Rev. Frantisek Katrinak was born in Slovakia in 1971 and was ordained in the Archdiocese of Kosice, Slovakia in 1996. He served in a variety of ministries over the past 22 years. He came to the United States at the request of the Diocese of Youngstown to serve at St. Mary’s Parish. Father Francis started at St. Mary’s in August of 2018; his first time pastoring a church in the United States. He visited the United States several times before his placement at St. Mary's and is fluent in English. Fr. Katrinak first visited the United States in 1992, coming to Pennsylvania after studying in Poland.

Since he was a boy, Fr. Katrinak said he always wanted to be a priest and started as an altar boy. “I am happy that I became a pastor. I will work to make this congregation stronger. I will help people here on their journey to do what God wants them to do. I want to make that journey successful and help people achieve their needs,” he said.

Rev. Scott Kopp was born in Dover, Ohio, on August 25, 1975. He did his undergraduate studies at the University of Akron and spent a number of years in lay ministry before entering the seminary. He was Pastoral Minister and Youth Minister for two years at St. Anthony of Padua, Parma, OH, and the Campus Minister at Archbishop Hoban High School, Akron, OH, for ten years. While at Hoban, he completed a Masters in Theology at Walsh University, North Canton, OH; and led numerous mission trips and pilgrimages of students to West Virginia, Kentucky, Montreal, Monterrey, Mexico, and Ghana in West Africa.

Fr. Kopp did his seminary studies at Mount St. Mary in Cincinnati, where he was privileged to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and earned his Masters of Divinity degree in 2017. He was ordained a deacon on June 4, 2016, and a priest on June 17, 2017, by the Most Rev. George Murry, SJ, for the Diocese of Youngstown. His parish assignments have been: Parochial Vicar, St. Michael, Canton; Pastor, Holy Trinity, East Liverpool; Pastor, St. Thomas the Apostle, Vienna; Pastor, Christ the Servant, Canton; Pastor, Guardian Angels, Canton; and Sacramental Minister for Portage County. In addition to his parish work, Fr. Kopp has served our diocese as Director of Vocations and Director of Seminarians. His vocations column in the Catholic Exponent ran from 2020-23. In addition to his graduate degrees, Fr. Kopp holds certificates in Franciscan Spirituality, Carmelite Spirituality, and Youth Ministry.

Areas of Responsibility: Sacramental care for the parishioners of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Aurora), St. Ambrose (Garrettsville), St. Joan of Arc (Streetsboro), and St. Joseph (Mantua)

Deacon Steven Gies was born February 16, 1951, and grew up in the Richmond Heights and Rootstown area. He was ordained January 2, 1999, while serving at Immaculate Conception Church in Ravenna. His ministries there included Bereavement Ministry, Liturgical Minister training, and working with the youth doing a Lenten production of the Lord's Passion in mime and teaching the Boy Scout religious medals. In 2004 Steve was called to serve as Deacon at St. Joseph Church in Randolph for 16 years and was involved as the Spiritual Director for the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Knights of Columbus, Liturgical Ministry training, Baptismal Prep., Community Hot Meal, St. Vincent de Paul Society and Confirmation Team Leader, Pastoral Council, and Worship Committee. Then in 2021, he was called to St. Joan of Arc Church in Streetsboro where he serves in Evangelization, I Give Catholic, Adoration Under the Stars, Lector, Altar Server and Greeter Training. As of September 16, 2022, Deacon Steve was assigned to St. Ambrose Parish, Garrettsville, St. Joseph Parish, Mantua, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Aurora, in addition to his current responsibilities at St. Joan of Arc Parish, Streetsboro. He is a former Scoutmaster, District Chairman and in charge of Leadership Training for Great Trail Council for eight years. He is also the Chaplain for Alter Care in Brimfield and Cuyahoga Falls. He has five children (three deceased) and two granddaughters. He married his wife Linda on October 5, 1991.

Deacon Gerelome "Gerry" Scopilliti was born and grew up in the Cleveland area and graduated from Parma High School. He works in the construction and building industry and is member of the sheet metal workers union. He has three lovely daughters, Amanda, René, and Adrianna and one granddaughter.

He was ordained in the fall of 2008 and previously served at St. Ambrose Parish in Garrettsville. As ministers of Word, deacons proclaim the Gospel, preach, and teach in the name of the Church. As ministers of Sacrament, deacons baptize, lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services. As ministers of Charity, deacons are leaders in identifying the needs of others, then marshaling the Church's resources to meet those needs. Along with his duties as deacon, Gerry also ministers in the areas of evangelization, marriage preparation, helps with Children's Faith Formation, and ministering to our youth, and volunteers his time with the Ox Roast Fair. In his free time he enjoys riding his motorcycle, singing karaoke, and socializing.

Deacon Matt Richards is excited to begin his ministry with the Portage North Parishes. He was previously a parishioner of Saint Patrick Parish in Kent and was ordained to the permanent diaconate on January 24, 2026. A graduate of The Ohio State University, Deacon Matt teaches sixth grade Religion, Math, and Social Studies at Saint Rita School in Solon, where he is in his 15th year of teaching. He and his wife, Anna, have two sons—Joey (7th grade) and John (4th grade) who both attend Saint Rita School. Their family also includes Aurora, a 6-year-old rescued mini poodle who is truly the star of the family.

Deacon Matt’s call to the permanent diaconate grew out of a life of faith and service in the parish. Over the years, he has been involved in many areas of parish life—including serving as a lector, an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and in prison ministry at the Portage County Jail. He is grateful to join the Portage North Parishes and looks forward to meeting you, serving alongside you, and growing together in faith.

Carly is the Director of Religious Education for the K-8 program (IGNITE: K-5; EDGE: 6-8) and Sacramental Prep Coordinator for 2nd grade. She assists the catechists in preparation, guidance, and education of all students, manages the online assignments and assessments for the family based and classroom learning and prepares the activities for the students throughout the year. Additionally she assists in the 8th grade Confirmation Prep with Deacon Matt Richards and is the VIRTUS Compliance Officer for Our Lady.

In high school, Carly was involved in her former church faith formation program at St. Vincent De Paul Parish in Knox County, Ohio as a Preschool and Kindergarten catechist. Attending Kent State University, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education: Mild to Moderate and a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, and is currently working on her Master's in Theology at St Mary's Seminary in Wickliffe. Moving to Aurora in 2014, Carly has worked in a variety of positions in the education field in the Portage, Geauga, and Cuyahoga County area. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, planning her upcoming 2027 wedding, spoiling her nephews Calvary and Colt, and hiking in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Jeff is the Director of Life Teen (High School Youth Ministry) which focuses on the Life Teen spiritual development framework, ensuring a balance of evangelization, catechesis, community, and prayer, focusing on building authentic, Christ-centered relationships with high school youth and their families, and developing small group discipleship opportunities to deepen teens’ personal faith.

Jeff also leads the Our Lady Praise & Worship Band at the 11AM Sunday Mass. Jeff has been involved in EDGE and LIFE TEEN (St Helen, Newbury and St Mary, Hudson) for over 25 years as a Core member and band leader.

Jeff received his Bachelor's Degree in Communications for John Carroll University and his Masters in Theology from St Mary Seminary.

Mary has been married to Neil for 20+ years. She has two children, both of whom attended University of Dayton. She worked for Automatic Data Processing (ADP), first as an Account Executive and then as a Senior PC Coordinator.

In 1995, Mary ‘retired’ from ADP to stay home and raise her children. Volunteering has been a big part of her life, including coaching kids' sports teams, Aurora Women’s Club, Our Lady, being a St. Joseph (Mantua) grade school substitute teacher and board member, and a Walsh Jesuit parent volunteer.

In August of 2009, the opportunity to work here at Our Lady happened. It has been such a wonderful experience!

After working as the Office Manager at Anna Maria of Aurora for 23 years, Joann is so excited to be part of the Our Lady staff. Her main duties include assisting with the Faith Formation Program and coordinating registration. Joann also provides back-up assistance to Mary Corrigan. She manages the Facebook page and sends out those informative and fun weekly Flocknotes.

Joann and her husband, Ed, reside in Aurora and have been active parishioners at Our Lady for 33 years. Joann is a Reader, Ed an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, and both are Greeters and original members of the Stewardship Committee. They have two adult children - Brett resides in Atlanta and Brian in Columbus. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, biking, walking, and spoiling her two dogs, JJ and Rico.

Michele has been married to Steve for over 20 years. They have four children, between high school and grad school. They spend much of their time attending their children’s sporting events and other activities. All of their children were confirmed at Our Lady, where they are still parishioners.

Growing up just north of here in Lake County, then moving to Chicago, Michele graduated with her bachelor’s degree from Ohio University and her master’s degree from Northwestern University. She has a broad range of experience in accounting, audit and finance. Michele is the external accountant/bookkeeper for the four Portage North Parishes: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, St Joseph Mantua, St Ambrose Garrettsville, and St Joan of Arc Streetsboro.

In addition to work, Michele has frequently volunteered in the kids’ schools (coaching, classroom, library, PTO Treasurer, etc). She also loves to read, hike, travel and spend time with family and friends.

Tony has worked here at Our Lady for over 13 years, and feels that it is the best job anyone could ask for! He is in housekeeping and general maintenance. His job varies from day to day and he attends to the needs of many people who use the facilities.

Tony and his wife, Bev, have been married 22 years, with two children Randee and Aaron. Tony is an avid Civil War enthusiast with extensive knowledge of all the battles and locations as well as commanders on both sides of the war. He collects antique guns. He is a season ticket holder of the Browns, too!