Brief History of St. Joan of Arc Church
Saint Joan of Arc Parish began in 1948 as a mission of Saint Rita Parish in Solon. Monsignor Oldrich Mazanec built the first church building, a small structure facing East Washington Street, which now serves as a parish hall. He also built the present Church in 1961. In 1962 Archbishop Edward Hoban raised the mission of Saint Joan of Arc to parish status, naming Father John Wolf as its first pastor. The administration building/rectory was erected in 1963, the school in 1965, and the school addition in 1968.
The faculty residence was acquired in 1972 and is situated just west of the parish property. Father John Kinkopf was named Vicar Co-Adjutor on May 1, 1978 and became the second pastor on June 10, 1981, the date of Father Wolf’s retirement. Father Kinkopf served as pastor until he retired in August, 1988. Father John Olsavsky became pastor on September 1, 1988 and served until his retirement on February 1, 2006. On March 20, 2006, Father David Walkowiak came to St. Joan of Arc as its new pastor. He was installed as pastor on June 25, 2006 and served until he was installed as the Bishop of Grand Rapids, MI on June 18, 2013. Associate pastor of St. Joan of Arc, Father Gary J. Malin, was then appointed to become the next pastor of our parish. He was officially installed on August 24, 2013.
Construction on the Parish Life Center began in October of 1993 and was completed in August 1994. The renovation of the Church and the construction of the Gathering Area were completed with a dedication taking place on September 7, 1997. The refurbishment of the Parish Hall was completed in July of 1998. When it celebrated its golden jubilee in 2012, Saint Joan of Arc Parish had approximately 1800 families.