History of St. Mary of Czestochowa Parish. Diamond Jubilee St. Mary's Parish, Mckeesport, PA 1893-1968, P. 12-50. CAP at Orchard Lake
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History of St. Mary of Czestochowa Parish. Diamond Jubilee St. Mary's Parish, McKeesport, PA 1893-1968, p. 12-50. CAP at Orchard Lake. At the junction of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers in Allegheny county, in the western part of the State of Pennsylvania, lies one of America's greatest industrial centers the city of McKeesport. When David McKee crossed the Allegheny Mountains from Philadelphia in 1755, he settled at the spot where the two rivers met, known as the Village of Queen Aliquippa, and thus became the first white resident. His son John succeeded him as owner of the land and an operator of a ferry, and it was he, who founded McKee's Port in 1795 or 173 years ago. The original settlers were Scotch and the first church in the locality was Presbyterian, established in 1819. People of other nationalities and creeds were soon filtering into the little town. They held their church services either in private homes or in open groves. From 1755 for nearly 88 years there were no Catholics there. However, about 1843, McKeesport children were brought to old St. Phi- lomena's Church in Pittsburgh by their German parents to be baptized. At that time Redemptorist Fathers came to McKeesport to administer to the spiritual needs of the inhabitants, once a month. The village of McKeesport had about 500 inhabitants of different creeds. Holy Mass was offered in the home of a family named Reilly, who lived just about where the present altar of St. Peter's now stands. In 1846 or 122 years ago, two cattle jobbers in the town purchased a piece of ground and had it deeded to Bishop O'Connor, the first Bishop of Pittsburgh. There, in the same location where the present church of St. Peter's now stands, a little brick edifice 30 x 50 feet with a small belfry was completed. It was dedicated under the patronage of the first Apostle, St. Peter by Bishop Michael O'Connor on Easter Monday, 1846. In that little church, sermons were delivered in both the English and German languages. Two years later, the Bishop appointed a first resident pastor, named Father Nicholas Haeres, a German. This first priest lived in a sacristy of the little brick church for several years before he built a small frame dwelling nearby. His pastoral duties included the ministering to, not only his little flock of German Catholics in the vicinity, but also to several missions along the Monongahela River, such as St. Michael in Elizabeth and at Thompson Run in West Mifflin, across the river. While attending a diocesan retreat July 18, 1862, Father Haeres, the first resident McKeesport priest died, and his remains now repose in St. Mary's German Cemetery on Grandview Avenue. The same year that Father Haeres died in 1862-the Baltimore and Ohio RR was opened through McKeesport. There came a great influx of people, mostly Irish, and the congregation of St. Peter's increased considerably. However, for eight years there was no permanent pastor appointed at St. 1 Peter's Church. In 1870, Father Nolan came to McKeesport and found a parish of less than 100 fami- lies, even though it comprised the areas of Duquesne, Boston, Coal Valley, Camden and Dravosburg. Father Nolan foresaw the need for a larger church, and so in 1872, when the National Tube Works was set up in the city, the population took its second large increase. The original brick church was torn down, and in 1873 Bishop Domenec laid the cornerstone of the present St. Peter's Church, but because of the financial panic at that time, the church was not completed until the fall of 1875. In 1866, about 175 families left St. Peter's Church to establish a St. Mary's German parish on Olive Street, the first pastor being Father Holzafel. Thus, St. Mary's German parish is the second oldest in McKeesport. From the little mission that was St. Peter's in its earliest days with but a handful of the faithful-the Catholic faith began to spread tremendously with the arrival of immigrants of various nationalities. The numerous industrial plants, particularly the steel companies, attracted both skilled and unskilled labor. Among the many nationality groups who were attracted by the promise and fulfillment of work, as well as a haven from persecution-both religious and political-in their native land, were the Poles. The Poles who migrated in such large numbers found it expedient and desirable to unite among themselves, forming societies and organizations, as well as founding parishes. The societies fulfilled their material needs in poverty and illness; the parishes satisfied their spiritual desires to worship God in their native tongue-the Polish language. Such a union of material and spiritual desires also took place among the Poles who settled in McKeesport as far back as 1893. Among the first priests who attended to the spiritual needs of the Poles in McKeesport were Rev. W. Miskiewicz, pastor of St. Adalbert's Church in Pittsburgh, and the Rev. Francis Pikulski. These priests conducted religious services for the Poles in St. Mary's German Church on Olive Street. The year 1893 was notable in the lives of the Poles in McKeesport, for in that year, they organized the Saint Adalbert Society and established a parish under the patronage of Our Lady of Częstochowa. Rev. John Maczynski became the administrator of the new parish. Historically, nothing is known about the priest, nor where he came from. His name is not listed in the archives of the Pittsburgh Diocese. There is no official appointment on record, nor is there any evidence of administering the sacraments in any register for the year 1893. It has been said traditionally, that he came to Mc- Keesport casually and volunteered his services to the Polish speaking people here. A hall was leased on Union Avenue and Ninth Street for religious services. His conduct and behavior soon aroused the suspicions of the pioneers of the young parish, and they in turn asked Father Nolan of St. Peter's Church to contact the Bishop of Pittsburgh for a clarification of the priest's status. Due to differences of opinion and lack of official documents, the Rev. John Maczynski left the parish on May 13, 1894. After a few months without leadership, the Rev. Andrew Lojek, a man of great energy and zeal, became a pastor in October 1894. He began to unite the Poles and to gather funds for a church. The first plot of ground was bought for $2,700.00. It consisted of three lots on Bank & 12th Streets. Because of a hilly condition, after better judgment, these were exchanged for five lots on Versailles Avenue and Soles Street with an additional sum of $4,300. With this exchange, the plot of ground for the new church cost $7,000. In 1895 the construction of a new church was begun on the purchased plot of ground. 2 The church was a two story frame building. The first story was constructed for classrooms, and the church itself was on the second floor. The building was 80 feet long and 16 feet wide. The struc- ture cost $3,500. It was dedicated on July 11, 1895 by a delegate of the bishop, Rev. J. Tobin, the chancellor of the Pittsburgh Diocese. The church was beautiful indeed for that period. Altars were installed for the sum of $1,240. In addition to the altars, there were a pulpit, Stations of the Cross, beautiful pictures and statues. A magnificent picture of Our Lady of Częstochowa, imported from Poland, was donated to the parish by the pastor, Father Andrew Lojek. This picture is an object of veneration to this very day in the shrine of our present church. Ln April 1897, Father Andrew Lojek was transferred to St. Ladislaus Church, Natrona, Pennsylvania, and he was succeeded by Father John Górzyński. His first task was the remodelling and enlarging of the church. In the rear of the church building, he added a convent for the Felician Sisters who began to staff the school about 1899. During his pastorate, an imposing brick rectory was built for the sum of $4,000. The building served as a residence for the parish priests for a period of 64 years until it was razed in 1961. The site now serves as a playground for our school children and a parking lot. Father John Górzyński served the parish well for nine years. In the early part of October 1906, the Most Reverend Bishop Regis Canevin transferred Father Górzyński to the pastorate of St. Adalbert Church on the South Side of Pittsburgh. In the latter part of October 1906, Father Anthony Tarkowski, who had built an imposing church of the Sacred Heart in Braddock, Pa., was appointed pastor of St. Mary of Częstochowa Church in McKeesport. After a number of years, seeing the necessity of a new and larger church, Father Tar- kowski bought a site for a future church on the other side of Soles Street for $14,000. A home on the purchased site was converted into an additional classroom until it was razed for the construction of a new convent and school. In 1916, John T. Comes, a noted Pittsburgh architect, was engaged to design a new parish church for St. Mary's congregation. The sketch promised a lovely structure, but the project was never realized because of World War I and prohibitive costs. However, excavation for the church began in 1917, but because of the rocky condition of the site and increasing costs, and upon the advice of the chancery officials, it was deemed necessary to install a flat roof over the basement and convert it into a church for the time being until post war conditions became normal.