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 15
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The completion of the church afforded no respite to the indefatigable pastor. Additional school accommodations were demanded; and in 1856 he erected a building with four rooms. As yet the children were under the care of lay teachers; but in 1861 he secured the services of the Sisters of Mercy from the House of Industry, near by, who taught the whole school for a number of years, and the girls for some time after giving up the boys.
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DEATH OF REV. JOHN STIEBEL.
The German Catholic population continued to increase, and members of the congregation were found at so great a distance and in such numbers that a new church was required on Troy Hill, to the north ; at Manchester, to the south ; and at Perrysville, to the west. All were begun about the year '1866. But no fears were entertained of the parent congrega- tion ever becoming too small. On the contrary, the church is filled at three Masses, besides that for the children.
In the course of a few years the school accommodations again became too limited. To remedy the deficiency for all future time, Fr. Stiebel determined to erect a large building that should supply this and several other pressing wants. With this object in view he purchased lots on the side of North Street opposite the church, upon which he erected a large brick block about the year 1868, 135 feet in length by 60 in width. Exteriorly the building is one, but the interior is not. About thirty feet of the end fronting on Washington Street is arranged for a pastoral residence, and is four stories high. In this the priests, now five in number, reside. The lower story of the rest of the building is divided into four school-rooms, for the girls of the parish. The next story is a chapel, capable of seating nine hundred persons, and is for the use of the children. Over this is a hall for fairs, meetings, etc. Soon after the completion of this building the congrega- tion and the diocese were destined to sustain an irreparable loss in the death of Fr. Stiebel. The zealous and saintly pas- tor, worn out by incessant toil and the voluntary mortifications which he inflicted on himself in no stinted measure, calmly yielded up his pure soul to God, after a lingering illness, early in the afternoon of January 13th, 1869, being in the 49th year of his age.
REV. JOHN STIEBEL was born of poor but pious parents, at the village of Cryon, near Trieste, at the head of the Adri- atic Sea, in the Austrian Empire. Little could be learned of his parentage or his early life even by his most intimate friends, and it was only from incidental remarks, as I have been informed by a priest who was for years his assistant, that the little information we possess has been obtained. Absolutely nothing is known except that he studied in his
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ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, ALLEGHENY.
native land, was ordained, and a year afterwards came to this country and to St. Mary's Church at the solicitation of Fr. Mosetizh, arriving, as has been said, in the autumn of 1851. From that time he is best known in his works. But his inner life, which would afford edifying details, was wholly " hidden with Christ in God." Besides his labors in St. Mary's and the congregations formed from it, he visited the German Catholics to the west as far as Beaver, and took an active interest in all that pertained to their spiritual welfare. He was also for many years diocesan secretary for the Germans. He leaves a name that will never be forgotten in the places which he illustrated by his learning and piety. His remains repose in the cemetery belonging to the church.
Fr. Stiebel was succeeded by Rev. Ignatius Reiser ; and he, in April of the same year, by Rev. John A. Shell. The latter built a mortuary chapel in the cemetery on the hill to the west of the city, the corner-stone of which was laid April 24th, 1870. The dedication was performed by the Bishop November 6th of the same year. Fr. Shell was succeeded by the Benedictine fathers from St. Vincent's Abbey, who es- tablished a priory at St. Mary's in October, 1872. The church is still under the care of the fathers of that order. But before leaving, Fr. Shell secured the services of the Brothers of Mary Immaculate as teachers for the boys. They occupy the old pastoral residence as a monastery. In September, 1879, the Benedictine nuns succeeded the Sisters of Mercy as teachers of the girls' school. The priests of St. Mary's minister to the spiritual necessities of the Little Sisters of the Poor and the inmates of their Home.
St. Mary's is the second German congregation in size in the two dioceses, and will probably number about 6000 souls. It will undergo little change in the way of increase for many years to come.
ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH, ALLEGHENY CITY.
The rapidity with which the southern part of Allegheny was built up added many souls to St. Mary's Church and rendered the foundation of a separate parish necessary. Fr.
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DESCRIPTION OF ST. JOSEPH'S.
Stiebel took the matter in hand and purchased very eligible lots on Fulton Street, extending from Franklin to Decatur streets. Work was commenced on the church in the spring of 1866, and the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop on the 24th of June. The dedication took place about a year later, but the precise date has not been ascertained. The building, which is brick, differs in plan from all the other churches of the diocese with the exception of that on Troy Hill. It is 120 feet in length by 50 in width ; but 90 feet only of the front is used as a church. The remaining 30 feet, though similar to the rest exteriorly, is two stories high, the upper being meant for a pastoral residence and the lower for a school. The object had in view was to have an opportunity of accommodating a larger congregation in after-times by removing the partitions and converting the whole into a church when it should become necessary. The front of the church is surmounted by a small spire. The interior is neatly though not expensively furnished, and contains three altars.
After its completion the church was visited every Sunday for about a year from St. Mary's; but at the end of that time Rev. Ignatius Reiser was appointed resident pastor. On the death of Fr. Stiebel he was transferred to St. Mary's, but at the end of three months returned and remained until January 15th, 1873. He was then succeeded by Rev. Peter Kaufman, the present pastor. Little change beyond a gradual increase had marked the passage of these years in the congregation. One of the first acts of Fr. Kaufman was the erection of a brick pastoral residence on Franklin Street, opposite the rear of the church. This enabled him to effect another necessary reform-that of placing the schools under the care of a re- ligious community. He procured a sufficient number of Sisters of St. Francis from the mother-house on the South Side in September, 1873, who used as a convent the rooms formerly occupied by the pastor. But soon after the division of the diocese the Sisters returned to the mother-house, and were succeeded, in September, 1876, by Benedictine nuns, who have still charge of the schools. For the better accom- modation of the children a new school-house was built about
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TROY HILL.
a year later, and the rooms formerly occupied by the children were given to the nuns.
St. Joseph's congregation is slowly increasing and must continue to augment, and will number at present perhaps two hundred and fifty families.
GERMAN CHURCH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS, TROY HILL, ALLEGHENY CITY.
Troy Hill is a narrow strip of elevated ground extending into the northern end of Allegheny City, and lying between the Allegheny River and Spring Garden Run. On the top is a plateau which is closely built for half a mile north from the point of the hill, and forms a part of the city. As one leaves the upper part of the city he begins to ascend the hill on the eastern side, and having gone half a mile reaches the summit. Here the German Orphan Asylum, with its extensive grounds, appears 'close on the left, and beside it the German cemetery with its countless crosses and its neat little mortuary chapel. A square further he has the House of the Good Shepherd before him, while the church now engaging our attention lies two squares to the left of it, on the western brow of the hill. If he wishes to pass further to the north and west beyond the limits of the city, a most pleasing prospect greets his eyes. It is not the superb mansions of the wealthy, but the smiling gardens and vineyards of the laborious and frugal Germans, which speak of the contentment and independence that ever reward industry and economy. It is the paradise of the poor. To the west of Spring Garden Run green fields and extensive vineyards please the eye and enkindle the imagina- tion. The population of Troy Hill is German, and Catholic for the most part.
As the population increased Father Stiebel took measures toward the erection of a church in the northern part of St. Mary's congregation, at the same time that he commenced St. Joseph's Church in the south of it; and having named one church in honor of the august Mother of God and another in honor of her chaste spouse, he would satisfy his devotion by completing the earthly trinity, and gave this
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CHURCH OF THE HOLY NAME.
church the holy name of Jesus. To this end he purchased lots fronting to the south on Clarke Street and extending back on Hazel to Diensberry Street. Work was begun, and the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop August 26th, 1866; but the church was not dedicated until June 7th, 1868, and as yet the interior was not completed. At the same time Rev. S. T. Mollinger, then pastor of St. Teresa's Church, Perrys- ville, was appointed pastor. The church is of the same dimensions and after the same plan as St. Joseph's, last noticed, but is somewhat more artistic in its interior finish. At the time the church was dedicated there were about fifty families in the congregation. A school was at once opened by a lay teacher in the lower rooms in the rear of the build- ing, while the pastor occupied the second floor. The finish- ing and decorating of the interior early engaged the pastor's attention. Two superb wooden side-altars were erected in the early part of 1869, and a magnificent marble high altar after the Byzantine style was completed in August, and con- secrated by the Bishop on the 15th. A statue of St. Boniface and one of St. Teresa have since been placed on brackets on either side of the altar, and one of St. John the Baptist on the right, against the pilaster that supports the arch of triumph. Against the pilaster on the left is the pulpit. A painting of St. Teresa over the altar of St. Joseph is a work of merit ; but that of St. Antony of Padua over the altar of the Blessed Virgin is a work of the rarest excellence. All the altar vessels and furniture are unusually rich.
A brick school-house, 68 feet in length by 48 in width, and two stories high, was built to the rear of the church in the summer of 1874 ; the lower story of which is divided into two rooms, the upper being a hall. Since the completion of this building the girls have been taught by the School Sisters of Notre Dame from the German Orphan Asylum, and the boys, as before, by a layman. In the year 1877 Father Mollinger built an elegant brick pastoral residence.
The building up of this part of the city has increased the congregation to about two hundred and fifty families ; but unlike other congregations, it has suffered comparatively little
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ST WINCESLAUS CHURCH.
from the financial condition of the times, from the fact that few of its people are employed in public works.
Father Mollinger had an assistant, sometimes two, for several years who said Mass and ministered to the spiritual necessities of the communities and inmates of the German Orphan Asylum and the House of the Good Shepherd. For a time he had also charge of St. Anne's Church, Millvale : but these are now attended from other places, and he is alone.
But Father Mollinger is in possession of a treasure deserv- ing of special mention-the large number of sacred relics which he has brought together. The collection amounts to perhaps four thousand, and is arranged in order in a room specially prepared for its reception. The greater part is placed in costly reliquaries. It would be difficult to enu- merate even those deserving of special mention; but the col- lection may safely be said to be one of the largest and rarest in America, and few persons or institutions in the entire Christian world are permitted to congratulate themselves on the possession of such a treasure.
ST. WINCESLAUS' BOHEMIAN CHURCH, ALLEGHENY CITY.
For many years a number of Bohemian Catholics existed in St. Mary's congregation ; but from the fact that Father Stiebel was familiar with their language they experienced no difficulty in complying with their religious duties, and con- sequently attracted no attention. At his death, however, they were in a measure deprived of the consolations of re- ligion, there being no priest in either city capable of hearing their confessions or preaching to them. Finding a priest at length, and being anxious to organize them into a separate congregation, the Bishop encouraged them to purchase a Methodist Episcopal Church on Main Street, near St. Mary's, which was then exposed for sale. It was bought in 1871, and after undergoing the necessary alterations was dedicated by the Bishop under the invocation of St. Winceslaus. It is a brick building, perhaps 65 feet in length by 40 in width, and has been built for fifteen or twenty years. The front is sur. mounted by a short tower, and the interior has a front and
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HOLY TRINITY CHURCH.
side galleries. Rev. John Videnka, lately arrived in the dio- cese, was appointed pastor. A frame house on the church lot was used as a pastoral residence, and another for a time as a school-house. After remaining with the congregation for about four years, Father Videnka was succeeded by the pres- ent pastor, Rev. Siegfried Klima, O.S.B., who resides at St. Mary's.
Soon after that date the school was reopened, but this time in the basement of the church. Here the Bohemian, German, and English languages are taught the children.
The congregation should number about two hundred families, but the inroads made by secret societies, and the want of attachment to the faith in other respects, has reduced it at least one half. So unpromising was it that about the year 1873 the late Bishop seriously entertained the thought of attaching the members of the congregation to St. Mary's, and of organizing an English congregation in the upper part of the city with St. Winceslaus' as their parish church. The same thought is entertained at present, and will doubtless soon be carried into execution. There can be but little doubt that the people will eventually lose their native language and cease to exist as a Bohemian congregation ; and from the fact that no increase is received by immigration, this will be the work of comparatively few years.
HOLY TRINITY GERMAN CHURCH, PITTSBURG.
A large proportion of those who first settled on the hill, then known as Reisville, were German Catholics. To accom- modate them, as well as to relieve St. Philomena's, the Re- demptorist fathers determined to build a church in that part of the city ; and for this purpose purchased lots on Centre Avenue, extending from Fulton to Crawford streets. The site is about a mile from the Point and equidistant from the two rivers. A temporary chapel was opened in the spring of 1857, and at the same time work was commenced on the foun- dation of the church. The corner-stone was laid by Fr. M.Mahon, V.G., on the 7th of June; and the church was dedi- cated by the Bishop November 22d. The church was then
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DEATH AND CHANGES OF PASTORS.
88 feet in length by 44 in width, and 26 feet to the ceiling, which is flat. It is furnished with three altars, and has a small wooden spire.
The church was attended by the Redemptorist fathers from St. Philomena's for some time, until at length Rev. Jos. Kauffman, a secular priest, was appointed resident pastor. About this time a brick pastoral residence was built. The church was under the care of secular priests until 1867, when it passed into the hands of the Benedictine fathers from St. Vincent's Abbey, who established a priory there. In the mean time two of the secular pastors had died. The first was Rev. Francis Grimmer, who died of apoplexy July 9th, 1859, and was buried in the cemetery at the east of the city belong- ing to the congregation. He was born at Taubenbischofsheim, Baden, May 12th, 1794; came to this country at the age of fourteen years, and was ordained in 1827. Little more is stated in the biographical notices of him than that he served on the mission in different parts of the country and of this diocese. The second was Rev. Charles Schuler, who died of consumption at the Mercy Hospital September 18th, 1863. He was born at Schwytz, in the canton of the same name, Switzerland, about the year 1832 ; came to this country and completed his studies at St. Vincent's College, where he was ordained by Bishop Domenec February 8th, 1861, being one of the first if not the first priest ordained by that prelate. His remains repose by the side of those of Fr. Grimmer.
The Benedictines withdrew from Holy Trinity at the close of 1870, and were succeeded by Rev. A. Rosswogg. From this date the pastor has always had an assistant. In the summer of 1872 the church was enlarged by the addition of twenty-four feet to its length in front-the length of the lot permitted no more; and such a steeple was erected over the entrance as had been over it before. During the following summer new and very neat wooden altars replaced the old ones ; and two paintings of considerable merit, an Immaculate Conception and a Crucifixion, were placed over the side-altars.
· The church was also handsomely frescoed and painted, making it one of the most attractive in the city. It may be remarked, in passing, that our German friends are far in advance of the
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STS. PETER AND PAUL'S CHURCH.
English in the manner in which they finish and decorate the interior of their churches and brush off the dust of the city.
Fr. Rosswogg was succeeded in the autumn of 1874 by Rev. J. Tamchina, who in turn gave place to a colony of priests of the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, who, banished from Prussia by the tyranny of Bismarck, found a home among us and took charge of Holy Trinity July 23d, 1875. During the summer of the following year they built a brick monastery fronting on Centre Avenue and extending 86 feet in length from Fulton Street to the church. It is 30 feet in width and three stories high, besides the basement. The chapel, rooms, and cells, though breathing the true spirit of poverty, are spacious, well ventilated, and form in all a com- fortable home for the good religious. The pastor of this church had charge of the inmates of St. Paul's Orphan Asy- lum from 1874 until recently, when a resident chaplain was appointed.
A school was opened simultaneously with the erection of the church, and was conducted by lay teachers until the year 878, when they were succeeded by a number of the Sisters of Divine Providence, from Sts. Peter and Paul's Church, Pittsburg, who occupy the old pastoral residence as a con- vent. An addition was built to the school-house about the same time that the church was enlarged. But additional accommodations are still required, and it is probable that a new school-house will soon be built.
The congregation has increased gradually since its organ- ization, and it must continue, as it is not probable that a new one will be formed from the outskirts of it for many years.
STS. PETER AND PAUL'S GERMAN CHURCH, PITTSBURG, EAST END.
Soon after the completion of Holy Trinity Church, which accommodated part of the Catholics living in the out- skirts of St. Philomena's congregation, the Redemptorist fathers turned their attention to a portion of their charge still more distant, and undertook the erection of a church for the Germans residing in East Liberty. But the
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THE EAST END.
East Liberty of that day would compare very indiffer- ently with that of the present. At that time it was a village about four miles from the city, on the line of the Penn- sylvania Railroad; now it is a part of the city, an active business place and the home of many of our wealthiest and most influential citizens. Since the annexation, which took place in 1867, it is called the East End, or East Pittsburg, al- though its former name is frequently applied to it. The peo- ple were ably assisted in the erection of the church by the generosity of Mr. Peter Hauch, who donated half an acre of ground as a site for it. The corner-stone was laid by the Bishop on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th, 1857; but not- withstanding that the building is small, it was not finished till the end of two years, when it was dedicated by the same pre- late on the same national holiday, November 24th. The church is situated on Larimer Avenue, is of brick, about 75 feet in length by 40 in width, and has a tower rising from the centre in front to the height of about 100 feet. There are three altars and a gallery which accommodates the choir and a part of the congregation. The church, though neatly fin- ished, lacks the leading characteristics of any particular style of architecture.
The congregation was attended as a mission by the Re- demptorist fathers until May, 1860, when Rev. C. Klæker was appointed resident pastor. He purchased a lot adjoining the church with a small frame house upon it, which served for many years as a pastoral residence; and he was suc- ceeded at the end of a year by Rev. Ignatius Reiser. After improving somewhat the interior of the church, he gave place to Rev. John M. Bierl, August 15th, 1865. By this time the congregation had increased from fifty to two hundred and fifty families. But a part was English and withdrew upon the organization of the congregation of the Sacred Heart, as we have seen. Father Bierl was succeeded by Rev. F. X. Paulitigi in the summer of 1872. During his pastorate he frescoed and otherwise improved the interior of the church. But his most important work was the erection of a commo- dious brick pastoral residence. He gave place to Rev. Geo.
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DEATH OF REV. A. HUNE, D.D.
Allman in August, 1874; and he in February, 1875, to Rev. Aloysius Hune, D.D.
With the organization of the parish a school was opened by a lay teacher in a rude wooden building until such time as the congregation should be able to erect a better one. A colony of Ursuline Sisters came, most probably in the summer of 1869, who taught the school about five years. They then withdrew, and the school passed into the hands of the Sisters of St. Agnes from Fond du Lac, Wis. Their sojourn was brief, and they were succeeded by the Benedictine Nuns in the summer of 1875. A year later and they also withdrew to give place to the present teachers, a colony of Sisters of Divine Providence, expelled from Germany by the tyranny of Bismarck. Fr. Hune built a large brick school-house and convent combined, which was blessed by the Bishop Sep- tember 2d, 1877, and has since been occupied. But the congregation was called upon to sustain a great loss in the sudden demise of its learned and gentle pastor, who after retiring in his usual health on the evening of December 31st, 1877, was found dead in his bed on the following morn- ing.
REV. ALOYSIUS HUNE was born of pious German Catholic parents in Pittsburg, August 11th, 1844. In his childhood they moved to Latrobe, Westmoreland County, and at a proper age sent him to St. Vincent's College to begin his studies. He was sent to Rome in the autumn of 1869, where he continued his course until the fall of the city, when he re- tired to Innsbruck. Returning to the Holy City, he took his degree of Doctor of Divinity, and was ordained by Cardinal Patrizi June 7th, 1873. On his return to the Diocese of Pittsburg he was appointed pastor of the church in Cambria City, and after six months was transferred to East Liberty. Though by no means robust in health he was not feeble, and was always able to discharge the duties of his mission. His life was a constant study to follow in the footsteps of his holy patron. His remains were taken to St. Vincent's Abbey, where they repose.
After four months, during which the congregation was attended by one of the Capuchin fathers from St. Augustine's
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ST. AUGUSTINE'S CHURCH.
Church, Rev. Joseph Suhr was appointed pastor, an office which he continues to fill.
Early in the year 1879 the Sisters purchased the school- house from the congregation in order to use the entire building as a convent for their increasing community. They also purchased from another source a large lot of ground adjoining it. To accommodate the schools Fr. Sühr bought the First U. P. Church, a brick building two stories high and about 75 feet in length by 40 in width, with the large lot upon which it stands, for $2000. The lower story is divided into rooms sufficient for the children, while the upper, which is fitted up with pews, will serve as a hall.
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