St. Joseph Parish

St. Joseph Parish was founded in 1845 in Sharpsburg.  Little is known of the origins of the parish.  It appears that, beginning in 1843, Sharpsburg was visited monthly by Redemptorist priests from St. Philomena Parish in the Strip District and Mass was celebrated in a private residence.  Before that time, local residents had to travel to Pittsburgh or to Pine Creek (now Indiana Township) to attend Mass.  In 1845, the parish was established.  Work on a small church building began in 1847 and was completed by the end of the year.  The original chapel was only 20 by 30 feet.  The first recorded Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day by Father Holz. 

In that year, St. Joseph became a mission of St. Mary Assumption, Pine Creek, although the pastor of St. Mary decided to reside in Sharpsburg.  Within two years, a larger brick church was built to replace the original building.  The cornerstone of this second church was laid on June 25, 1848, and the completed church was dedicated on April 29, 1849.

The new parish consisted primarily of Irish and German Catholics, with the latter predominating.  In 1852, the Germans formed their own congregation, St. Mary.  Until St. Mary Church was built in 1854, they continued to use St. Joseph Church for services.  In 1863, St. Joseph Parish was assigned a resident pastor by the bishop.

As the population began growing, the church soon became overcrowded.  In 1873, work began on a new church.  The cornerstone was laid on May 4, 1873, and the church, though not completed, was dedicated on July 19, 1874.  The church was renovated around 1900.

The church suffered major damage in the St. Patrick’s Day flood of March 17, 1936.  For four months, Mass had to be celebrated in the school while the flood damage was being repaired.  The church was again renovated in 1957, including the installation of new altars, confessionals and a baptismal font. 

On February 29, 1960, a fire destroyed the nearby Madonna of Jerusalem Church.  St. Joseph Church was made available to Madonna of Jerusalem parishioners for Masses.  This disaster brought to a head concerns about the declining population of Sharpsburg.  The city had four churches situated near each other, with St. Joseph being the only territorial parish.  Bishop John Wright determined that the Catholic community could best be served by relocating St. Joseph Parish.  On July 31, 1960, the bishop announced that the St. Joseph Church would be turned over to Madonna of Jerusalem Parish and that a new St. Joseph Church would be built in O'Hara Township, which had a growing population as a North Hills bedroom suburb.

The first Mass in the new location was celebrated in a fire hall on August 7, 1960.  A garage was converted into a temporary chapel and the first Mass was celebrated there on September 5, 1960.  On December 10, 1960, ground was broken for a combined church/school building on Dorseyville Road.  The school opened on September 5, 1961 and the building was dedicated on October 31, 1961.  The church was renovated in the mid 1980's.  In the late 1990’s the parish determined to pursue building a new church building.  After many years of fundraising and preparation, ground was broken for a new church in May 2008.

Back to Madonna of Jerusalem