I’m not sure he ever won the lottery, but I’m glad he stopped to play…

   I’ll never forget working at Fast Eddie’s when I heard his voice, "How’s it going?" he asked. His visits always made me smile, and he always carried that warm grin on his face. His soft spoken voice could have been recognized by almost anybody who has lived in the community for the past 13 years – calming, welcoming, peaceful Fr. Domenic Mancini.

   It’s no surprise that Father became well known and loved by many after serving as pastor of St. Columbkille Roman Catholic Church in Imperial for more than a decade. Father served his people faithfully and prayerfully until God called him home in November. And whether you had just met him, or your relationship dated back to his early service as St. Columbkille’s Parochial Vicar in the 90s, you were bound to be touched by a man with an unwavering devotion to God.

   When Father was assigned as pastor of St. Columbkille in 2000, his role was to guide his faithful parishioners closer to God – and that is exactly what he did. He always seemed to know what to do and what to say, and gave subtle assurance that no matter what life handed, everything would be ok. "We have God. What more could we want?" he would always say. In his 13 years of service at St. Columbkille, Father saw the community through some of its saddest and happiest of times. He was there to pray with the Kocher family when their son Matthew was diagnosed with leukemia. He was there to lend support when the Morrosetti’s house burnt to the ground. He was there to celebrate life, marry couples, baptize babies, teach parishioners, mark St. Columbkille’s 100th anniversary, and much more. Through his involvement in the West Allegheny Ministerial Association, he served the entire community – Catholics and non-Catholics.