St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, referred to in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

as ''Kościół Świętego Stanisława Kostki'', is a historic church of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh The Diocese of Pittsburgh ( la, Diœcesis Pittsburgensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in Western Pennsylvania established on August 11, 1843. The diocese includes 61 parish-groupings (107 chur ...

. Located in the Strip District in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

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, it is a prime example of the so-called ' Polish Cathedral' style of churches. It is known also as 21st and Smallman Street Church. It is listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

History of Saint Stanislaus Kostka

The congregation was formed in 1873 when 200 Polish families banded together to form the St. Stanislaus Kostka Beneficial Society. The first pastor was Antoni Klawiter, who arrived in October 1875 and left in 1877. The availability of unskilled mill jobs in

in the late 19th century attracted a flood of immigrants from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

. By 1915, more than 80% of Strip District residents were foreign-born, and 30% were

. St. Stanislaus Kostka Church was constructed in 1891, designed by

architect Frederick C. Sauer (1860–1942). In March 1936 there was a disastrous

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

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. Water flooded the church as high as the top of the wainscoting on the walls. The pews were afloat and the Pastor was trapped in the rectory on the second floor. In December 1936, an explosion at the Pittsburgh Banana Company weakened the towers and the original

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style bonnets were removed. Examples of the bonnet style are still found on the top of the sidewall

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

and the ventilation

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

on the center of the roof. Three of the medallion windows over the altars were also covered over. On September 20, 1969,

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Karol Wojtyła, the future

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, visited and offered prayers at St. Stanislaus Kostka. After cordial greetings, the Cardinal is quoted as commenting on how beautiful the church was and how it reminded him of the churches in Poland. He knelt in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and then to the Side Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary, now the location of a humble memorial to the Pope.

Architecture of Saint Stanislaus Kostka

Saint Stanislaus Kostka's architectural style is a blend of Romanesque and

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

, with

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

influences. Construction of the present Saint Stanislaus Kostka church was started in April 1891, and the church was consecrated on July 31, 1892. The church is a one-story

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

edifice covering an area of . The church is built on the ground surface, and there is no basement. The walls are from thick. The church measures wide and deep and stands high.http://www.polisharchives.com/media/parish_pdf/PIT/pit-29.1.pdf In 1936, the church endured flood and explosion damage. The twin towers support a total of seven bells. The right tower holds the St. Michel bell , the St. Barbara bell and the St. Anthony bell . The left tower holds the St. Casimer bell , the St. Joseph bell , the St. Rosa bell and the St. Stanislaus bell . Five of these bells were electrified in 1956. The stained glass figure windows were produced in

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, at the Royal Bavarian Art Institute at a cost of $27,672—a major expenditure for that time. Compared with today's dollar value it would cost almost $538,000. According to experts, the windows in the Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church are some of the best period "Munich Style" stained glass in the

. There are three Latin inscriptions in the church interior. On the front of old main altar: Se Nascens Deditsocium "By his birth He offers himself as a companion" On the altar canopy: Se Moriens In Praetium "Dying, he offers himself as victim." On the window over the altar canopy: Se Regnans Dat In Praemium "Reigning, He offers himself as a reward." On the Christ the King center window above the crown, in Christ's hand is a banner which reads: Qui Vicerit Dabei Sedere, Mecum In Throno Meo "He who has conquered (God) will grant you to sit with me on my throne" The original interior also did not have the murals we see today as the murals have changed over the years. The current paintings in the semi-dome over the altar were done by the

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artist,

Vincent Scatena Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

and were completed for the Golden Jubilee of the parish in 1925.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church, Pittsburgh 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Roman Catholic churches in Pittsburgh History of Catholicism in the United States Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks Polish-American culture in Pittsburgh Polish Cathedral style architecture Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Roman Catholic churches completed in 1892 Religious organizations established in 1873 Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh

History of Saint Stanislaus Kostka

Architecture of Saint Stanislaus Kostka

See also

References

External links