Christianity is the predominant religion of Slovaks and the Elcik family. The majority of Slovaks are Catholic, and the Elciks brought their Catholic faith with them to America.
[Image Placeholder: Early Catholic Churches of Lisbon Falls]
Holy Family Church
[Image Placeholder: Holy Family Church, Lisbon Falls]
Holy Family Church was the French, English, and Latin Catholic church attended by all Catholics in the area. Over time, some members of the congregation sought a priest who spoke Slovak, which ultimately led to the building of St. Cyril Church. At that time, Mt. Calvary was the only Catholic cemetery serving the community.
Building the St. Cyril Church
[Image Placeholder: St. Cyril & Methodius Church – Early View]
The Slovak community in Lisbon Falls formed in the 1890s when a group migrated from New Jersey in search of work at the Worumbo Mill. Alienated from more established cultural groups, they formed a tightly knit social and religious community. Through fundraising and collective effort, they built St. Cyril Church, completed in 1923.
The church was formally accepted into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland in 1936. Today, the building is home to a studio of glass artists.
Cyril & Methodius Church
Cyril & Methodius Church in Lisbon Falls (founded in 1923) and Holy Family Church (founded in 1888) later joined together to form a new parish. Our Lady of the Rosary Parish was established in 1975 after the Dominicans, who had cared for a mission church in Sabattus from 1905 to 1975, transferred it to the Diocese of Portland.
The former St. Cyril and St. Methodius Church stands at the southeast corner of Maine State Route 125 and High Street. It is a large rectangular brick building with a gabled roof. Squat square towers flank the front façade, accented by buttress-style pilasters.
The façade is dominated by a massive Gothic arch enclosing double entrances, each set within its own arch. Above them is a circle-in-cross design, topped by a wagon-wheel rose window and a cross crowning the gable.
[Image Placeholder: St. Cyril & Methodius Church – Gothic Facade]
Designed in 1923 by Lewiston architects Gibbs & Pulsifer, the church is an imposing example of neo-Gothic architecture for a relatively small immigrant community. It is the only known church in Maine directly associated with the Slovak immigrant community.
The church was dedicated in 1926 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Today, the building houses the Maine Art Glass Studio.
Holy Trinity
[Image Placeholder: Holy Trinity Church, Lisbon / Lisbon Falls]
Over time, the Catholic churches in Lisbon and Lisbon Falls were consolidated due to declining attendance and a shortage of priests. A new, larger church—Holy Trinity—was built to serve the combined congregations.
Holy Trinity became the church attended by the Gamache family and many Slovak families in the area. The current building is located across the street from the Gamache family home.
Church Cemeteries
Lisbon Falls was served by two Catholic churches—Holy Family and St. Cyril—and two Catholic cemeteries. One church managed St. Cyril Cemetery, traditionally associated with the Slovak community, while the other managed Mt. Calvary Cemetery.
Church records for both St. Cyril and Holy Family are now housed at a Catholic church in Lewiston. It was there that burial records for John P. Elcik, Sr. and Mary Pelcarsky were ultimately located.
[Image Placeholder: St. Cyril Cemetery – Slovak Gravestones]