USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > A history of the Catholic church in the dioceses of Pittsburg and Allegheny from its establishment to the present time > Part 10
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During these years that portion of the city embraced within the limits of the congregation continued to be built up quite rapidly, and the parish was constantly adding to its numbers. In the autumn of 1862 an assistant was appointed to the pastor, who, since the formation of the parishes above referred to, had been alone. Since the latter date, however, two and later three priests have been required to minister to the spiritual necessities of the people. But at the close of
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DEATH OF REV. JAMES BYRNES.
the Rebellion an extraordinary impetus was given to manu- factures, and Pittsburg enjoyed an unusual degree of pros- perity. The common between the city and Laurenceville was rapidly built up, and St. Patrick's congregation became so large as no longer to find accommodations in the church.
Besides, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company was then contemplating the erection of the Union Depot, and wished to purchase the church lot, which lay in the route they were desirous of occupying with their tracks. Father Garland was also anxious to obtain a more central position for the church ; and he readily accepted the proposition of the railroad com- pany to purchase the old one. He had already secured a lot on the corner of Liberty and Seventeenth streets. Upon this he commenced the erection of a church, which on the event of its completion was dedicated by the Bishop, December 17th, 1865. The church, which is in the Attic-Ionic style of architecture, is 120 feet in length by 60 in width, and is sur- mounted by a belfry. In the front is a porch supported by columns in keeping with the style of the building. The ceil- ing is flat. There are three altars. The front is approached by a high flight of steps from Seventeenth Street, and a base- ment extends under the entire building, which is used for the accommodation of a part of the schools.
In the year 1866 a convent of the Sisters of Mercy was built in Liberty Street against the rear of the church, and a young ladies' academy was opened in connection with the school, which for some time before had been in charge of the Sisters. A pastoral residence was built beside the church about the year 1868. Additional school-rooms were built to the rear of the convent some time after its completion.
Among the assistants who shared the labors of the pastor was Rev. James Byrnes, whose health, never robust, finally gave way in the arduous duties that fell to his lot. He retired to the home of his parents, not far from the church, where he gradually sank, until death cut short his career in the sacred ministry, in the 26th year of his age, December 2d, 1874.
REV. JAMES BYRNES was a native of the county and town of Carlow, Ireland, where he was born at the end of Decem- ber, 1848. His parents emigrated to this country and settled
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FATHER GARLAND RETIRES.
in Pittsburg while he was yet in his infancy. Here, in the home of his pious parents, James grew up and developed those good qualities of mind and heart for which he was afterwards remarkable. He entered the diocesan seminary in the spring of 1863, where he was a classmate of the writer, though younger than any other member of the class. Having finished his course, he was obliged to wait until he had attained the canonical age, when he was raised to the priesthood on the 3d day of June, 1871. He was now appointed assistant to the pastor of St. Mary's Church, Forty-sixth Street, although re- maining at the seminary during the week and teaching the branches he had taught, principally dogmatic theology, prior to his ordination. In August, 1872, he was appointed assistant at St. Patrick's Church, and at the same time he left the semi- nary to devote his entire attention to the mission. Here his health gave way, and his career was terminated by consump- tion. Father Byrnes was well versed in the sacred sciences. Though brief his career, he has left a name for zeal, piety, and learning that is destined long to survive.
Worn out by forty years of active duties in the sacred ministry, Father Garland found his health at length so far im- paired and his strength so much reduced as no longer to per- mit him to exercise his sacred calling, and in March, 1878- just forty years from his ordination, March 10th, 1838-he rested from his labors. In order to receive the best attention in the evening of his life, he retired soon after to the Mercy Hospital, where he calmly awaits the reward promised to the good and faithful servant. After his retirement the congrega- tion was for a time under the care of his first assistant, Rev. Thos. Neville.
In the autumn of 1878 measures were taken to organize a new parish, and a church was commenced at Thirty-second Street, as will presently be noticed at length. Two priests will then be sufficient to minister to the congregation. Prior to this it was the largest English congregation in the western part of the State, with the exception of the Cathedral, and would probably number twelve hundred families. It cannot increase in the future, being surrounded as it is by other parishes, and lying in a closely built portion of the city ; nor
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ST. MARY'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG.
is it likely to decrease, but to pursue the even tenor of its way, independent of vicissitudes.
In April, 1879, Rev. S. Wall was appointed pastor. Father Neville had retired a short time previously to St. Xavier's, Westmoreland County, to recruit his health, which was much impaired. Upon the arrival of Father Wall he put the church and house through a much-needed course of improvements and repairs.
ST. MARY'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG.
St. Mary's Church stands on Forty-sixth Street, about half a mile east of the Allegheny River, from which the ground rises gently. Upon the first appearance of the white man an Indian village stood here ; but in 1816 a town was laid out by W. B. Foster, which he named Laurenceville, in honor of Captain Laurence, of the U. S. navy .* But by an act of the legislature of April 6th, 1866, to take effect on the Ist of the following January, the city limits were extended to take in Laurenceville, East Liberty, and other eastern suburbs. But this, like the others, is more generally known by its original name.
The first Catholics who settled in the village heard Mass at St. Patrick's Church, or at St. Joseph's, Sharpsburg. But a movement was made in the summer of 1853 to erect a church and school, and a meeting was called September Ist to take the matter into consideration. A lot of about three acres was secured, which is perhaps the finest piece of church property in the diocese. The contract was immediately given for the erection of a building which should answer the two- fold purpose of a church and school. It was finished at the beginning of the next year; and in the absence of a Bishop- for Dr. O'Connor had been transferred to Erie-it was dedi- cated, under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin, by Very Rev. E. M.Mahon, Adm., January 23d. It was an unpretend- ing frame structure, seventy feet in length by thirty feet in width. Rev. A. P. Gibbs, who was then pastor of this and the
* Day's Historical Collections, p. 90.
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A NEW CHURCH BUILT.
church at Sharpsburg, soon after transferred his residence to the new church, where he has since remained. A brick house was built for his reception, which was afterwards enlarged when the growth of the congregation required the ministra- tion of two priests.
In time a frame school-house was built, but was replaced by the present neat brick one. But the growth of the town increased the congregation, and additional accommodations were demanded. With a view to supplying them a transverse section was put to the end of the church, and thus enlarged it was dedicated by the Bishop August 16th, 1863. The better to minister to his congregation, the pastor resigned the care of the church at Sharpsburg at the beginning of this year, and has since confined his labors exclusively to St. Mary's.
The schools passed into the hands of the Sisters of Mercy in the autumn of 1866, who having come out daily for a year from St. Mary's Convent, Webster Street, a commodious brick convent was built for their reception, of which they took possession September 7th, 1867.
But the congregation was now increasing more rapidly than ever before, not only in numbers but in general impor- tance, and the church was no longer able to accommodate it. A new church must be built, which, although a great under- taking, was yet within the reach of so large and able a com- munity. Work was commenced in the spring of 1873, and the corner-stone was laid by Bishop Domenec on the 23d of June. The church was ready for dedication by the following spring, and the ceremony, which was unusually imposing, was per- formed April 19th by Bishop Mullen, of Erie, in the presence of Bishop Domenec, who afterwards celebrated the Holy Sacrifice. The Bishop of Erie preached an eloquent sermon on the occasion. The church, which is of brick and modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, is 146 feet in length by 56 in width. There is no steeple, but the front and rear walls are surmounted by gracefully cut stone pinnacles. The ceiling rises from the sides, ribbed towards the centre, in a fashion which has lately come into vogue in this diocese. There are three superb Gothic altars of wood, which, with
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CHURCH OF THE SACRED HEART.
the pulpit, confessionals, etc., are made to harmonize with the style of the church. On the whole, it is one of the most sub- stantial and elegant churches in the diocese. Prior to the building of the church an assistant was required to share the labors of the pastor. The old church, or rather that part of it which had not been torn away to give place to the new one, was converted into a school for the boys. The growth of the congregation was arrested by the panic of 1873; but it must still continually add to its numbers, although not so rapidly as before that event. As it is the parish is one of the largest, and with one or two exceptions the most flourishing, English congregations in the diocese, notwithstanding that a part has been taken off to form the new congregation of St. John the Baptist.
THE CHURCH OF THE SACRED HEART, PITTSBURG.
After the annexation of the borough of East Liberty to Pittsburg it became generally known as the "East End." The first Catholic population, as will be stated further on, was German, for whom a church was erected in 1859. But an English element soon began to mingle with the German, and either heard Mass at the German church or in one of those of the city. At length the number of families became sufficiently large to form a separate congregation and require a church of its own. Rev. J. M. Bierl, then pastor of the German church, purchased a lot at the corner of College and Centre avenues, on the northern side of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in the spring of 1872. Rev. Bernard F. Ferris was appointed first pastor, and entrusted with the organization of the parish. He celebrated Mass for the first time August 4th of the same year by a special arrangement in the German church, which it was agreed the new congregation should be permitted to use until such time as it should have one of its own. But this arrangement proving unsatisfactory, he commenced the next day the erection of a temporary church ; and so great was the energy displayed that he had a wooden building, 32 by 50 feet, ready for divine service on Sunday the 18th of the same month.
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RETURN OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY.
The congregation then numbered about seventy-five families, with very flattering future prospects.
Plans were now prepared and work commenced on a per- manent church, the corner-stone of which was laid by the Bishop June 15th, 1873. A neat and comfortable brick pas- toral residence was built the same year and occupied about Christmas. Although the congregation was increasing rapidly, the erection of a church such as that upon which they were now engaged was a great undertaking, and the panic which took place soon after the work was begun was calculated to dampen the ardor of both pastor and people. But the work was continued, and the church, being finished, was dedicated by the Bishop October 24th, 1875. It is a cruciform brick building fronting on Centre Avenue, and is 127 feet in length by 46 in width in the nave and 75 in the transept. The steeple, which stands at the left front, is finished to the height of the roof for the present. The style of architecture is pecu- liar. The ceiling both of the nave and transept follows the pitch of the roof, the greatest height being 46 feet, while that of the walls is 24. The head of the nave is formed into an apse for the sanctuary, and is furnished with a marble altar. There are, besides, two side-altars. The two confessionals, as well as the pews, are finished in a very artistic manner. The stained-glass windows are embellished with designs illustra- tive of the life of Christ.
A school, under the charge of lay teachers, was opened in the temporary church in January, 1873. Two years later a colony of seven Sisters of Charity from Altoona took charge of the schools, and occupied, and still occupy, the pastoral residence as a convent, while the pastor, as before its erec- tion, went to lodge in a hotel. This, it is worthy of remark, is the first entrance of the Sisters of Charity into the city since their withdrawal about thirty years before. During the sum- mer of 1874 a brick school-house, 44 feet square and two stories high, was built ; and when the schools were transferred to it the temporary church was transformed into a pastoral resi- dence, and so it remains. The outfit of the congregation is now complete, but a very heavy debt remains to engage the attention of both pastor and people for many years to come.
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ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG.
But the future prospects are more flattering than those of the other city congregations generally, and a large proportion of the people are of the wealthy and influential class. There are at present about two hundred families in the parish, and it is gradually but slowly increasing. Father Ferris was succeeded by Rev. Francis Keane, the present pastor, in February, 1878.
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG.
For several years the need of a church between St. Pat- rick's and St. Mary's had been apparent, but it was not until the spring of 1878 that steps were taken to erect it. Lots were then purchased at the corner of Liberty and Thirty. second streets, and work was commenced under the direction of Father Gibbs, of St. Mary's. The corner-stone was laid by the Bishop on the 20th of October of the same year, and it is worthy of remark that it is the first ceremony of the kind per- formed by that prelate. The building, in the erection of which St. Patrick's and St. Mary's contributed a part, was finished and ready for dedication early in the following sum- mer. The solemn ceremony was performed by the Bishop on the 8th of June, when the church was placed under the invocation of St. John the Baptist. The building is of brick, is 80 feet in length by 40 in width, and two stories high, and is planned to answer the purposes of a church and school. The lower story, which is high and is finished with gallery, altar, confessionals, etc., is for the use of the congregation, while the upper story is divided into school-rooms.
When the church was finished Rev. C. V. Neeson was appointed pastor, and soon after he rented a house near by, as a residence has not yet been built. The congregation is formed in part each from St. Patrick's and St. Mary's, and is sufficient to fill the church at two Masses on Sunday. There must necessarily be a limit to its future growth, being sur- rounded as it is on all sides by other congregations ; but not- withstanding this it is destined to increase considerably. At the beginning of September, 1879, the schools were placed under the care of the Sisters of Charity, who at present come
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THE COLORED CATHOLICS OF PITTSBURG.
daily by the cars from the convent attached to the Church of the Sacred Heart.
THE CHAPEL OF THE NATIVITY (COLORED), PITTSBURG.
Colored Catholics were found in the city from an early day. The first attempt at forming them into a separate con- gregation was made by Rev. R. H. Wilson, D.D., president of St. Michael's Seminary. With the consent of the Bishop he rented a hall on Smithfield Street, near Diamond, that had been previously occupied by a congregation of Methodists, and had it blessed, under the title of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, June 30th, 1844. The zeal of the pastor was ex- traordinary, and amounted to enthusiasm. He would visit the homes of his sable flock, spend hours among them, and even seat himself at their table and partake of their frugal repast, so intent was he on gaining them to Christ. Soon he succeeded in collecting together a large number who were al- ready of the faith, and others who were under instruction. But his success excited the jealousy of the sects, and a trick was resorted to in order to destroy the fruit of his labors. A min- ister declared from the pulpit of one of the colored churches on the hill that Dr. Wilson was a pro-slavery man who, when he had collected a sufficient number of colored people, would have them seized and carried South, to be there sold into slavery by his agents. The trick had the desired effect: the poor, simple people took the alarm, and the congregation was dispersed about a year after its formation. The chapel was closed and abandoned, and the colored people from that period until the opening of St. Joseph's Chapel, to be hereafter no- ticed, attended the other churches of the city.
ST. PETER'S PRO-CATHEDRAL, ALLEGHENY CITY.
Allegheny City, which lies north-west of Pittsburg, and on the opposite side of the river of the same name, was laid out under an act of the General Assembly approved September IIth, 1787. The original town was exactly square, containing one hundred lots, each sixty feet by two hundred and forty.
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ST. PETERS PRO-CATHEDRAL, ALLEGHENY CITY.
It was incorporated as Allegheny Town by an act of the Gen- eral Assembly of April 14th, 1828, and chartered as a city April 10th, 1840, having then a population of about 10,000. The present population is about 80,000.
Catholics settled in Allegheny about the beginning of this century, but attended one of the churches of Pittsburg until the year 1848. Their number having by this time increased sufficiently to render the formation of a separate congregation both feasible and necessary, a meeting was called for that purpose on the 17th of September. Rev. James O'Connor, brother of the Bishop, was appointed pastor of the incipient congregation, and measures were taken toward the erection of a church. Lots were purchased on Anderson Street, near Washington, in the northern part of the city, at a cost of about $6000, and the erection of a church was soon after begun. Toward the end of the following year Father O'Connor was succeeded by Rev. E. M.Mahon. The church was finished the following spring at a cost of about $10,000, and dedicated, under the invocation of St. Peter the Apostle, by Bishop Whelan, of Wheeling, April 21st, 1850. On the 24th of the same month Father M'Mahon was transferred to the Cathe- dral, where he was appointed pastor, and was succeeded at St. Peter's by Rev. James Kearney. A school taught by the Sis- ters of Mercy, from St. Mary's Convent, Pittsburg, was now opened in the basement of the church. Soon the pastor re- solved to establish a house of the Sisters in the parish, and ac- cordingly St. Anne's Convent, commonly known as the House of Industry, was built on Washington Street, near the church, about the year 1854. The school-houses of the parish were built on the same lots not long after. Father Kearney was succeeded, October 24th of the same year, by Rev. T. Mul- len. About this time, or a little before it, the Franciscan Brothers, from the Cathedral, took charge of the boys' school and continued to teach it until the summer of 1866.
The pastor of St. Peter's has always had charge of the Catholic inmates of the Western Penitentiary, to whom he ministers at regular and frequent intervals. Prior to the or- ganization of St. Andrew's parish, Manchester, he performed the same office of mercy to the unfortunate protégés of the
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THE HOUSE OF REFUGE.
House of Refuge, or Pennsylvania Reform School, when big- otry would condescend to permit it. The fanatical opposition of the officers of the institution to the visits of a priest occa- sioned quite a spirited public correspondence between Father Mullen and John L. Logan, president of the Refuge, in Febru- ary, 1862. Through the influence of Father Mullen a supple- ment to the act of incorporation of the institution was imme- diately introduced into the legislature, by which the inmates were permited in time of sickness to confer with a minister of their choice, in sight, but if desired not in hearing, of an officer of the institution, as the rules previously required. The act was approved March 31st of that year ; and the unfortunate children felt their condition somewhat ameliorated in being able to make their confession, a privilege from which they had before been debarred.
Another supplement, more just and reasonable, was forced upon the managers by the Catholic members of the legisla- ture May 5th, 1876, when a large appropriation was asked from the State for the completion of the new buildings at Morganza. This act provides that " the inmates of said insti- tution shall have the right to receive religious instruction from ministers of any denomination or belief without any obstruc- tion or interference whatever." We shall have occasion here- after to observe how this provision is carried out by the pres- ent board of officers.
Upon the withdrawal of Very Rev. E. M.Mahon from the diocese, in 1864, Father Mullen was appointed Vicar-General, and continued to discharge the duties of that office until his elevation to the See of Erie.
The population of Allegheny was increasing rapidly at this time, but principally in the western part of the city, the eastern being already closely built. The number of Catholics was also augmenting, and St. Peter's, even with three Masses on a Sunday, began to be inadequate to their accommodation. The borough of Manchester, which since its annexation to the city, in 1867, forms the western wards, was also becoming a place of note, and, being the site of extensive iron manufacto- ries, contained a considerable Irish Catholic population. The distance at which these people lived from St. Peter's induced
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THE PRO-CATHEDRAL BUILT.
Father Mullen to build a church for their accommodation. St. Andrew's was consequently built, and dedicated Decem- ber 20th, 1863. For several years it was attended from the mother-church, a circumstance which necessitated the appoint- ment of an assistant pastor.
The erection of the new church and the withdrawal of a part of the congregation afforded but a temporary relief. A larger church was absolutely necessary. Measures were being taken looking toward its erection, when the pastor was pro- moted to the See of Erie, and consecrated at St. Paul's Cathe- dral by Bishop Domenec August 2d, 1868. On taking leave of the congregation over which he had so long presided, Rev. R. Phelan, of Freeport, was appointed his successor, July 21st. The first care of the newly appointed pastor was the erection of the church. Additional lots were purchased adjoining those already owned by the congregation on the corner of West Ohio Street and Sherman Avenue. Plans were obtained after a little delay, and work was commenced in the fall of 1870. The corner-stone was laid with imposing ceremony by Bishop Domenec April 16th, 1871. Work was pushed for- ward rapidly, as the old church was already sold to the rail- road company and possession was to be given upon a fixed date. But the building is large, and time was demanded in its construction. The basement was blessed by the Bishop and opened for occupation December Ist, 1872. Gradually the building rose from its foundation and began to assume those proportions which attract the attention of all and delight the eye of the critic. The solemn dedication, which was the most remarkable event as yet in the history of the congrega- tion, was performed by Bishop Domenec Sunday, July 5th, 1874.
The church is in the Gothic style of architecture, but with- out a transept, and is 165 feet in length by 70 in width, con- sisting of a basement and main story, with a tower at the left side in front. The basement is almost wholly beneath the level of the street, but has a passage of perhaps six feet on each side the entire length, which secures ventilation and light. The walls of the basement are of stone, and those of the super- structure, including the tower, are faced with stone. All the
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