Holy Family Church (Pittsburgh)
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Holy Family Church is a historic former
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, and a
contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...
in the Lawrenceville Historic District. The church was built in 1939–40 and was designed in the
Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
architectural style with modernist design principles.


History

Holy Family Parish was organized in 1902 as a predominantly
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
congregation. A combination church and school was completed in 1904. When Reverend Ladislaus Sliwinski took over in 1925, the parish was over $100,000 in debt and the building was in poor condition. Revered Sliwinski cleared the debt in three years but quickly realized that the current facilities were inadequate for the size of the parish. The parish decided to develop plans to construct a new church. The parishioners split into two groups, one who wanted to build the new church on a lot across from the existing church at 41st and Foster Streets to save cost, and the other wanted to locate the church above Butler Street. They believed that above Butler Street was more desirable as it was in a residential area, it was closer to the parishioner's homes, and areas below Butler Street were being zoned as an industrial area. For these reasons the church decided on a location above Butler Street.Borkowski, Joseph. ''Holy Family Church 50 Years Ago''. Fiftieth Anniversary of the Current Holy Family Church Building, 44th Street, Pittsburgh, PA, October 28, 1990. They purchased several properties between 1929 and 1930, despite the turmoil of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, and retained Antoni A. Pyzdrowski as chief architect and engineer. Bishop Boyle granted the parish permission to build their new church in 1938, despite the parish incurring a serious debt. The parish began ground breaking for the new church on October 8, 1939, with the
Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...
of the
Republic of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
addressing the gathering. The cornerstone was laid and Bishop Hugh C. Boyle blessed the church in January 1940, and the ceremonies were concluded with a singing of “Boze Cos Polski” (God Bless Poland). Upon completion in 1940 the Holy Family Church was the largest religious structure in Lawrenceville's ninth ward, and due to the fact that the congregation consisted largely of Polish immigrants and their descendants, it was dubbed “the Polish Cathedral”. The original church building remained in use as the parish school until 1964 and still exists, in modified form, as a residential building. By 1948 the debt on the new church was cleared, and the inside was painted by Scatena Studio. With the changes established during
Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...
, the inside of the church was changed with the altars removed, the sanctuary area expanded, and pews arranged in a semi-circular fashion. More artwork was added from 1973 to 1985 and a mural depicting three historical epics was added. In 1993 Bishop Donald Wuerl reorganized and consolidated the parishes in Pittsburgh. This led to the end of Holy Family as a parish as it was merged into Our Lady of the Angels parish. The church continued to be used as a site of worship until 2008 when it was discontinued. The church was nominated in June 2018 to become a City Historic Landmark by Preservation Pittsburgh. As of 2021, the church was planned to be converted into 25 residential units. The exterior would be kept mostly intact with the addition of some windows and balconies.{{cite news , last1=Machosky , first1=Michael , title=Holy Family Church in Lawrenceville to become 25 residential units with 21 townhouses , url=https://nextpittsburgh.com/city-design/holy-family-church-in-lawrenceville-to-become-25-residential-units-with-21-townhouses/ , access-date=July 30, 2022 , work=NEXT Pittsburgh , date=September 22, 2021


Architecture

The church was designed by Polish architect Antoni A. Pyzdrowski. The Holy Family Church stands out amongst his works by being one of the few works he did in the
ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor