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SS.
Peter & Paul
| Address:
339
East Tenth Avenue
Tarentum, PA 15084
Contact Information:
Telephone:
724-224-3026
FAX: 724-224-5242
Email: N/A
Website Address: N/A
Pastor: Father
Wesley M. Mash
Liturgy
Schedule:
N/A
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On the birth
date of Saints Peter and Paul Church, July 3, 1918, about 75 families
of Rusin and Hungarian origin met in the Borough of Brackenridge.
The parish was legally incorporated on July 19, 1918. Shortly
afterwards the parish purchased a church and house on Mile Lock
Lane in Brackenridge.
The first resident pastor, Rev. Gabriel Chopey, was appointed
in 1921. The parish flourished. Various parish groups were organized,
including the altar and rosary societies, choral society and men’s
club. As the congregation grew, they decided to transfer the site
of the church from Brackenridge to West Tarentum. In 1929 the
parish purchased St. Peter’s Hall and its adjoining property
on West Eighth Avenue in Tarentum. They converted this building
into the parish church which served the parish for the next twenty-five
years.
In 1952 Bishop Daniel Ivancho appointed Father Michael G. Pipik
as pastor with instructions to build a new church in an appropriate
area. After a lengthy search, the parish was fortunate to obtain
the Smith Estate at 339 East Tenth Avenue and adjacent property.
The first project was to remodel the home, which became the parish
rectory. It was blessed on November 15, 1953.
Ground was broken for the new church on April 4, 1954. The church
was solemnly dedicated by Bishop Nicholas Elko on May 6, 1956.
Bishop Elko returned to the church on June 8, 1958, to bless the
stained glass windows, wall murals and marble shrines. On May
4, 1969 the parish celebrated its fiftieth Anniversary when Bishop
Stephen J. Kocisko (at that time Archbishop-designate of the newly-created
archeparchy) blessed the new marble altar of the church.
Members of the parish reside throughout the four-county Allegheny
Valley—Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler and Westmoreland counties.
The parish complex is located along East Tenth Avenue, which is
the primary thoroughfare connecting Natrona Heights, Brackenridge
and Tarentum. It is less than a block from Tarentum Bridge Road,
which crosses the Allegheny River to New Kensington, Lower Burrell
and Arnold. The Tarentum Bridge Road is Exit 14 of the Route 28
Allegheny Valley expressway. The church is visible both from the
exit ramps of Route 28 and from the Tarentum Bridge while crossing
from New Kensington.
In recent years, substantial effort has been undertaken to maintain
and update parish properties. New heating and air conditioning
systems have been installed in the church and rectory. In 1998
new carpeting was installed in the church and protective glass
was placed on all the stained glass windows. The rectory has a
new roof, bathrooms and flooring.
SS. Peter and Paul Church, with its sides of colored sandstone
and its red slate roof, remains a neighborhood and community gem.
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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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The
Archeparchy of Pittsburgh Website is an Official Publication
of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. ©
2003, Office of Communications. Neither any part of this site
nor its content may be reproduced, transmitted, copied, or
used in any way without the expressed permission of the Archeparchy
of Pittsburgh Office of Communications. This site may be linked
freely.
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