Saint Mary Byzantine Catholic Church
Pastor:
Rev. Joseph Raptosh
Address:
317 East Howard Street
East Pittsburgh, PA 15112
Phone:

412-824-1622
Fax:
n/a
E-mail:
n/a
Web site:
n/a
DIVINE LITURGY SCHEDULE
Saturdays:
4:00 pm
Sundays:
as announced
Confessions:
Saturdays 3:15 - 3:30 pm
GREAT FAST (LENT) SERVICES
Fridays:
4:00 pm
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
HOLY MYSTERIES (SACRAMENTS)
Baptism/Chrismation/Eucharist:
by appointment
Reconciliation:
by appointment
Marriage:
by appointment
Anointing:
by appointment


On November 1, 1930 Rev. Theophile Zatkovich, official representative of Bishop Basil Takach, presided at an organizational meeting of the former parishioners of St. John the Baptist Greek Catholic Church of East Pittsburgh, PA.  The new parish was to be named St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church.

When the original St. John's Church professed Orthodoxy in 1926, sixty families chose to remain within the Greek Catholic Exarchate of Pittsburgh.  They celebrated their services in St. Helen's Roman Catholic Church on Ridge Avenue in East Pittsburgh.  Because of the inconvenience of the two groups trying to use the same building as a church, the small mission group found temporary quarters in the Polish Hall in North Braddock.  This hall was used for three years.  When St. Helen's congregation moved to their newly constructed church on Main Street, and with the permission of the Rev. Thomas A. Malik, pastor of St. Helen's Church, the old St. Helen's Church building became available.  Eventually the sixty-family group became St. Mary's parish.  With a permanent home and a promise of future development, the mission was raised to parish status on November 1, 1930.

In 1948 five lots were purchased from the Andreas Family on Howard Street, the present site of St. Mary's.  Ground was broken for the new church on September 12, 1948 and three days later, actual construction was begun by Brusca Brothers.  Architect for the new church was Charles J. Pepine of Pittsburgh.   The cornerstone was blessed and installed on May 1, 1949 by Bishop Daniel Ivancho.

The church was completed in April 1950 at a cost of $250,000.   This was a staggering sum of money for such a small parish which had not grown much beyond the original sixty families.  However, with great determination and hard work, the mortgage of $110,000 was paid off in fifteen years.

Although the actual history of St. Mary's Church dates back only fifty years, it should be noted that these sixty families were also served in their former parish of St. John the Baptist in East Pittsburgh which had its beginning in the year 1900.

The Official Website of the
Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh
66 Riverview Avenue • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15214
Telephone: 412-231-4000 | Fax: 412-231-1697

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