About Us
Welcome to the web home of Saint Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church of Ashland, Pennsylvania. We are a parish of the Catholic Diocese of Allentown. Our parish serves the residents of Ashland, Girardville, and the surrounding communities as well as friends, visiting relatives, guests and travelers. Our parishioners strive to maintain the strong Catholic identity and cultural traditions established in our churches, while continuing to build a vibrant and spiritual community for the 21st century and beyond.
Visitors to our churches, Catholics from other parishes or those of other religions, are welcome to attend Holy Mass at any of our churches (we ask that only Catholics who are prepared to do so, receive Holy Communion). Anyone interested in joining our parish is welcome to contact the parish office for more information.
Rev. Christopher M. Zelonis
Pastor
Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!
Whatever your reason for consulting our parish website or coming to our parish church, it is
good that you are here!
The rite of Baptism relates that Christ “was anointed priest, prophet, and king” at His baptism.
That is to say, His life was oriented toward worship, intercession, instruction, care, and
direction. He entrusts all these tasks to the baptized, clergy and lay alike.
I am honored to serve as the pastor of Saint Joseph the Worker and Saint Charles Borromeo
Parishes, to carry out these sacred duties for God’s glory and our sanctification. The parishes
were familiar territory to me, as I used to help them on weekends for a short span of time.
Raised in Saint Clair, Pennsylvania, I was educated at public and Catholic schools in Saint
Clair and graduated from Nativity BVM High School, Pottsville, in 1994. I received the Bachelor
of Arts in Philosophy, Master of Divinity, and Master of Arts in Sacred. Scripture from Saint
Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. Bishop Edward P. Cullen ordained me Deacon in
2002 and Priest in 2003 for the Diocese of Allentown. Upon ordination I was assigned to Saint
Ignatius of Loyola in Sinking Spring as Assistant Pastor, where I spent one year. From 2004 to
2006 I was Chaplain of Reading Central Catholic High School. In 2007 I was an Assistant
Pastor of Saint Joseph the Worker in Orefield, but was sent to Holy Guardian Angels in
Reading for the next 6.5 years. In June 2014 I returned home to Saint Clair, living at Saint
Clare of Assisi Parish while serving as Chaplain to the Schuylkill Medical Center and area
nursing homes. In October 2016 I became the Parochial Administrator of Saint Michael the
Archangel (now part of Holy Family) Parish in Minersville, becoming Pastor the following year
and staying until June 2019, when I became Pastor of Saints Peter and Paul in Lehighton,
where I served until June 2026. My hobbies include running and music. I have run eight
marathons, including the Boston Marathon twice. I have been playing trumpet with the
Cressona Band since 1991 and Pottsville's Third Brigade Band since 2000.
Deacon John Sutter
Permanent Deacon
Deacon Sutter is married to Kim, has four children and four grandchildren. He lives in Schuylkill Haven and is from St. Patrick Church in Pottsville. Deacon Sutter was ordained September 14, 2024.
"I felt called to be a deacon after I retired from teaching special education in 2014 and began reading Catholic books that I had wanted to read but hadn’t had the time. I discussed becoming a deacon with my pastor who told me that there was no deacon class starting at the time. In 2017, there was an information night about a new deacon class, but the announcement about it was never put in our bulletin, so I didn’t attend it. Later, the deacon at St. John the Baptist Church in Pottsville told me that he was disappointed that my name was not on the list for the new class. I told him that I didn’t know anything about the information meeting. He called the diaconate office and was able to get me an application. I was accepted into the program, and after a couple months of formation meetings I mentioned to another man in the program that I thought I must be the oldest man in the class. He said that when he went to the information session, they were told that no one over the age of 60 was being considered. I was 62 at the time, and if I had gone to that first information night I never would have applied. It just seemed as though it was meant to be."
Shannon Butler
Business Manager - St. Charles Borromeo, Ashland & St. Patrick Church, Pottsville
Shannon has been with St. Charles since March 2017. She attended McCann School of Business and obtained an Associates Degreee in Paralegal. She then went on to Alvernia University where she obtained her Bachelor's in Business Administration. Shannon is married and has 5 children that keep her very busy.
Janet Paulukonis
Parish Secretary
Jan is married and has a daughter. She is a member of St. Charles Borromeo and is also a Lector and a Eucharistic Minister.