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Our
Story
St. Mary of the Mount Parish and
Church
Each of us can name real times in our lives when we
have seen and realized the presence of God in our midst. This
brief story is to awaken some memories of those many people, some we
have known, and others we have only heard about, who built this
Church of St. Mary of the Mount; not only the building, but more the
people who make St. Mary of the Mount a "Church".
 St. Mary
of the Mount ca. 1920
The land on
which the church and school now sit was originally part of a farm
purchased by Abraham Kirkpatrick from the Penn Family in 1794.
The land consisted of seven hundred sixteen acres atop Coal Hill for
which Kirkpatrick paid five hundred sixty-eight pounds, four
shillings and four pence. Many other farms were bought and
sold to prominent landowners at that time. Coal was discovered
on some of this land by a British soldier during Revolutionary War
times. This coal helped kindle fires that burned in Fort Pitt,
and later supplied the coal needs of the city of Pittsburgh.
The name Coal Hill remained until the name was changed to honor the
Father of our country, George Washington. General Washington
surveyed Fort Pitt in November of 1 753 from atop this plateau like
land.
The building and completion
of the Monongahela Incline in 1870 and the Duquesne Incline in 1876,
brought easy access to and from the lower areas and Mount
Washington. By 1871 there were 2,200 souls on Mount
Washington, and so, the need of a church.
St. Mary of the Mount
parish was established as a mission of St. Malachy's on the South
Side. Fathers C.V. Neeson, Michael Murphy, and M.J. Mitchell
set the basic foundation of the original church by purchasing land
and supervising the construction of the new church during the years
1869 to 1871. Fr. James Cosgrove cared for the needs of
the people of St. Malachy's Parish, but soon found the need to
expand his parish by further development and growth, especially for
his extended parish. There,
his concern was to build a chapel. On September 1, 1873, Fr.
Cosgrove purchased two lots on the corner of Belonda and Kearsarge
Streets. Here the first church of St. Mary of the Mount was
erected. St. Mary of the Mount was considered a mission from
St. Malachy's until 1877. Fr. Peter McMahon was the
first resident pastor appointed by Bishop Michael Domenec in
October, 1877. Fr. McMahon served the parish for a year,
and was succeeded by Fathers Edward Brennan until 1881, Thomas
Devlin until 1883, J.F. Tobin until 1891, and Robert Kiernan until
1891. In April, 1891, Fr. John W. O'Connell was appointed the
new pastor by Bishop Richard Phelan and served here for twelve
years. During Fr. O'Connell's tenure as pastor, the
present church was erected on the site he purchased at the corner of
Grandview Avenue and Ulysses Street. The building is an example of
Gothic architecture and was erected atthe cost of seventy thousand
dollars. The dedication
of the new St. Mary of the Mount Church took place on Sunday,
December 19, 1897. Officials at the dedication included former
pastors and others appointed by the diocese.
The ten beautiful stained glass windows are a
pictorial view of the life of Christ. Over the main entrance
is an immense window, representing the "Ascension." The tinted
walls, altar railings, pews and confessionals provided a aura of
prayer and devotion.
Fr. O'Connell remained at
the parish until October, 1903, when he was appointed to the
pastorate at St. Peter's. Bishop Phelan appointed Fr.
Edward Griffin as the next pastor. The parish grew and
developed into one of the finest parishes in the diocese.
Furthering the mission of the church to spread the teachings of
Christ, St. Mary of the Mount Parish has the distinctive claim as
the founding parish for the Missionary Confraternity of Christian
Doctrine.
Fr. Griffin considered
the children to be one of the greatest strengths of the
parish. One of his greatest achievements was the building of
St. Mary of the Mount School.
Ground was broken for the school
building at Grandview Avenue and Bigham Street on March 1,
1909. The two story brick building was modified Romanesque in style,
adorned with marble halls and stairways, helping to make it
absolutely fireproof. Including the purchase of the land, the
building costs reached a total of one hundred fifteen thousand
dollars.
On January 23, 1910,
Bishop J.F. Regis Canevin addressed many members of the parish,
enlightening them of his concern about "Catholic Education", before
dedicating the school and blessing each classroom. The opening
day of the new school was the next day, January 24. An
expected enrollment of four hundred turned into six hundred
thirty-five students.
The Sisters, Servants of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary comprised the faculty for the new and
growing school. The organization of the grade school lasted only one
year, before Fr. Griffin added a two year commercial high school,
then increased this to a four year academic high school. The
first academic class graduated in 1918. St. Mary of the Mount High
School has the national distinction of having the oldest active
Alumni Association, and still continues its activities. The
Alumni Association even published their own newspaper into the
1940's.
As the years progressed
many organizations and societies were fostered in the parish.
The Holy Name Society, St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Altar and
Rosary Society, Junior and Senior Blessed Virgin Sodalities were
vivid expressions of the deep spirituality that gave glory to God
and His Mother and were growing within the congregation.
The parish
flourished. Despite the expenditures of the school, convent,
rectory, and the property bought for further expansion, the parish
was free of debt when Fr. Griffin died unexpectedly on
December 21, 1930. Fr. Griffin had served the parishioners of
St. Mary of the Mount for 27 of his 42 years as a priest
In July, 1931,
Rev. Thomas O'Regan Rea was appointed by Bishop Hugh C. Boyle
to the parish as its seventh pastor. During his years
shepherding St. Mary of the Mount, Fr. O'Regan Rea set to
expanding the school building by adding a third floor to the
school. Work was completed by the beginning of the fall 1933
term.
The parish and school
continued to grow. In later years, World War II dawned across
the sea. Many men and women from the parish stood for freedom
and liberty and fought to preserve that freedom.
In 1948, Fr. Rea
set to work to redecorate the church. Having stood for 52
years, the church was in need of repairs and redecorating. The
main altar was enhanced by red velvet drapes which were hung
reaching to the floor to merge with deep red carpet covering the
sanctuary floor. Statuary was changed to gave an appearance of
stone-sculpture. The wooden altar rail was replaced by one of
marble. The walls and ceiling were painted. Symbols and
ornamentation gave a new look to the sanctuary and body of the
church
Due to Fr. Rea's
deteriorating health, Bishop John Dearden appointed Fr. Thomas
Sullivan as the pastor in 1952, and named Fr. Rea, Pastor
Emeritus. Fr. Rea required medical care, so by his wish,
he moved to a nursing home.
During his tenure as
pastor, Fr. Sullivan was quick to recognize the needs of the
students. Space was shrinking because of the greater volume of
students attending the school. His plans for renovation were
expanded to include a new school building for the high school, with
a new convent for the sisters being part of the plans. The new
high school was dedicated in September, 1956. The new building
had several advantages included in the original grade school
building, but had the added hallmark of the view overlooking the
Golden Triangle.
In later years, Fr.
Sullivan added the Baptistery and side entrance to the church
building. After serving the parish for eighteen years,
Fr. Sullivan stepped aside for Monsignor Joseph Knorr to
become the new pastor in October, 1970, assigned by Bishop Vincent
Leonard.
Monsignor Knorr set to
repaint and repair sections of the parish property that were
beginning to show their age. Repairs and repainting in the
church and school were major projects taken on by the pastor and the
men in the parish. Many tasks were completed because the
dedicated parishioners saw the needs, and cooperatively, worked
together to beautify their worship space. The rectory was
expanded and enlarged during the years Monsignor Knorr spent at St.
Mary's.
Father Hugh McCormley
was assigned to St. Mary of the Mount in February of 1981 by Bishop
Leonard. By this time some local industries were closing,
causing many people to look elsewhere for jobs and move to other
areas in Pittsburgh, and beyond its boundaries. This, in turn,
caused the enrollment in both schools to drop. During his
term, the high school was closed. Fr. McCormley remained
until May, 1993.
Father Louis Vallone
served as the pastor to St. Mary of the Mount from 1993 to 2005,
appointed by Bishop Donald Wuerl. The church has taken on a
"new look" in the past few years. New carpeting, paint, and
other alterations can be seen inside the church. Many other
developments are presently in process. The plaza at the
entrance from Grandview Avenue has greatly enhanced the looks of the
church, even before one enters, either the Prayer Chapel or the main
apse.
The renovation of the
stained glass windows took place over a period of ten years, since
each window was very expensive to repair. The Bell Tower at
the main entrance was constructed in 1999 and sits atop the section
of the church originally designed for that purpose but which never
had the tower until now. The original bell resides in the tower, but
has been superceeded by the electronic carillon which calls the
people to church.
The growth and the
building projects were made possible by the generosity of the people
of the parish. Many of these same folks could see these needs,
and stood behind their parish priests, with more than ample support.
These walls and pews
could tell many stories of those who have worshiped in this Church
of St. Mary of the Mount. . Here sat a future bishop who took the
parish motto of "Keeping spiritual watch over Pittsburgh" by now
using his "Shepherd's Staff". Here, too, several other
religious and priestly vocations were nurtured and strengthened, and
some were even empowered to become Superior Generals in their
respective congregations.
Many people have sat
where we now sit. Their spirit still remains within these
walls. Maybe many of their dreams for the parish have been
met, maybe not. These people are the "People of God" we may
call saints. They are the people who "ARE the CHURCH," and
built this church buildin g we call ST. MARY OF THE MOUNT  CHURCH.
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