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The History of the
Diocese of Greensburg
(All information and articles taken from the Diocese of
Greensburg website)
The Diocese of Greensburg was canonically erected by Pope Pius XII on
March 10, 1951 and is made up of four counties in southwestern
Pennsylvania. The see city of Greensburg was named for Revolutionary
War hero General Nathaniel Greene and is the current political seat of
Westmoreland County, which was formed in 1773.
The
Catholic faith had taken hold in the area several years earlier. Some
records indicate the first Mass west of the Allegheny Mountains was
celebrated in 1749 along the northern border of the diocese near
Kittanning by a French priest serving as chaplain to French troops.
On July 1, 1754, Recollect Father Denys Baron, chaplain at Fort Duquesne
(now Pittsburgh), celebrated Mass for French troops near Brownsville in
Fayette County. That event is captured in a stained-glass window in the
Historic Church of St. Peter, Brownsville.
The illustrious history of the region now encompassing the Diocese of
Greensburg also includes some of the most influential Catholic pioneers in
the nation:
- Prince Demetrius Gallitizin, who became Father Augustine as the
second priest ordained in the United States, arrived in Loretto in 1799
to spread the faith from there;
- Father James A. Stillinger, who served as pastor of SS. Simon and
Jude Parish in Blairsville for 43 years, ministered to Catholics as far
away as Greene and Washington counties to the southwest and the New York
state line to the north;
- Benedictine Father Boniface Wimmer, who came to Latrobe from
Germany, established the Benedictine presence at Saint Vincent in 1846;
- St. John Nepomucene Neumann, a Redemptorist priest serving in
Pittsburgh, helped establish the parish that is now Blessed Sacrament
Cathedral in Greensburg in 1846-47.
The
cathedral sits on property purchased in 1789 by six pioneer Catholics who
are considered the first permanent Catholic congregation west of the
Alleghenies. The Greensburg effort was abandoned in favor of a site
purchased in 1790 that is called the "Cradle of Catholicity"
in
western Pennsylvania - the property that is now Saint Vincent Basilica
Archabbey, College and Seminary and parish. The parishioners used
Sportsman's Hall as their first
church.
Prince Gallitzin spread the faith to early settlers in the diocese. He is
thought to have established the parish at Sugar Creek in 1806. The
refurbished log church at that site is the oldest church west of the
Alleghenies.
Parishes and churches had been established in Brownsville, Cameron's
Bottom in Indiana County, and in Freeport and Kittanning in Armstrong
County when the Diocese of Pittsburgh was established in the western half
of Pennsylvania in
1843.
The Benedictines arrived in Latrobe in 1846 to establish their first
monastery in North America; the Sisters of Mercy established a school, St.
Xavier Academy, near Latrobe in 1847; and the Sisters of Charity
established their motherhouse, Seton Hill, in Greensburg in 1882. Other
congregations of religious women came to the area to work in schools and
other
apostolates.
While Catholicism grew slowly in the region prior to the Civil War, that
growth boomed in the second half of the 19th century and the early years
of the 20th century. That church growth was fueled by ethnic Catholics who
settled in the four counties of the diocese to mine the coal and produce
the coke that fired steel mills in Pittsburgh and fueled the industrial
development of the United
States.
More than 80 parishes and missions were built in the four counties between
1865 and
1917.
The steel industry was still booming when the Diocese of Greensburg was
formed March 10, 1951. Bishop Hugh L. Lamb, an auxiliary bishop in
Philadelphia, was appointed first bishop of the new diocese at a time when
the church in the United States was beginning to move from an immigrant,
laborers' church that was often looked on with suspicion by mainstream
society to a church that was itself a part of that
mainstream.
That transition continued as Bishop William G. Connare, a Pittsburgh
priest, was appointed second bishop of Greensburg Feb. 23, 1960, after
Bishop Lamb
died.
Bishop Connare, who attended every session of the Second Vatican Council,
directed the diocese through many changes in his 27 years as bishop. In
addition to the significant changes brought by Vatican II, Bishop Connare
oversaw a long period of church growth in the diocese. He dedicated Geibel
Catholic High School in Connellsville; St. Joseph Hall, a minor seminary
near Greensburg; St. Anne Home for the Elderly, Greensburg; and Clelian
Heights School for Exceptional Children near Greensburg; and established
The Catholic Accent
newspaper.
The only auxiliary bishop of the diocese, Bishop Norbert F. Gaughan,
served from 1975-84 when he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Gary
(Ind.).
Bishop Connare's resignation was accepted Jan. 20,
1987.
The local economy and church began feeling the effects of the decline of
the steel industry in the late 1970s and early '80s. That presented
serious challenges for Bishop Anthony G. Bosco, who was installed as the
third bishop of Greensburg June 30,
1987.
Bishop Bosco's leadership was marked by his commitment to Vatican II's
call to the laity, changes in religious education and formation, and the
promotion of collaboration among
parishes.
Because of the severe economic downturn and aging populations, however,
Bishop Bosco had to close or partner several parishes and schools,
decisions met with varying degrees of
opposition.
The Church of Greensburg celebrated the beginning of the third millennium
of Christianity in 2000 and marked the golden anniversary of the diocese
in 2001. It continues to address the changing needs of the Catholic
Church, its parishioners and the people of southwestern Pennsylvania, as
it nears its 53rd anniversary and welcomes its fourth bishop, Bishop
Lawrence E. Brandt, who was ordained and installed as bishop on March 4,
2004.
The Bishops of the
Diocese of Greensburg
Bishop Hugh L. Lamb
First Bishop of
Greensburg (1952-1959)
Bishop William G. Connare
Second Bishop
of Greensburg (1960-1987)
Bishop Anthony G. Bosco
Third Bishop of
Greensburg (1987-2004)
Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt
Fourth Bishop of
Greensburg
(2004-Present) |
St. Joseph
Church