Chapter One

Chapter One- WHO AM I?

I am a second – generation Italian American. Being Italian was not always an easy thing. My grand parents – all four of them – were immigrants from Italy. They spoke Italian sometimes and it drove me crazy, because I didn’t understand it. My mom’s father was a grocery store owner in the second ward area of North Braddock. He lived on Kirkpatrick Street and his store was about 3 doors down from his house. His name was Felice Police, and whenever I see his white aluminum siding house I think of good times. His brother Frank was also in the same business, but his store was on Fourth Street, on a hill in the 3rd ward. As a young boy, I visited them often and the candy counter was my favorite part. Remember penny candy! This was all before the franchise stores were so big. Seven Eleven and Uni-Mart were not yet around. My first job, at around the age of 15, was working for a grocery store owner named Tony Stasko in the first ward of North Braddock. This was about 2 blocks from my home on Grant Street. Tony lived upstairs on the 3rd floor in the apartment/business building he owned on Wolfe Avenue. I got the job there because my mother worked part-time for Tony as a clerk/cashier. I’m not sure of his nationality, but I think Tony was either Slovak or Croatian.

This town of my birth was about fifteen minutes from downtown Pittsburgh, the Allegheny County seat of government. This borough was organized from a part of Braddock Township in 1897. It borders the following towns – Braddock, Braddock Hills, East Pittsburgh and Swissvale. North Braddock was home to Andrew Carnegie’s first steel mill-the Edgar Thomson Steel Works. My father worked there for a short time, and so did my uncle Eugene Spizzirri. My godfather – Dominic Fioravanti – worked there many years until his retirement. When you got out of high school, you worked for either U. S. Steel or Westinghouse Electric. Those were good jobs and they paid good money, especially for someone who did not go to college.

From the top of our hill, we could see the top of the United States Steel building in downtown Pittsburgh (from our back porch on Hope Street). Whether you looked left or right on our porches, you would see a hill going up or down. Kennywood Park was across the river in West Mifflin. Today, Matta’s old hill is now a golf course called the Grandview. Indeed, you can see up and down the Monongahela River from the Grandview restaurant. Many local people pulled their money together to build this site.
Hills and valleys are just like the reality in life. How we manage to tread these things is how we will survive in this life. Some seasons are worse than others. For example, in the winter time, snow and ice play havoc with your mind. Just like pain and sorrow does in our daily lives. Getting up the hill after school was hard in a snowstorm because we walked to and from school to home.

If you never visited a mill-town, it is not a pretty picture especially now with all the abandoned buildings. Oh, it is cleaner today, but there are not enough jobs for the families around there. When I was a boy I can remember having to sweep the front and back porches at least twice a day. The soot/pollution from the mill was everywhere.
My parents, neighbors, and relatives reminded me that if you see smoke from the stacks then the mill is busy working. I suppose the EPA along with unions had something to do with the downsizing of this company called U.S. Steel Corporation. If you like novels then I suggest that you read OUT OF THIS FURNACE, by Thomas Bell and David Demarest. With the downfall of the steel industry, many changes occurred. Businesses closed and schools had to merge. In its heyday Braddock had 6 Roman Catholic churches down there. They were Saints Brendan, Joseph, Michael, Thomas, Isidore and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Saint Peter and Paul was the Greek Catholic church in Braddock.

I attended kindergarten at Brinton Avenue Elementary School for ½ day kindergarten. It was about four blocks away from my house in the middle of a nice residential area. I remember having to share crayons in the tin cans on the class tables. There was this chubby and tall black girl, whom I didn’t initially know to be afraid of or to learn to like her. I can remember crying the first day of class. I forgot her name but her smile was as big as the sun in the sky. Her laugh was as loud as a jumbo jet ready for take-off. She would be in the cloakroom, which was the coat room in the back of our class, sometimes with me. I think once she tried to kiss me. I guess in 1959 that would have been politically incorrect. It is now a playground area, since the building was raised years ago. Someone always picked me up at the end of the day because neighborhood schools were close to home. Why did we ever get away from that idea?

For grades 1 through 8, I went to Saint William Catholic elementary school in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was about five blocks farther away from the Kindergarten. Saint William’s was a good fit for me. I guess my parents knew that raising a child with good morals is a wise idea. The Dominican nuns taught me, and I will discuss more about the Sisters of Saint Mary of the Springs in Columbus, Ohio later on. The religious sisters inspired me. Their simplicity was a reminder that angels do exist here on earth. Even though their discipline was strict, the nuns knew how to get our attention. In order to do that, these teachers would sound like Army drill instructors giving General Patton type of instructions. Loud always worked for me. Their choice of words and their timing was all that mattered. As I see it, kids were supposed to be loud, happy, jumpy, and all of the rest. But, these brides of Christ knew how to inspire us with the upper hand. At that point in time, there was no tuition cost like there is today. It was only a small fee for books and pencil supplies.

For grades 9-12, I occupied space at Alexander M. Scott High School in North Braddock. I really didn’t try to excel too hard in high school. All three of my schools are now torn down. My graduation year involved a school merger between Braddock, North Braddock, and Rankin. The new district was called General Braddock Area for a while (about 15 years), however, now it is called Woodland Hills.




My picture is the bottom left hand corner- this is my 1972 high school graduation.

One thing I enjoyed about school was the demand for being your best. I am not so sure that is present in all school environments today. I’ll never forget receiving the American Legion award in grade eight. Creating good citizens was of paramount importance to these “brides of Christ.” These holy women developed every angle of our character. I realize that the seed they planted within me is still there. It blossomed into the adult I am today.

I can recall one time when the choir boys were practicing in church. My good friend Larry Ritzel and I were laughing (in church) about the Grand Coulee Dam. Sister Serafina reprimanded us – probably reminding us about where we were, in God’s house. Isn’t it funny that when I was a parochial school teacher I also did the same thing. To us boys back then the word Coulee meant the posterior or your rear end area of your body. Of course, we never told her our secret. I find it odd that today I sing in my church choir and I bet it is because she prays for all of her students, both past and present.

Another thing that I can’t forget is lunch time and recess at school. At Saint William’s we had to clean our plates of all food. Leaving any food on it was not a good idea. After all, don’t you know that there are starving people in the world. One day the main course was liver and onions, but I could not stomach the smell of it. So, I did not eat it. Yes, my parents found out. Wow! I bet these religious ladies we called nuns would be super nannies for our spoiled generation of kids today. Another memorable thing was once I was told to drop something off over at the convent – this is where the nuns all lived across the alley way behind the parish rectory. Instead of going to the front door on Howard Street, I approached the back door through the alley. Onto the porch I walked and knocked on the door. I was invited in. What a surprise because I noticed one of the sisters in the kitchen and she was not wearing her veil. Now, keep in mind that in the 1960s all orders of nuns had to wear their particular habit. Today it is optional. I guess my pea brain of a mind must have thought that they never look any different any time of day. I never thought they had hair underneath there that might need washed. For me, I assumed they even slept in those outfits! What did a 12 year old boy know about Catholic rules? If I didn’t obey there was a price to pay! I had one young, new teacher who was very pretty, but shame on me, because we knew that they were married to God. They even wore a wring on the finger to prove it. I didn’t understand celibacy, but somehow these single women were happy. I felt like I had two moms-one at home and one at school. I guess that proves how much trust I had in them at that stage of my life.

For the summer, these “brides of Christ” returned to their motherhouse in Columbus Ohio for a while. What they did for fun I don’t really know. I do recall seeing some of them play kickball with us in the playground. It was an elevated area above the alley and across from the convent. The convent is still standing at 515 Howard Street, but I don’t know if it is presently occupied. While at Saint William’s School, I had only one lay person as a teacher. She was Helen Kombardo and I think it was fourth grade. The following list is all of the nuns who worked at Saint William from 1960 through 1968. This information was given to me by the archivist – Sister Rosalie Graham.
Sister Muriel Sister Teresa Sister Avellina
Sister Maria Regina Sister David Sister M. Edmund
Sister Celeste Sister Aurelia Sr. Marie Vianney
Sr. Ann Joachim Sr. Marie Karen Sr. Claudette
Sr. Lawrence Sr. Alexia Sr. Cora
Sr. M. Blaise Sr. Marie Charles Sr. Melita
Sr. George Marie Sr. Janet Sr. Carlotta
Sr. M. Martin Sr. Francis Regis Sr. Venard
Sr. M. Gerald Sr. Cirina Sr. M. Leo
Sr. Serafina Sr. Malya Sr. Rebecca
Sr. Lucina Sr. Isidore Sr. Kateri
Sr. Patricia Anne Sr. Andrea Sr. Veronica Anne
Sr. Adeline Sr. Clotildis Sr. Perpetua
Sr. M. Cosmas Sr. Thomas Aquinas


The History of the Dominican Sisters in the Pittsburgh diocese is rather interesting. They follow Saint Dominic. What can you say about a man who lived long ago, but he continues to inspire so many? Dominic was a strong leader who attracted many friars to his work. This priest did not covet the power that comes with leadership.
He had a vision of government that stood the test of time. Today’s governing body, the Chapter, continues to convene periodically electing leaders and setting directions for the work of the community. So well did he inspire his brothers that within 200 years of his death, the saying, “What touches the lives of all must be decided by all”. Dominic suffered failure and long delays in his attempt to found an Order of Preachers. However, his legacy lives on.
Sister Benvin Sansbury, OP founded the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs. She was born Elizabeth Sansbury in 1797 in Prince George's County Maryland and became a Dominican Sister at Cartwright Creek, Kentucky in 1823. The OP after her name indicates that she is a member of the Order of Preachers founded by Saint Dominic in the thirteenth century. At the request of Bishop Edward Fenwick of the Diocese of Cincinnati, Sr. Benvin and three other sisters traveled to Somerset, Ohio and founded St. Mary's Academy. The school burned in 1866, forcing the sisters to occupy borrowed space until 1868, when Columbus businessman Theodore Leonard offered to donate land in the capital city for the sisters to open a school to educate his five daughters and other girls in central Ohio. The academy closed in 1966. Because the land that Leonard donated to the congregation had numerous natural springs, the name of the school and the congregation became St. Mary of the Springs.

Their order’s history goes back to pioneer roots, because their first home in the states was in 1822 in St. Catherine, Kentucky, near Bardstown. Five of the Dominican Sisters were sent to Somerset, Ohio and arrived in February of 1830. They moved to Columbus, Ohio in July 1868, after a fire had consumed the Somerset property. It was a hot summer day, August 1915, when the convent bells rang and the Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs sang for joy. The bells chimed ten times, the signal that special news would follow. It was good news indeed. The Pittsburgh Diocese had opened their doors to the Dominican Sisters, because another religious order had to leave. The Sisters’ fervent prayers were answered. They would be able to teach, to preach, and to expand their outreach in the new area. This also meant they would have a ministry midway between their Columbus motherhouse and their Connecticut convent. The archival account at the Motherhouse reads, “At last we have the needed link to join the East and West. The Easterners are thrilled, as it is midway from home to home. The Western hearts breathe a prayer of gratitude because it is East, but not so far from home.”


When the Dominicans first went to Pittsburgh in 1915, it was to St. Thomas School in Braddock, which was very close to the steel mill. They stayed there until 1961 when that elementary school closed. It also had a high school which closed in 1984. Meanwhile, Saint William Parish School in East Pittsburgh opened in 1916 with nine sisters. After supper was served that first evening, Pastor Lawrence Carroll asked the sisters to go out on the porch to meet the people, where they found a crowd they described as “all of East Pittsburgh” on the walks and lawn to meet them. These sisters educated the children of the valley until the school closed in 1985.


My inspiration and instruction in the “fun” side of life involved music, as it still does today. My elementary school music teacher, Sister Serafina, taught music class and vocals to the choir boys, who sang for our church services. My clarinet teacher was Patsy Buba from Braddock. He was a graduate from Carnegie Mellon University. Then, when my dad bought my first tenor saxophone, my teacher was Paul Belechak, who lived in nearby Swissvale. Paul was self-taught and did it on the side to get extra cash. My father paid for all my private lessons, and he reminded me about that fact. Paul came to our house and we went over scales and songs in the living room. Once, I began playing the notes and he noticed I did not know the lesson. Well, this fine teacher told my father that he did not want to waste his time nor my dad’s hard earned money. So, naturally I was given an occasional lecture about wasting money. My dad worked hard for his dollars as a postal clerk in the main post office in Downtown Pittsburgh. I remember watching him learn all of the zip codes while practicing with his cards. One thing he preached to me is that he firmly believed not to waste anything. Since, I was wasting about $5/ hour, his offer was for me to pay the lessons if I can’t find time to practice. I guess you could say that was my wake-up call.

They told her it couldn’t be done. Sister Serafina Viagrande , O.P. had a dream to some day provide instrumental music education in Catholic elementary schools on a grand scale. “My whole life was music as a child,” she said. “I realized the importance of music, and I saw the lack of music in Catholic schools.”

When she was an enthusiastic young nun wanting to organize multiple band programs during the 1950s in Columbus, Ohio, several priests told her it would never work. She proved them wrong here in Pittsburgh.
The instrumental music program she manages for the Diocese of Pittsburgh has grown to include 76 schools and is believed to be the largest band program for Catholic school elementary pupils in the country. The Sunday, March 11, 2007 edition claims that this year marks her 25th anniversary at the helm of the band program. While a growing number of religious sisters no longer wear the traditional habit, Sister Serafina, 76, said she always will do so, because it’s her way of representing God to the people without saying a word. “By providing children this chance to play instruments, they can discover if they have the gift,” she said. Her band pupils were her disciples. “We never wanted to push the envelope with her because she made music important enough that we really wanted to do it well,” said Tom Wilson, of the North Side, a former student at St. Thomas District High School in Braddock.
Today there are nineteen different religious orders of sisters ministering and serving in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.



This is Father Russell Maurer. He is the man on the left with glasses. I knew him in the 1970s.
THE HISTORY OF ST. WILLIAM CHURCH
In 1906, Father Bernard Hynes was charged with establishing a Catholic parish for the faithful of Bessemer Terrace and North Braddock’s First Ward. The name was suggested by Msgr. William A. Cunningham, pastor of the Mother Parish, Saint Colman’s of neighboring Turtle Creek, in commemoration of William, Abbot of Monte Virgine, who died in 1142.
At first, Mass was celebrated in a store at 809 Main Street in East Pittsburgh. Then, a square plot of four lots fronting on Maple, Howard, and Main streets was purchased from the East Pittsburgh Land Improvement Company and work was begun on the wood structure, which was the first church building. Christmas morning, 1906, two hundred twenty-five adults and children attended the first Mass in the unfinished church. They were sheltered by an improvised roof and ice-decorated walls. On Easter Sunday, 1907, Father Hynes blessed the new church. In 1913, Bishop Canevin persuaded him to take the pastorate of St. John’s Church on the South Side of Pittsburgh, where his duties would be lighter.
When Father Lawrence A. Carroll became St. William’s second pastor on August 7, 1913, he found a flock of one hundred and sixty-five families, a church building, a parish residence and a seventeen thousand dollar debt. Undaunted, he set about building the parish parochial school, located next to the rectory. Ground was broken August 15, 1915 and Bishop Regis Canevin dedicated the new school Thanksgiving Day 1916. The Dominican Sisters from Columbus staffed the new school, which opened with an enrollment of 387 students on October 4, 1916.
The bishop called upon Father Carroll for duties geographically outside Saint William’s Parish. With help from men of the parish he carried out the major part of building what is now the Vincentian Home for the Aged. He , along with Bob Egan of the Pittsburgh Dispatch newspaper, led a successful campaign to save what was Holy Ghost College and is now Duquesne University from financial disaster. Canevin Hall stands on “The Bluff” as the lasting result of that campaign. Within the community served by Saint William’s Parish, Father Carroll actively worked with public officials for fair and reasonable labor laws. Both labor and management were responsive to his impartial counsel. I guess not being receptive to a man like him would be difficult. When Father Carroll became terminally ill, he continued in residence at St. William’s as he prepared for the end of life on earth.
In January of 1932, Father William Slattery became the third pastor of this East Pittsburgh Catholic community. His strong faith and mild manner were powerful resources in coping with the problems of those years of the Great Depression. After Father Slattery’s death, Father Joseph Clougherty became the fourth pastor of Saint William. After ten years of service as pastor , Father Clougherty died November 10, 1952. In December 1952, Bishop Dearden appointed Father Martin P. Flaherty as the new leader of this parish. He is the first priest that I ever knew, because he was the pastor for the first four years that I attended school there. When Father Flaherty undertook his duties, the parish population had outgrown its facilities. So, one of his earliest responsibilities was carrying out the church committee’s decision to build a new church, following necessary remodeling of the school building. On November 4, 1956, ground was broken for the new church. Although the parish had been in existence for fifty years in 1956, the celebration of its Golden Jubilee was deferred until December 15, 1957, when the new church building was dedicated by Bishop Dearden at a solemn Mass of Thanksgiving.
In April, 1965, Bishop Wright appointed Father Thomas C. Brown as the new pastor. While he was stationed here, his greatest task was that of introducing many of the new changes that were caused by Vatican II. He served our parish until October of 1968.
In October, 1968, Father Albert Goralka was sent to lead our parish through the transition of Vatican II. Not only were many changes occurring within the church, ( now we heard the mass in English and not Latin), but our society was undergoing a massive facelift. He directed many needed physical improvements in our church and school buildings, and also installed our first parish council and instituted our fist annual Senior Parishioner’s Dinner.
In November of 1975, Father Russell Maurer arrived with a youthful presence to accept his first pastoral post. He proved to be a man for all seasons as he demonstrated a great rapport with our elderly and an understanding concern for the youth of our parish. He guided us in our 75th anniversary year. Father Maurer was the pastor of the parish until its suppression in 1994.
Since 1940, St. William had Benedictine priests from St. Vincent Archabbey at Latrobe as assistants for Saturday confessions and Masses on Sundays and Holydays of Obligation. In recent years, we have been served on weekends by the S.V.D. Fathers, or Divine Word Missionaries, whose spiritual energies are devoted to patients in our hospitals.
Finally, any account of the parish history would be incomplete without the acknowledgement of the service given by the assistant pastors, who gave valuable aid to us all. The assistant pastors at Saint Williams were as follows:
1 Rev. Modestus Parolini 1914-1915
2 Rev. Thomas Quilteer 1916-1918
3 Rev. Bernard O’Boyle 1919-1932
4 Rev. Edward Ricards 1932-1947
5 Rev. Patrick Cullen 1948-1952
6 Rev. Raymond Boccardi 1952-1956
7 Rev. Francis Lapczynski 1952-1960
8 Rev. Paul Pindel 1960-1966
9 Rev. Carl Roemele 1966-1967
10 Rev. John Michaels 1967-1968
11 Rev. Thomas Wilson 1975


This is a picture of the convent for the nuns on Howard Street.
These were the schools served by the Ohio Dominicans of St. Mary of the Springs:
Good Shepherd - Braddock
St. Albert the Great – Pittsburgh
St. Aloysius – Wilmerding
St. Brendan – Braddock
St. Francis de Sales – McKees Rocks
St. Francis de Sales High School – McKees Rocks
St. Lawrence – Pittsburgh
St. Lawrence High School – Pittsburgh
St. Thomas – Braddock
St. Thomas High School – Braddock
St. William – East Pittsburgh
This is Sister Kateri my principal.





This is Sister Venard Kessler, who taught me in seventh or eighth grade.
My classmates names from the 1963-1964 fourth grade class picture were:

Loretta Audley Bonnie Barclay John Belinski Marion Bordogna
Arlene Brue John Campbell Sandra Choma WalterChismar
John Calarieo Sharon Crilley Ralph Cottelaro Thomas Cusack
Elizabeth Dedo Debra Devine Linda Dobransky Ronald Drish
Michael Droske Karen Durkin Carleen Gregg Marion Hornak
Daniel Herd Kathleen Kasaric Kevin Koryak Thomas Litzinger
Rose Marie McCue Gary Milko Dennis Miller Gary Misko
Nancy Mulligan Kathleen Narey Marion Ondulich Jean Palowchak
Anthony Patrizio Grace Pavlakovic Roberta Payne Donald Plaskon
Debra Polak Larry Ritzel Lony Rupinski Janet Russell
Donald Safran Kevin Sloan John L. Sullivan Paulette Thomas
Jim Tomasic Janet Russell Jeffrey Welsh Michele Wolk
Susan Wycosky William Zahorchak

This was the original church.

My Patrizio grandparents came from Calvi Risorta, Caserta in the old country. And so did my mother’s mom- the Giuliano side- from Pignataro Maggiore, Caserta. My Police family-my mom’s father- came from Longobardi, Cosenza, Calabria


This was my mothers house growing up at 1132 Kirkpatrick Street.

This is how my grandfather’s store looks today at 1140 Kirkpatrick Street.
F
This is the house where I grew up and that is my mother on the front porch.



This was Alexander M. Scott high school on Bell Avenue in the second ward of North Braddock.


This was the steel mill’s superintendent’s house. It was also known as the
Schwab Mansion.






This is Dr. Bruce Dixon the current owner of the mansion.




LOCAL HISTORY





Wilkins Township at one time was a rural land of rolling hills and farms in the
southeastern portion of Pitt Township. Wilkins Township was formed from Pitt Township on March 10, 1821. The Township then had an area of 34.5 square miles with a population of 1830. The Township’s boundaries ran from the Allegheny River on the north, Thompson’s Run and Turtle Creek on the East, the Monongahela River on the south and Pitts Township, now Pittsburgh, on the west. At that time, the Township was crossed by two main roadways called Raystown Indian Trace. The North Fork was the early path to Fort Pitt from Fort Bedford. Many people traveled this road to get to the west. Later, parts of this road became the William Penn Highway. The South Fork ran through the village of Turtle Creek. This road, plus the railroad station that was built in 1851, helped to develop this area. The South Fork later became the Greensburg Turnpike.

The earliest industry was farming. Much soft coal mining was done during the
period from the 1870’s to World War I. Early in the 20th Century, Westinghouse built a
metal foundry in the Linhart area. As many portions of Wilkins Township grew and became urban areas, separate municipal governments were created from Wilkins Township. These include most of the municipalities in the East Suburban and Turtle Creek Valley areas. The last such creation was Churchill Borough in 1934. The early history of Wilkins Township is a historical research into the mother of the early villages of the eastern end of Allegheny County. From 1821 to the mid 1930’s a total of fifteen different municipal subdivisions have incorporated from the original land area of the early Wilkins Township.

With the advent of the Edgar Thompson Steel plant, and its industrial population,
Braddock Borough was erected on June 8, 1867 from Wilkins Township. Area was only
about ½ square miles. At the time of the secession of Braddock, the village had a
population of almost 1,000. The Township of Braddock was created from Wilkins Township on March 9, 1885. This was created more or less from the overflow of the industrial population of the district. It included villages of Swissvale, Copeland, North Braddock, Rankin, Brinton, Bessemer, Hawkins and Hannahstown.

Its population at the time was very heavy, at approximately 7,000 and incorporated a land area of about 6 square miles. Later Braddock Township was subdivided into the Boroughs of Braddock (346 acres), North Braddock (973 acres), Swissvale (813 acres), Rankin (282 acres), and Braddock Hills (723 acres).

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THE CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN BRADDOCK
St. Thomas Roman Catholic parish was the realization of the plans formulated by the little colony of Irish-Catholics who erected their small chapel on Tara Hill on the south side of the Monongahela River in 1854. This mission site was donated by Mr. Thomas J. Kinney, and building material was presented by Mr. West. The steady increase of parishioners augmented the demand for a larger church, on a more convenient site, and resulted in the purchasing of the present church property, by Rev. F. Tracey. In the year 1859 Martin Dowling secured the deed for the land, and April 22, 1860, Father O'Farrell laid the corner stone.
The first Mass was celebrated in the basement of the church, October 14, 1860. Owing to a financial deficit, caused by the War, the parish was threatened with ruin, but was permanently saved by the noble self sacrifice of Mr. Kinney, who paid the mortgage at the risk of personal bankruptcy. This congregation's pride in their parish was evidenced by an attendance so large that Father Hughes deemed it obligatory to extend the church thirty feet. Expenses were defrayed by the gratuitous services of the coal miners. More prosperous times enabled Father Hickey to formulate plans for a larger church. Foremost among those who were eager to cooperate in the good work, were Mr. and Mrs. Charles Schwab, who generously offered to build the edifice in A. D. 1902. The work was carried on under the admirable direction of Mr. L. F. Holtzman, whose business sagacity secured most satisfactory results to the parish. The structure, Romanesque in architecture, with its exquisite equipments, is a fitting memorial to its donors. The property held by this parish is valued at $200,000. It ministers to 500 families and has 650 in the Sunday School.
The educational advantages afforded by St. Thomas' School have attained their excellence after years of labor. The primitive school under lay supervision was supplanted by the present one during the pastorate of Father Hickey. Rev. Robert McDonald has succeeded in realizing for the parish, not only a thorough grammar grade course, but also a High School, efficiently equipped for a complete scientific and classical course. With true scholarly instincts he has introduced the latest and most complete text books, free of charge, to the parish children. It is with commendable pride that the people of St. Thomas' parish review the history of their church and school, the present prestige of which they attribute to loyal and earnest cooperation.
Saint Joseph's Catholic Church, Braddock, Pa., was organized September 1, 1877, by Rev. Anthony Fischer. The first Mass was held for the newly formed parish of St. Joseph, by the above named Pastor in Sewald's Hall, Cor. Braddock Avenue and Ninth Street, Braddock's Field, as it was then called. The frame church which was in course of construction on George Street, was dedicated by Bishop John Tuigg of Pittsburgh. in August, 1880, and used as a church for thirteen years, and as a school for sixteen more. It was taken down, to make room for the present Parish School, erected in 1909, during the pastorate of Father May.
There were about sixty families at the time of organization and Father Fischer was succeeded by Rev. Jacob M. Wertz on February 3rd, 1888, who, on December 10th of the same year, was followed by Rev. August A. Wertenbach. It was in his pastorate that the congregation purchased the lot adjoining the parish house on George Street frown A. J. Spigelmire, and erected thereon the present permanent Church of brick with stone trimming, covering the whole space, after removing the Spigelmire dwelling across the alley to the lot on Verona Street, where it serves for a convent for the Sisters of Divine Providence who teach the Parish schools.
The Church, which cost about fifty thousand dollars, and took two years to build, was solemnly dedicated on Sunday, December 17th, 1893, by the Right Rev. Richard Phelan, Bishop of Pittsburgh, assisted by eighteen priests: the Rev. P. Kaufmann, C. Coyne, Very Rev. M. Decker, P. Molyneaux, John Faughnan, Geo. Allman, J. Murphy, now Bishop; J. Nolan, Vincent Hubert, now Abbot; Father Francis, O. S. B., D. Devlin, R. Wieder, F. J. Eger, S. Schramm, Father Michael, O. S. B., Very Rev. A. A. Lambing, and Very Rev. W. Cunningham, and the Rev. Pastor, Father Wertenbach, to whose untiring energy the generous cooperation of his faithful people, and the blessing of God through it all, the success of such a great undertaking for such a small congregation, is due. In the winter of 1898-99 Father Wertenbach's health failed, and during his sojourn in the South and Southwest, the parish was attended by the Benedictine Fathers from St. Vincent's and the Capuchines from Pittsburgh. He resigned in April, 1899. Rev. Peter May was appointed Pastor April 8th, 1899. During the pastorate of Father May the congregation kept growing to such an extent that he asked the Bishop for an assistant, and the Rev. William Fromme came in July, 1907. The need of the parish was a school, sufficiently large to accommodate the increasing number of pupils. The present school building three stories, of brick, commodious, well lighted, heated, ventilated, and fire proof, containing, besides the school rooms, a large hall, a reading room, a recreation room, a society room, and a gymnasium for the use of the St. Joseph's Young Men's Club, was accordingly erected on the full lot, formerly occupied by the first Church, at a cost of thirty-three thousand dollars.
After the death of Father May on November 9th, 1911, Rev. F. J. Eger, the present pastor, was appointed on December 21, 1911. The school attendance averages two hundred and eighty pupils, who are in charge of the Sisters of Divine Providence, the Choir of sixteen (male choir) is in charge of Adolph Propheter, Organist. The present Church Committee, elected triennially by the congregation, appointed by the Bishop of the Diocese, consists of the following gentlemen: Lucas J. Walter, Joseph Netter, Edward Striebich, Philip Escher, Andrew Fischer, Henry Gelm and Henry Wells.
Saint's Peter and Paul Greek Catholic Church was formally organized May 18, 1896. There were seven charter members and Rev. Nicholas Steczovich was the first Pastor. This Church had its beginning when a number of Greek rite Catholic immigrants from Hungary founded the Greek Catholic Union, a Sick and Death Benefit fraternal organization. The property of the old First Presbyterian Church on George Street was purchased for $10,000. The parish has been extended until now a mermbership of two thousand is reported and three hundred Sunday School Children. The present value of the real estate and buildings is about $100,000.
The Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Polish Church was organized in the month of March, 1897, and was attended by a non-resident pastor from Duquesne, Rev. Anthony Smelsz. The membership grew rapidly and soon lots were purchased at Talbot Avenue and Sixth Street, where the church was erected, the work of building started in 1904 and was completed and dedicated with impressive ceremonies the next year. In May, 1906 the present Pastor, J. A. Rykaczewski was appointed to the parish, and under his administration the present school building was erected, where about 450 children in all the eight grades are taught by the Felician Sisters. The rectory on Sixth Street was also built in 1914. Today, it is part of the Good Shepherd parish and the new building is located on Brinton Road in Braddock Hills.
St. Michael's Greek Catholic Church, Third and Mound Streets, Rankin, was organized in 1900, and in 1907, on April 12, all Greek Catholics in Rankin decided to withdraw from the St. Peter and Paul's Church in Braddock, to which they belonged. The basement of the Church was built first, and for about five years the congregation worshipped there. The entire Church was completed in 1911 and the parish home was built in 1916. Rev. John Szabo was the first Pastor and the present Pastor, Rev. Constantine Roskovics, ministers to 130 families, or about 500 souls.
In 1916, April 23, the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of the Holy Resurrection was organized by Rev. Joseph K. Antonoff. The building was purchased from the Hibernian Society on Washington Avenue, between Eighth and Ninth Streets, and was re-constructed for Church purposes. This building, together with the Pastor's home, is valued at $18,000. A membership of about 1,500 is reported.
St. Mary of Mt. Carmel was established in 1901 as an Italian parish. The origin of the parish can be traced to the rise of industry in the area, particularly the steel industry, and its need for workers. This need fueled the immigration from a number of European countries, including Italy. In 1901, the assistant pastor of St. Aloysius, Wilmerding began celebrating a weekly Mass for the Italian community in St. Joseph Church. Before the end of the year, that priest was named the pastor of a new Italian parish in Braddock. In 1904, the congregation purchased a Methodist church, renovated it and dedicated the new church on October 16, 1904.
The church was remodeled in the early 1960's and the mid 1970's. Of greater import to the parish, however, were the events that were taking place in the larger Braddock community. Since World War II, the population of Braddock began a steady decline as the people of the community started moving to the suburbs. This trend was accelerated by the closing of the mills in the area. Then in 1983, St. Thomas Church burned down.
Normally, another parish losing its church would not affect neighboring parishes. Because of the devastating population loss in the area, the diocese decided against automatically rebuilding the church. Instead, a study was commissioned to determine the future structure of parish life in the Braddock area. This study began in January of 1984. A year later, on January 19, 1985, the results of the study were announced. Based on this study, the diocese decided to merge all of the existing parishes in Braddock into one parish called Good Shepherd. As part of this consolidation, St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Church was scheduled to be closed. The final Mass in the parish was celebrated on April 26, 1985. After the merger, the church was closed and eventually sold.
So, at its heyday there were these Catholic churches in Braddock:
Founded in- Name-
1854 Saint Thomas - Irish
1877 Saint Joseph - German
1891 Saint Michael the Archangel - Slovak
1891 Saint Brendan - Irish
1896 Saint Peter and Paul - Greek
1897 Sacred Heart - Polish
1901 St. Mary of Mount Carmel - Italian
1916 Saint Isidore - Lithuanian

Now there is only Good Shepherd founded in 1985. I recently (Nov. 2009) asked the pastor, Rev. Thomas Burke, to share with me some of his thoughts about being assigned to Braddock. Here are his words – “As Pastor of Good Shepherd Catholic Parish, I am honored to be living in Braddock. With such a wonderful history, Braddock has many wonderful memories. Though a lot changed the past several years, Braddock still is alive! Though we do not know what the future will entail, let us appreciate what we have now. Braddock is someplace special.” In the Pittsburgh Catholic - the Friday , December 18, 2009 edition – Father Burke stated, “We are a community of good hard-working, down-to-earth Pittsburgh people, and we’re alive and growing as a parish.” “We are a beacon of hope,” he said.
The following pages will give you insight into my patron saints. In the Roman Catholic faith, we are taught to pray to them for their intercession.
Anthony of Padua
Fernando Martins de Bulhões, venerated as Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, (1195 – 13 June 1231) is a Catholic saint who was born in Lisbon, Portugal to a wealthy family and who died in Padua, Italy.
Anthony was born in Lisbon to Martim Vicente de Bulhões and wife Teresa Pais Taveira (a descendant of Alfonso VI of Castile - and thus a half-third cousin once removed of King Afonso II of Portugal, and brother of Pedro Martins de Bulhões (ancestor of the de Bulhão/de Bulhões family), in a very rich family of the nobility who wanted him to become educated; however these were not his wishes. His family arranged sound education for him at the local cathedral school. Against the wishes of his family, Anthony entered the Augustinian Abbey of St. Vincent on the outskirts of Lisbon. The Canons Regular of St Augustine, of which he was a member, were famous for their dedication to scholarly pursuits. Anthony studied Scripture and the Latin classics.
After his ordination, Anthony was placed in charge of hospitality in his abbey. In this role, in 1219, he came in contact with five Franciscans who were on their way to Morocco to preach to the Muslims there. Anthony was strongly attracted to the simple Gospel lifestyle of the Franciscan friars. In February 1220, news arrived that the five Franciscans had been martyred in Morocco. Anthony meditated on the heroism of these Franciscans. He wanted to obey God's call to leave everything and follow Him. Anthony obtained permission from his superiors to join the Franciscan order.
On the return trip to Portugal, his ship was driven by storm upon the coast of Sicily and he landed at Messina. From Sicily he made his way to Assisi and sought admission into a monastery in Italy, but met with difficulty on account of his sickly appearance. He was finally assigned, out of pure compassion, to the rural hospice of San Paolo near Forlì, Romagna, Italy, a choice made after considering his poor health. There he appears to have lived as a hermit and was put to work in the kitchen.
One day, on the occasion of an ordination, when a great many visiting Dominican monks were present, there was some misunderstanding over who should preach. The Franciscans naturally expected that one of the Dominicans would occupy the pulpit, for they were renowned for their preaching; the Dominicans, on the other hand, had come unprepared, thinking that a Franciscan would be the homilist.
In this quandary, the head of the hermitage, who had no one among his own humble friars suitable for the occasion, called upon Anthony, who he suspected was most qualified, and engineered him to speak whatever the Holy Spirit should put into his mouth. Anthony objected but was overruled, and his sermon created a deep impression. Not only his rich voice and arresting manner, but the entire theme and substance of his discourse and his moving eloquence, held the attention of his hearers.
At that point, Anthony was commissioned by Brother Gratian, the minister provincial, to preach the Gospel throughout Lombardy, a region in northern Italy. From then on his skills were used to the utmost by the Church. Occasionally he took another post, as a teacher at the universities of Montpellier and Toulouse in France, but it was as a preacher that Anthony revealed his supreme gift.
Anthony became ill with dropsy in 1231, and went to the woodland retreat at Camposampiero with two other friars for a respite. There Anthony lived in a cell built for him under the branches of a walnut tree. Saint Anthony died on 13 June 1231 at the Poor Clare convent at Arcella on the way back to Padua at age of 36. When he died, it is said that the children cried in the streets and that all the bells of the churches rang of their own accord, rung by angels come to earth to honor the death of the saint. He is buried in a chapel.

The next saint is known as “Saint Anthony of the Desert” and he is the Patriarch of Monastic Life. Anthony was born in 251 and died in 356. Born in upper Egypt, Anthony heard these words at Mass, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor.” So, Anthony gave away all of his vast possessions, but saw to it that his sister’s education was completed. After this, he retired into the desert and begged an aged hermit to teach him the spiritual life. Anthony lived in a ruin, building up the door so that none could enter. The devil assaulted him furiously, appearing as various monsters, and even wounding him severely. His courage never failed, and he overcame the battles by the sign of the cross. One night, while Anthony was in his solitude, many devils scourged him so terribly that he lay as if dead. A friend found him in this horrible condition, and believing him dead carried him home. But when Anthony came to himself, he persuaded his friend to take him back, in spite of his wounds, to his solitude. Prostrate from weakness, he defied the devils, saying, “I fear you not: you cannot separate me from the love of Christ.” After more vain assaults the devils fled, and Christ appeared to Anthony in His glory. Saint Anthony’s only food was bread and water, which he never tasted before sunset, and sometimes only once in two, three, or four days. He wore sackcloth and sheepskin, and he often knelt in prayer from sunset to sunrise.

His admirers became so many and so insistent that he was eventually persuaded to found two monasteries for them and to give them a rule of life. These were the first monasteries ever to be founded, and Saint Anthony is, therefore, the father of cenobites of monks. In 311 he went to Alexandria to take part in the Arian controversy and to comfort those who were being persecuted by Maximinus. This visit lasted for a few days only, after which he retired into a solitude even more remote so that he might cut himself off completely from his admirers. When he was over ninety, he was commanded by God in a vision to search the desert for Saint Paul the Hermit. He is said to have survived until the age of a hundred and five, when he died peacefully in a cave on Mount Kolzim near the Red Sea. Saint Athanasius, his biographer, says that the mere knowledge of how Saint Anthony lived is a good guide to virtue.


St. Anthony Zaccaria
(1502-1539)

At the same time that Martin Luther was attacking abuses in the Church, a reformation within the Church was already being attempted. Among the early movers of the Counter-Reformation was Anthony Zaccaria. His mother became a widow at 18 and devoted herself to the spiritual education of her son. He received a medical doctorate at 22 and, while working among the poor of his native Cremona in Italy, was attracted to the religious apostolate. He renounced his rights to any future inheritance, worked as a catechist and was ordained a priest at the age of 26. Called to Milan in a few years, he laid the foundations of three religious congregations, one for men and one for women, plus an association of married couples. Their aim was the reform of the decadent society of their day, beginning with the clergy, religious and lay people.
Greatly inspired by St. Paul (his congregation is named the Barnabites, after the companion of that saint), Anthony preached with great vigor in church and street, conducted popular missions and was not ashamed of doing public penance.
He encouraged such innovations as the collaboration of the laity in the apostolate, frequent Communion, the Forty Hours devotion and the ringing of church bells at 3:00 p.m. on Fridays.
His holiness moved many to reform their lives but, as with all saints, it also moved many to oppose him. Twice his community had to undergo official religious investigation, and twice it was exonerated.
While on a mission of peace, he became seriously ill and was brought home for a visit to his mother. He died at Cremona at the age of 36.
Anthony Mary Claret (Catalan: Antoni Maria Claret i Clarà; Spanish: Antonio Maria Claret y Clarà) (December 23, 1807 - October 24, 1870) was a Catalan Spanish Roman Catholic archbishop and missionary, and was confessor of Isabella II of Spain.
Anthony Claret was born at Sallent, near Barcelona (Spain) on December 23, 1807, the son of a small woollen manufacturer. He received an elementary education in his native village, and at the age of twelve became a weaver. A little later he went to Barcelona to specialize in his trade, and remained there until he was twenty. Meanwhile he devoted his spare time to study and became proficient in Latin, French and engraving.
Recognizing a call to religious life, he left Barcelona. He wished to become a Carthusian but finally entered the seminary at Vic in 1829, and was ordained on June 13, 1835, on the feast of Saint Anthony of Padua, his namesake. He received a benefice in his native parish, where he continued to study theology till 1839; but as missionary work strongly appealed to him, he proceeded to Rome. There he entered the Jesuit novitiate, but finding himself unsuited for that manner of life, he returned shortly to Spain and exercised his pastoral ministry in Viladrau and Girona, attracting notice by his efforts on behalf of the poor.
Recalled by his superiors to Vic, he was engaged in missionary work throughout Catalonia. In 1848 he was sent to the Canary Islands where he gave retreats for fifteen months. On his return he established the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the feast of "Our Lady of Mount Carmel" (July 16, 1849), and founded the great religious library at Barcelona which was called "Librería Religiosa" (now Librería Claret), and which has issued several million cheap copies of the best ancient and modern Catholic works.
Such had been the fruit of his zealous labors and so great the wonders he had worked, that Pope Pius IX at the request of the Spanish crown (Queen-regnant Isabella II of Spain) appointed him Archbishop of Santiago, Cuba in 1849. He was consecrated at Vic in October 1850 and embarked at Barcelona on December 28. Having arrived at his destination he began at once the work of thorough reform. The seminary was reorganized, clerical discipline strengthened, and over nine thousand marriages validated within the first two years. He erected a hospital and numerous schools. Three times he made a visitation of the entire diocese, giving local missions incessantly. His zealous works stirred up much opposition in the anti-clerical mood of the period, as had happened previously in Spain. No less than fifteen attempts were made on his life, and at Holguin his cheek was slashed from ear to chin by a would-be assassin's knife.
In February, 1857, he was recalled to Spain by Queen Isabella II, who made him her confessor. He obtained permission to resign his see and was appointed to the titular see of Trajanopolis. His influence was now directed solely to help the poor and to propagate learning; he lived frugally and took up his residence in an Italian hospice. For nine years he was rector of the Escorial monastic school where he established an excellent scientific laboratory, a museum of natural history, a library, college and schools of music and languages. His further plans were frustrated by the Revolution of 1868. He continued his popular missions and distribution of books wherever he went in accompanying the Spanish Court. When Isabella recognized the new, secular government of a united Italy, he left the Court and hastened to take his place by the side of the Pope; at the latter's command, however, he returned to Madrid with faculties for absolving the queen from the censures she had incurred for this. In 1869 he went to Rome to prepare for the First Vatican Council. Owing to failing health he withdrew to Prades in France, where he was still harassed by his Spanish enemies; shortly afterwards he retired to the Cistercian abbey at Fontfroide, Narbonne, southern France, where he died on October 24, 1870.
In addition to the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Heart of Mary (the Claretians), which in the early 21st century had over 450 houses and 3100 members, with missions in five continents, Archbishop Claret founded and or drew up the rules of several communities of Religious Sisters.[2]
His zealous life and the wonders he wrought both before and after his death testified to his sanctity. Information was sought in 1887 and he was declared Venerable by Pope Leo XIII in 1899. His relics were transferred to the mission house at Vich in 1897, at which time his heart was found incorrupt. His grave is visited by many pilgrims, and he is one of few saints known to have been given the privilege of literally carrying the Blessed Sacrament in his heart ("Autobiografia," no. 694). [1]
Anthony Mary Claret was beatified in Rome by Pope Pius XI on February 24, 1934. He was canonized sixteen years later by Pope Pius XII on May 7, 1950. St Anthony Mary Claret's liturgical feast was included in the General Roman Calendar in 1960 by Pope John XXIII, and fixed on October 23.[3] Owing to the reform of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1969, his feast was moved to October 24, the day of his death. Some local calendars as well as Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate his feast day on October 23-this happens to be my mother’s birthday.