St. Philomena's Church was a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
parish originally located in Pittsburgh's
Strip District within the
Diocese of Pittsburgh. Although this church was formally established in 1921, the origin of the parish dates to 1839.
Description
During the 19th Century, the
Redemptorist missionary order had a major base at this location starting in 1839, catering to the significant German population in the area. St. Philomena's was initially known as 'The Factory Church' due to being housed in an industrial warehouse, but
John Neumann arrived to become head pastor and, in a matter of a few years, had a church building erected at the corner of Liberty Avenue and 14th Street. As Neumann's associate pastor,
Francis Xavier Seelos
Francis Xavier Seelos, CSsR (January 11, 1819 – October 4, 1867) was a German Redemptorist who worked as a missionary in the United States frontier. Towards the end of his life, he went to New Orleans to minister to victims of yellow fever ...
also helped in serving the parish, eventually becoming pastor himself until being transferred in 1854. Thus, St. Philomena's is notable for having housed two people recognized in the Catholic
beatification
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
process (Neumann having been declared a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
in 1977).
As the expansion of industrialization and commercialism occurred in the early 20th century, the church's location was no longer viable, and the building was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1922
and eventually torn down. The Parish was then relocated to Pittsburgh's
Squirrel Hill
Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated a ...
neighborhood eventually housed in a building designed by architect
John T. Comes
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
. The funeral services of famed boxers
Harry Greb and
Billy Conn occurred at the parish.
As time progressed, the gradual loss of population caused the church to be closed and the parish to be contracted.
References
External links
St. Philomena's Church, Strip District
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Philomenas Church, Pittsburgh
Roman Catholic churches in Pittsburgh
Roman Catholic churches in Pennsylvania
Demolished churches in the United States
Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
History of Catholicism in the United States
Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Pennsylvania
19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States
1839 establishments in Pennsylvania
Demolished buildings and structures in Pittsburgh
Redemptorist churches in the United States