Preserving the Past, Caring for the Future: The Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown Motherhouse Renovation

Visit the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown Motherhouse in Canfield, Ohio and you’ll find it doesn’t look very different – outside or in — than when built in 1963. The Sisters have always been good stewards of the structure.

That’s not to say it hasn’t undergone additions, renovations and reconfigurations, but the Sisters make changes with prudence and a desire to retain and preserve.

December 2025 saw the completion of a $6 million transformation from a convent into a resident care facility that offers assisted living. When planning began in 2024, discussions included ways to preserve and adaptively reuse historical elements. In fact, the entire project adaptively reuses and revitalizes a building that has few other options for function.

It was 2011 when the living spaces were last reimagined and a three-phase transformation began. Dorm areas became 24 living spaces with private, handicapped-accessible bathrooms better equipped for the safety of the aging Sisters. Contemporary plumbing, electrical, and HVAC components were installed. The health care wing was modernized. Gone were outdated building materials, out-of-reach cabinetry, and window air conditioners.

The most recent project has modified those spaces again while expanding their security and purpose. The Sisters’ rooms and offices are now 45 assisted living suites, including 11 for memory care, which provide a safe home for the Sisters and lay residents. Bathrooms in public areas were modernized to accommodate people with mobility challenges. A safely-lit hallway replaces a dark garage area for walking from the Motherhouse/assisted living to the pool – itself renovated and rehabilitated in 2014 and 2022 – for aquatic exercise. A fire suppression system was installed throughout the building.

Whenever possible, existing spaces were renovated and rehabilitated rather than reconstructed.

For instance, with the help of paint, new carpet and fixtures, the former library is now a social room.

Wooden ceilings in our former living spaces no longer passed fire codes. Instead of discarding the planks, they were carefully dismantled and repurposed to become decorative elements around doorways of newly created rooms.

Antique stained glass was preserved and transferred from old dining room doors into new doors that meet state-mandated fire codes. It’s hard to distinguish them from the originals.

Much of the environment remains the same as it’s been for decades. Tables and chairs used in the Sisters’ Rayen Avenue convent, built in 1897 and occupied by the Sisters until they moved to Shields Road, find continued employment. A relief of The Last Supper restored after the St. Columba Cathedral fire in 1954 continues to stir faithful hearts from its longtime re-home opposite our chapel. Dining room tables purchased for the Motherhouse in 1963 provide the base for many pursuits in the social room.

Historical relics, photographs and artwork created by Sisters over the last 150 years continues to decorate the spaces, continues telling the story of their journey.

The renovation, revitalization and preservation undertaken as part of this project was a way to both care for these women in the present, into the future, and preserve their remarkable history.

The Ursuline Sisters celebrated their commitment to the Mahoning Valley with a 150th anniversary celebration in 2024. Since September 18, 1874, more than 200 Ursuline Sisters have dedicated their lives to helping the people of our community.

Through their nonprofit Ursuline Sisters Mission, the Sisters continue their mission and ministry by offering housing, food, health care, education, wellness and advocacy.

The Sisters’ median age is 82 ½. Most of the 23 remaining Sisters are still active in some type of ministry, although most of it is volunteer service.