St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church (Pittsburgh) explained

Church of St. Benedict the Moor
Designation1:PHLF
Coordinates:40.4414°N -79.9859°W
Built:1894
Designation1 Date:1998[1]

St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church is a Black Catholic parish in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1894 and became a personal parish for African-Americans in June 2020.[2]

History

The building had been Holy Trinity Church which was suppressed (closed) in 1958.

In the 1960s, St. Benedict's parish, established in 1889, merged with that parish and two others and the building became its church.

The 18-foot tall statue of St. Benedict the Moor by Frederick Charles Shrady was installed atop its tower in 1968.[3]

The building was added to the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks in 1998.

In June 2020, Pittsburgh's Bishop David Zubik announced that the church would officially become a personal parish for the Black Catholic community, having served informally as such for decades.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Historic Landmark Plaques 1968-2009 . Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation . Pittsburgh, PA . 2010 . 2011-08-18.
  2. Web site: 2020-07-12. St. Benedict The Moor Church To Become 'Personal Parish' For Black Catholic Community. 2021-07-03. CBS Pittsburgh. en-US.
  3. Web site: St. Benedict the Moor Church: Our History . 2012-11-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140309063023/http://www.stbtmchurch.org/history.php . 2014-03-09 . dead .