present day.
