Our Church History
Prior to the founding of what came to be Ascension Parish in 1980, most Catholics in the Teays Valley area belonged to St. Francis Church in St. Albans or Holy Trinity Church in Nitro. Due to the dedication of a small group of people, the dream of having a Catholic Parish in Putnam County became a reality.
In 1979 Bishop Joseph H. Hodges established a mission in Hurricane. This mission was originally established as an extension of St. Francis in St. Albans WV. Fr. Laurence Wrenn was assigned to St. Francis as Associate Pastor with the additional responsibility of establishing a mission in Hurricane.
A cooperative arrangement was made with St. Timothy Episcopal Church where the first Catholic Mass was celebrated on Thursday, October 25, 1979. When a rectory was obtained for Fr. Wrenn, the number of parishioners steadily grew along with the rest of Teays Valley. Soon both a Saturday evening and a Sunday morning liturgy were being celebrated at St. Timorthy's by February of 1980. Children's Religious Education began that same month.
In the Spring of 1980 a Church Advisory Council was created with the purpose of trying to obtain a Church building for the Catholics in the Teays Valley area. With diocesan assistance an architect was hired, plans were approved.
On September 14, 1980 the Mission in Hurricane was elevated to a parish and Fr. Wrenn was named its first pastor. November 1980 brought groundbreaking ceremonies for the new church. On May 28, 1981, the Feast of the Ascension, the first Mass was celebrated. The Church was dedicated on September 13, 1981. Sr. Katherine Shreve, S.S.J. became the Pastoral Associate in 1984. In June 1993 Father Paul Wharton became the second pastor. Before he left in January 1997, Father Paul managed the construction of the Parish Life Center and upgrade of the church at a cost of $1.8 million. Father Steve Vallelonga replaced Father Paul and was our pastor for three years, leaving in March 2000. For the next three months, Father Danny was our temporary pastor until Father Neil Buchlein arrived in July. Father Neil continues to be our pastor to this day.
Our parish enjoys about 400 active families, a significant increase over the years..
