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 33
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From the humble beginnings which we have seen, when the pioneer members of the Order found it difficult to procure the most miserable lodgings, the abbey has grown to be one of the most important religious foundations in America. The main building, including the seminary, college, and monas tery, forms a quadrangle about four hundred feet in length by two hundred in width, with the church running across the centre the shorter way. A part of one end of the quadrangle is unfinished as yet, but will be completed in a few months. The church has been enlarged at the ends so as to join the other buildings; and a number of chapels have also been formed in an addition to the side. A tall tower has also been constructed, and the interior has undergone renovation. Al- though struggling from the first and until lately with formida- ble difficulties, the career of the institution in all its depart- ments has been one of constant success. The following will give an idea of the growth of the Order. There are now three abbeys: St. Vincent's, raised to the dignity of an abbey August 24th, 1855 ; St. Louis of the Lake, Stearns County, Minn., August 3d, 1866; St. Benedict's, Atchison City, Kan- sas, September 29th, 1876; and St. Malachy's Priory, Union County, Iowa, 1871. To sum up, we have the following: two
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Bishops, three Abbots, one hundred and thirty-four priests, seven deacons, fourteen subdeacons, twenty-nine clerics, eigh- teen novices, one hundred and sixty-seven brothers, one hun- dred and fifty-seven other alumni of the Order; and about four hundred students, besides, attending their colleges. The Order is distributed into four monasteries, eleven priories, thirty-three expositura, or houses where priests reside having charge of congregations, forty-two stations, and six colleges and high-schools. They are, in fine, located in ninety-five places, these being in eighteen different States of the Union, in fifteen dioceses and three vicariates apostolic, and they have charge of well-nigh 40,000 souls.
The career of the seminary and college of St. Vincent's has been equally prosperous with that of the Order. Notwith- standing that additions have been made to the college build- ings from time to time, the reputation which it has acquired for itself and the pains that are constantly taken to provide a numerous and efficient staff of professors have drawn as large a number of students as the buildings are capable of accom- modating. After meeting with considerable opposition, the faculty succeeded in obtaining from the Legislature the right of conferring degrees, by an act dated April 29th, 1871.
Truly the mustard seed has grown and has become a large tree .* The good work has not, however, ceased, but, on the contrary, is being pushed forward with increased activity, and the venerable Abbot, although in his 71st year, yet displays all the energy of youth. A most estimable man, he has the best wishes of all for the success of his noble undertakings.
Turn we now to the congregations formed from the parent stem ; and first to Greensburg.
CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT, GREENSBURG.+
Greensburg, the county-seat of Westmoreland County, is situated in a country place on the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, thirty-one miles east of Pittsburg, at the junction of
* Compiled from Catalogus Exhibens Nomina Monachorum Ord. S. P. Bene dicti, etc., 1879.
+ St. Vincenz, etc .; Catalogus, etc .; and Day's Historical Collections.
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THE CHURCH AT GREENSBURG.
the South-western Railroad. It is also on the line of the Philadelphia and Pittsburg turnpike. It was laid out in 1782, incorporated in February, 1799, and had in 1870 a population of 1642. Here in the Presbyterian Cemetery repose the re- mains of General Arthur St. Clair of Revolutionary fame.
As regards the Catholic history of the place, it is unusually interesting. Here the first property was owned by the Church in Western Pennsylvania, and the first church was undertaken, although it was not destined to be finished. In March, 1789, the Catholic pioneers purchased one acre and twenty perches of land for a church and cemetery at a cost of five shillings, as we have seen. In the spring of the following year the erection of a log-church was commenced. Carpenters were scarce, and those to be had were not adepts in the trade. But architectural taste had not as yet attained a high degree of refinement, and people were easily satisfied. Four walls, a floor, and a roof were quite sufficient. The church was so far completed as to provide these, with the exception of part of the roof, when Father Browers died and disturbances began to mar the har- mony of the little flock. Nothing further was done until after the arrival of Father Heilbron, who, in 1800, resolved to finish the long-standing edifice. But upon examination the logs of which it was built were found to be rotting, and a beginning must be made, if made at all, from the ground. The unfinished building, without the lot upon which it stood, was sold, and so matters remained for forty-five years. In the summer of 1846, however, the Catholic population of the town and environs had so far increased as to make it desirable to have a church. One was accordingly undertaken, but by whom has not been ascertained. The corner-stone was laid by the Bishop June 9th of that year, but the building was not ready for dedica- tion before the middle of December, 1847. It was then dedi- cated under the title of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The church is a brick building of simple style and finish, and has a steeple rising from the centre in front. It stands on the lot pur- chased by the original settlers, on a gentle hill to the north of the tunnel by which the railroad passes under a portion of the town. It was at first attended from the abbey, nine miles dis- tant, Mass being celebrated at first on one Sunday in the
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ST. BONIFACE'S CHAPEL.
month, but soon after on every Sunday. About the year 1851, when the railroad was in course of construction, Rev. W. Pollard, a secular priest, was appointed pastor; and he ap- pears to have been the only secular priest who exercised the functions of the sacred ministry regularly for the people, al- though from the beginning the chaplain of St. Xavier's Con- vent had at times visited the church to minister to the Eng- lish-speaking portion of the flock. But in 1853 it reverted to the Benedictine fathers, with whom it has since remained. In 1854 Rev. Aug. Wirth, O.S.B., who was then pastor, built a residence near the church, and about the same time put up a frame school-house in which a school was opened and has since been conducted by a lay teacher. Little change marked the flight of time, and the growth of the congregation was al- most imperceptible. But many of the descendants of the original settlers have unhappily lost the faith, and have gone to swell the ranks of heresy or infidelity. Additional lots were at some time purchased adjoining the original tract. At length Father Wirth returned in 1876, after an absence of nearly twenty years, during which he had labored in different parts of the West. His first care was to enlarge the church by an addition to the rear, making it 92 feet in length by 30 in width. The interior was also submitted to a course of renovation which added no little to its appearance. In the summer of 1878 he replaced the school-house by a brick building. No further improvements will be required for many years.
The congregation is and has always been mixed, German and English ; but the former element has constantly pre- dominated. Its future growth will be extremely slow. At present it numbers only two hundred and fifty souls, with thirty children in the school.
ST. BONIFACE'S CHAPEL, CHESTNUT RIDGE.
In the fall of 1850 the prior of St. Vincent's purchased, as we have already seen, a farm of 293 acres on the Chestnut ridge, about seven miles east of the abbey. Additional pur- chases were made at different times afterwards, until the Order
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ST. VINCENT'S CHAPEL.
owns at present about 735 acres there. Buildings were soon after put up for the accommodation of the brothers who work on the farm, and for the professors of the college, who are accustomed to spend part of the summer vacation in this quiet retreat. Mass was celebrated in a private chapel from time to time, and at length-the precise date has not been as- certained-a little stone public chapel was built. Here Mass is celebrated on two Sundays in the month for the few Catholics living in the vicinity, whose number is now estimated at sixty souls. The future prospects of the little flock are not flattering.
ST. VINCENT'S CHAPEL, YOUNGSTOWN.
Youngstown is situated on the Pittsburg and Bedford turnpike, eleven miles east of Greensburg and about two miles from the abbey. It dates from the commencement of the present century, and is one of the many villages that owe their origin to these public thoroughfares. Like the others it flourished. while these roads were the medium of communica- tion between distant cities, but sank into comparative insigni- ficance when travel and traffic were diverted into other chan- nels. As an evidence of this Youngstown had a population of 415 in 1840, while in 1870 it had but 301.
A little brick chapel was built here by the Benedictine fathers about ten years ago-the date is uncertain-and like the parent church was placed under the patronage of St. Vincent of Paul. It cannot be said with propriety to have a congrega- tion, but must rather be regarded as an outpost of the abbey church, built for the better accommodation of a portion of the parish.
CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, LIGONIER.
Ligonier Valley lies between the Laurel ridge on the east and the Chestnut ridge on the west, and is eight or ten miles wide. The village of Ligonier is in the valley about seventeen miles south-east of Greensburg, and is rich in historical reminiscen- ces. While the army led by General Forbes against Fort Duquesne in 1758 was detained at Bedford, Colonel Bouquet
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LIGONIER.
pushed forward with 2500 men in July toward the Loyalhanna River, cutting his way through the forests as he advanced. While in the Ligonier Valley, which he did not reach until Oc- tober, awaiting intelligence from Major Grant, whom he had de- spatched with 800 men to make a forced march to Fort Duquesne to surprise it, but who was himself surprised and defeated, Col. Bouquet was attacked by a considerable force of French and Indians. Having with great difficulty repelled the attack, he threw up an entrenchment to protect the large amount of stores collected there, and this entrenchment afterwards took the name of Fort Ligonier .* The place is named in honor of Viscount Ligonier of Enniskillen, son of a French Huguenot, Commander-in-Chief of the land forces of Great Britain. The early settlers were often compelled to seek refuge within the fort from the frequent incursions of the Indians. . The old fort offered the only secure resting-place of any importance in all the country east of the fortifications at Pittsburg. Two miles north of the village of Ligonier, at a point called Hermitage, stands a portion of the house built by General St. Clair. All that now remains of the old mansion is one room, which was used as a parlor by the general and his family one hundred years ago. In time a village sprung up around the ruins of the old fort, but it was not regularly laid out until 1825. It was incorporated as a borough April 10th, 1834, and had in 1840 a population of 294. This had risen to no more than 317 in 1870. Soon after that date a narrow-gauge railroad was built, connecting the village with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Latrobe, thus affording a ready market for the timber in which the valley and the ridges abound. For a few years the population increased rapidly, but the depression of the times arrested its growth and brought it back to something of its former monotony.
A few Catholics were found among the first settlers in the valley, but as they lived only ten or twelve miles from St. Vincent's, they were able, with a little exertion-such as people were not afraid to make in those early days-to assist occasionally at Mass. At length it was deemed advisable to build a church in the village, and it was accordingly under-
* Day's Historical Collections, p. 681.
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BOLIVAR-NEW FLORENCE.
taken under the direction of one of the Benedictine fathers from St. Vincent's, in 1854. When finished it was dedicated, under the invocation of the Most Holy Trinity, by one of the same fathers November 25th, 1855. The church is small and simple in style, as the wants and means of the people required it to be. It was then visited from the abbey once or twice in the month, as it still continues to be visited. The congrega- tion, if such it can be called, is still very small and numbers at present but forty-seven souls, having diminished a little in the last few years. Its future prospects are not flattering.
BOLIVAR STATION.
The village of Bolivar is situated on the southern bank of the Conemaugh River and on the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, fifty-five miles east of Pittsburg. It owes its rise to the railroad, is noted for the manufacture of fire-brick, and it had in 1870 a population of 298. About three years ago one of the Benedictine fathers began to visit the place once a month and say Mass in a private room for the few Catholics then found in the village, and the same arrangement continues and will probably continue for many years. The number of Catholics at present is but thirty-four.
ST. MARY'S CHURCH, NEW FLORENCE.
Nine miles east of Bolivar and similarly situated is New Florence, which had in 1870 a population of 333. Catholics were among the first to make their appearance in the village; and in 1854 Rev. James Kearney, then pastor of the English church at Johnstown, commenced the erection of a church. It was finished at the end of that year, and was dedicated by Very Rev. E. M.Mahon, V.G., January 14th, 1855. The church is a brick building of simple style and finish, and is quite small. Until recently it was visited twice in the month from Johnstown; but about three years ago it passed under the jurisdiction of the Benedictine fathers of St. Vincent's, and so it remains. At present the congregation numbers but 82 souls, and its future increase will in all probability be as gradual as its past has been.
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CHAPTER XXIII.
WESTMORELAND COUNTY (CONCLUDED)-INDIANA COUNTY.
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Martin's Church, New Derry-Church of the Holy Family, Latrobe-St. Boniface's Church, Penn-Church of St. Mary of the Assumption, Irwin-Suterville Mission-Smithton Mission. INDIANA COUNTY-St. Patrick's Church, Cameron Bottom-Church of the Seven Dolors, Strongstown-St. Bernard's Church, Indiana-Blairsville- Sts. Simon and Jude's Church-Death and sketch of Very Rev. J. A. Stil- lenger-St. Matthew's Church, Saltzburg.
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL.
THIS church is situated in a country place about five miles north-east of Latrobe. It is built of hewn logs, and was erected by Rev. Terence M'Girr in 1821 for the accommoda- tion of the few Catholic farmers residing in the vicinity. The building is quite small, being no more perhaps than 20 by 30 feet, with a little recess for the altar. The spot is lonely, and the burying-ground around the church, where "the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep," seems a fit resting-place for the departed. Father M'Girr visited the place occasionally during his residence at Sportsman's Hall, and after his de- parture his successor, Rev. Jas. A. Stillenger, did the same for many years. But these visits were seldom more frequent than once in two months. There are a few acres of land at- tached to the church, but owing to some flaw in the title Bishop Kenrick, who visited it soon after his consecration, would not dedicate the building. It is only a few years since the deed was executed in proper form. Since the erection of the church at New Derry, four miles distant, in 1856, Mt. Carmel has not been visited more than three or four times in the year; but it has always since that time been under the jurisdiction of the pastor of the latter place. The church can hardly be said
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ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH, DERRY.
to have a congregation, for the Masses that are offered up are principally for the benefit of the aged of that portion of the parish who would find it difficult at some seasons of the year to go to Derry to receive the sacraments. The pastor of Derry had the church repaired in 1878, but notwithstanding the im. provements it is but a relic of the past, and its bare walls and rafters, the absence of pews, and the box-like altar carry the mind back to the early days of Catholicity, when wealth and taste were both wanting. Its lot in the future will doubtless be what it has been in the past.
ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH, NEW DERRY.
New Derry, or Derry as it is more commonly called, is situated on one of the old State turnpikes, about four miles north-east of Latrobe, and is about the size of an ordinary country village in an advanced state of decadence. Soon after the opening of the Pennsylvania Railroad a small num- ber of Catholics families began to settle at Derry, an impor- tant station on the line at the summit of the Chestnut ridge, and one and a half miles south of the village of New Derry. As the old Mount Carmel Church stood north of the centre of the congregation and the railroad station south of it, a compromise was effected by building a church at New Derry. It was erected in 1856, and was dedicated, under the invocation of St. Martin, by Bishop O'Connor on the 17th of September of that year. It was a small brick building without a steeple, but was large enough to accommodate the congregation, which was said at that time to consist of about sixty families, nearly all of whom were farmers. It was built under the direction of the Benedictine fathers of St. Vin- cent's, under whose jurisdiction it remained until transferred to Rev. Jerome Kearney, of Latrobe, in June, 1861. He con- tinued to offer up the Holy Sacrifice in both the church at Latrobe and that at Derry every Sunday, giving to each an alternate early and late Mass, until the fall of 1873, when the congregations had so far increased as to require separate pas- tors. Father Kearney then confined his attention exclusively
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LATROBE.
to Latrobe, and Rev. John A. Martin was appointed first resident pastor of New Derry.
But the congregation had been gradually increasing prior to that time, especially by Catholics in the employ of the railroad company and others engaged in business settling at Derry station, so that in 1869 Father Kearney had found it necessary . to enlarge the church. This he did by adding considerably to its length. It was otherwise improved in the interior, and when completed was dedicated by the Bishop on the 3d of August of the same year. Soon after his arrival, Father Mar- tin built a neat frame residence. The congregation has gone on gradually increasing and will number at present about one hundred and ten families. But this increase has been for the most part at Derry station, and the people there are anxious to have a church for themselves. No effective movement has yet been made in that direction, but it is probable that it will not long be deferred, for that place is destined, in the nature of things, to grow more or less rapidly, while the rest of the congregation will remain as it is. There can be no doubt that in a few years there will be a church, residence, and school-for as yet there is no school-at Derry station, from which the present church will be visited as a station. About the middle of March, 1879, Father Martin was trans- ferred to another congregation, and was succeeded by Rev. Jeremiah O'Callaghan. The congregation consists of farmers, persons employed by the railroad company, and a few coal- miners at a point a short distance east of Derry.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY, LATROBE.
The borough of Latrobe is situated on the Pennsylvania Railroad, forty-one miles east of Pittsburg, and owes its rise and whatever trade it enjoys to that road. The population in 1870 was 1127, and it has since been steadily increasing. Soon after the construction of the railroad, a number of Catholic families began to settle in the incipi- ent town, but for the present they complied with their religious duties at St. Vincent's, two miles distant. At this time a certain Catholic gentleman, whose name is with-
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CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY.
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held at his own request, donated a large and very eligible lot of ground for a church and cemetery. Seeing the future prospects of the town, Bishop O'Connor, by a letter dated June 13th, 1855, authorized the building of a church to be for the present under the jurisdiction of the chaplain of St. Xavier's. Work was not, however, commenced until the fol- lowing summer, when Rev. James O'Connor, brother of the Bishop, took it in hand. He was succeeded in November of the same year by Rev. James Keogh, D.D. The church when finished was dedicated to the Holy Family by Very Rev. E. M'Mahon, V.G., on the 18th of January, 1857. It was a brick building 60 feet in length by 40 in width. When Dr. Keogh was transferred to the diocesan seminary in October of the same year, Rev. John Hackett became chaplain of St. Xavier's and pastor of Latrobe. But failing health soon obliged him to retire for a time to an easier mission, and he was succeeded May 5th, 1858, by Rev. Jerome Kearney, whose tenure of office was destined to be more lasting. He was the first to reside at Latrobe, although he retained the chaplaincy of St. Xavier's. At that time the congregation consisted of thirty- five families. In June, 1861, the church at New Derry was placed under the jurisdiction of the pastor of Latrobe, who in September was relieved of the chaplaincy of the convent and academy. In the same year a frame school-house 23 by 34 feet was built, and a school opened by a lay teacher. The congregation sustained a heavy loss February 4th, 1863, in having the church blown down by a storm. A meeting was immediately called to take measures for rebuilding it, and in the mean time the Holy Sacrifice was offered up in the school-house. But the growth and the future prospects of the congregation showed the propriety of making the new church larger than the old had been. The old walls yet standing were used as far as they were considered safe, and an addition of 22 feet was put to the length of the church, making it 82 feet in length by 40 in width. It was dedicated by the Bishop September 6th, 1863. It is modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, with the ceiling rising gently from the side walls towards the centre. There are three altars. A neat brick residence was finished in March, 1864.
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PENN.
Three years later it became necessary to enlarge the school- house. In April, 1868, the schools passed into the hands of the Sisters of Mercy, two of whom come daily from St. Xavier's. In the same year a steeple was built to the front centre of the church. The size to which the congregations of New Derry and Latrobe had grown made it expedient to separate them and appoint a distinct pastor to each, and while Father Kearney remained at the latter Rev. John A. Martin was appointed to the former in the fall of 1873. A splendid brick school-house, consisting of two rooms for the children on the first floor and a spacious hall on the second, replaced the old one some time in the same year. In Decem- ber a few acres of ground were purchased adjoining that upon which the church stands.
At length, after having ministered to the congregation for more than twenty years, Father Kearney was transferred to St. Bridget's Church, Pittsburg, December 6th, 1877, and was succeeded by Rev. Jas. Holland. But on the 20th of the fol- "lowing June he gave place to Rev. S. Wall. Nor was his pastorate destined to be much longer than that of his im- mediate predecessor ; for, being appointed pastor of St. Pat- rick's Church, Pittsburg, in the middle of May, 1879, the congregation was confided to Rev. Jas. Canivan, the present incumbent.
Since the financial panic of 1873 the congregation has in- creased but little, if at all; and it will number at present about one hundred families, with the prospect of a very gradual increase in the future.
ST. BONIFACE'S CHURCH, PENN.
Penn borough, or Penn Station as it is commonly called, is on the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, twenty-six miles east of Pittsburg, and it had, in 1870 a population of 820. It owes its existence to the railroad and to the very extensive coal-mines operated there. German Catholics settled in the vicinity long before the erection of a church, this being to some extent a part of the original Westmoreland County settlement. Before the erection of a church they heard Mass
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