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By BOB BRODERICK»' history of an old Dunbar pBitirch Will soon draw to a close,' ?| Jb«t thie story of its congregation i$iRcqntinue.MM:;Appriximately 240 families in M|t^Aloysius parish at Dunbar fffiU^ve into a new church in November. For mast of them itiy will be a welcomed change, but :f:forj66rne it will mean an aban-% doriment of the past.1 The ;• senior members of' the h congregation will remember X their fathers telling them of how £ their grandfathers came to the ; little village in the 19th century.• They, will remember the story of how a blast furnace drew laborers tn that area, and they will remember that those laborers formed the St. Aloysius congregation.Jn 1869 a group of Irish Catholics gathered together in the newly ■ formed village for the first Mass ever to be celebrated there. They gave thanks to God for giving them a place to live, work, and fulfil! their dreams. They owed their livelihoods to a coke-producing furnace built in that area several years before. Today that area is known as . Furnace Hill, just outside Dunbar.Mass was said for the families one weekday a month. Then in 1873, when the congregation began to grow, Mass was celebrated once a month on Sunday.Father Thomas Fitzgerald was the first priest to shepherd the Dunbar congregation. Upon his retirement in 1874 Father FhilUp Brady was named pas-tor., Father Brady realized the size of the small congregation was increasing and would continue to do so. By that time it numbered 45 families. The priest was traveling from Meyersdale two Sundays a month, a long journey in those days. His obligations to the people in Dunbar were increasing and demanded much of his time.A'decision was made in 1874. The Dunbar congregation would have its own priest and church.The cornerstone was laid by Bishop Domenec of Pittsburgh in June 1874. Members of the parish made the bricks that formed the foundation and housing, In the summer of 1875 Bishop Domenec dedicated the new church and named as its patron, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, The building became known as St. Aloysius Church.A writer at that time described the church as being without a steeple, very , neat, and substantial both in its external and internal, appearance and finish.” The church bell tower was added later.Although the church was completed in July 1875, the first Mass was not celebrated in it until Christmas. There were no pews in the church at that time.The priest at St. Aloysius was given an extra charge in 1876. ItDUNBAR CHURCH TO CLOSE—The 94-year-old St. Aloysius Church afc Dunbar wiil close in November. Its congregation will move to aSlf-S:|ii' 4 '—Herald-Slandartf Phofaubw church on the site of the former Lazy Hour Ranch, By the closing another era In the history of Dunbar will come to an end.was known as LeMont Mission before it was named St. Cecilia Church.Father Brady continued his work at St. Aloysius until his transferral in 1831. He was succeeded hy Father Arthur Devlin who would head the congregation for six years. During those years plans were completed for the purchase of a church cemetery. On July 16, 1887, Father Devlin suddenly died and was the first and only priest to be buried in that cemetery.During. Father Devlin’s. six-year pastorale the first school building was constructed • It was staffed by one lay teacher.Father Daniel Malady became pastor of the parish in 1B87. One year after his assignment, Father Malady completed plans for the construction of a new Catholic school and convent.On March 30, 1888, • the foundations were completed. Shortly afterwards the Sisters of Mercy were sent to Dunbar to staff the new school. They were the first nuns to live in the village. The parish had grown to 120 families and it was the nuns’ duty to provide a Catholic education for every child in the parish.Father Malady was transferred to Pittsburgh in 1893. His replacement was Father Ed ward Murphy. St. Aloysius was his first pastorate. It was during his tenure that the new church cemetery was dedicated.The Sisters of Mercy were re called to Pittsburgh in 1895 and the Sisters of St. Joseph from Baden succeeded them as teachers in the parish school.During the pastorale of Father P.tf. Brennen in 1915 the church was painted and a new roof installed. The parish purchased stained glass windows, an organ, and a vestment case. A new feature was added the same year — electricity. Improvements in the entireparish complex were to lake place throughout the next 50 years. The parish continued to grow, but so was eveiylhing else.Schools were being built everywhere. Children from the parish began transferring to those schools. Enrollment in the parish school was decreasing, Three nuns were trying to teach eight grades. A decision had to be. made.Father Vincent J. Rocco, the present paslor, was sent to St. Aloysius Church in 19GL He went there with the order to build a new school, an order which was soon to be changed.Father Rocco said that when he first arrived at Dunbar, he noticed the drop in parish school attendance. He foresaw the coming of a program whereby Catholic schools in the area would be merged into one. Then came his decision to request, the bishop to give him permission to begin making plans for a new church and abandon the idea of a new school. The permission was granted.Children who left the parish school for summer vacation in 1965 were to attend different schools in the fall. The parish school was closed. The Sisters of St. Joseph continued to live at the convent, commuting to various Catholic schools in Con-nellsville. Tnetl, in the spring of this year, the convent was also closed,All emphasis was placed on building a new church. In April, 1967, the property for the new church was acquired. Supposedly owned by George Washington the property is situated along Ranch Road and was formerly the Lazy Hour Ranch. Last April, Most Rev. William G. Cotinare, bishop of the Qreensburjj Catholic Diocese, officiated at a ground breaking ceremonies. A contract, was granted to J. C. Fulton of Uniontown to build the new structure.Father Rocco said the new church will have a seatingcapacity of 320. A social hall in 1he basement will hold 3(10 persons. Being built at an estimated completed cost of $220,000, the new structure will serve as parish church for 240 families between Shady Grove ■ and Oglevee Lane.Plans are being formulated to build a rectory and activities building when the present parish complex is sold,The windows in the church will depict the outline of the Second Vatican Council. One large window will be in the front with 13 smaller ones around the sides of the church. Artists designing the windows are Rudolph Nobis and Sister Therese M. Pavilonis of North Canton, Ohio.The sanctuary of the church will not be enclosed by the traditional \ altar railing. Choir stalls and organ will be placed in the sanctuary.Father Rocco said the architecture of the new structure will be traditional enough that it won’t be too abrupt a change for the parishioners, although modern elements in architecture will be incorporated.Work on the new .church is progressing rapidly and soon the principal parish building will be closed — the church.“There is a general feeling of satisfaction among the parishioners,” Father Rocco commented. They're seeing their new church being built and waiting to move into it.”The era of the blast furnace hi Dunbar is over. The first groupof Irish Catholics who established and built St. Aloysius Church are gone. A new segment in the history of St. Aloysius parish is about to begin, and still the words of a 19t,h century writer hold true:“The congregation has increased, It's future prospects are flattering.”
Newspaper Details
Uniontown Evening Standard
Uniontown, Pennsylvania, US
Fri, Aug 23, 1968
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Becky H.
USA 08 Jan 2020
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