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Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announces new parish mergers, shrines

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Catholic Bishop David Zubik has announced the first five parish mergers and new shrines as part of the ongoing On Mission for The Church Alive! initiative.

Click here to read more on the parish megers and parish grouping realignments

According to a release, each of the five mergers will become a single new parish with a new name July 1.

The five new parishes are:

  • Christ Our Savior (North Side): which brings together the parishes of Saint Cyril of Alexandria (Brighton Heights), Holy Wisdom (North Side), Saint Peter (North Side), Risen Lord (MarshallShadeland).
  • Holy Spirit (New Castle Area): which brings together the parishes of Saint Camillus (Neshannock), Christ the King (Bessemer/Hillsville), Saint James the Apostle (Pulaski), Saint Joseph the Worker (New Castle), Mary, Mother of Hope (New Castle), Saint Vincent de Paul (New Castle) and Saint Vitus (New Castle).
  • Saint Matthias (Greene County): which brings together the parishes of Saint Ann (Waynesburg), Saint Hugh (Carmichaels), Saint Ignatius of Antioch (Bobtown), Our Lady of Consolation (Crucible/Nemacolin/Rice's Landing) and Saint Thomas (Clarksville/Jefferson).
  • Saint Paul of the Cross (Castle Shannon/Mount Lebanon): which brings together the parishes of Saint Anne (Castle Shannon) and Saint Winifred (Mount Lebanon).
  • Saint Teresa of Kolkata (Beechview/Brookline): which brings together the parishes of Saint Catherine of Siena (Beechview), Our Lady of Loreto (Brookline), Saint Pamphilus (Beechview), Saint Pius X (Brookline) and Resurrection (Brookline).

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Zubik also announced the creation of a new parish grouping.

He said the that the Shrines of Pittsburgh Grouping “will both provide for the pastoral care of the faithful in these parishes and promote these shrines as places of pilgrimage and spiritual renewal for people throughout the diocese and even across the country.”

The shrines included in this new grouping are:

  • Saint Anthony Chapel (Troy Hill): which contains the world's largest collection of relics after the Vatican and the largest collection of relics available for public veneration.
  • Immaculate Heart of Mary Church (Polish Hill): a prime example of "Polish Cathedral" architecture, which is modeled after Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, and the first church in the United States to have the Divine Mercy Novena
  • Saint Nicholas Church (Millvale): which houses the one-of-a-kind murals of Maxo Vanka. The murals depict the immigration of Croatian peasants to the United States, Vanka's expression of the futility of war and his sadness at the destruction of Europe during World War II.
  • Saint Patrick Church (Strip District): which contains one of the few replicas of the Holy Stairs that Jesus ascended to be judged by Pontius Pilate before he was crucified
  • Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church (Strip District): one of the earliest Polish communities in the United States, was visited in 1969 by Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who became Pope Saint John Paul II.

Zubik also announced the closure of the Corpus Christi Church building of Saint Charles Lwanga Parish in the East End. The church will close July 1.