Parishes & Groupings

On April 15, 2015, Bishop Zubik announced On Mission for The Church Alive! with a question, “Are you excited about your faith?”

With that question Bishop Zubik ushered a vision and hope that every lay person, religious, priest and deacon in the Diocese of Pittsburgh would see that he or she has an important place in the Church as the Body of Christ. He explained that the fire of faith in our hearts and the urgent desire to share that faith is the essence of On Mission for The Church Alive!

He called the Church of Pittsburgh to use the gifts that God has given so that everyone, everywhere may come to Learn Jesus, Love Jesus and Live Jesus.

The vision of the Church Alive! is to become a Church on fire with faith and to have disciples willing to go out and bring people to Christ.

The goal of On Mission for The Church Alive! is to make our diocesan parishes, schools, religious education programs — every aspect of the life of The Church — ever more vibrant in worship and service!  

The Diocese of Pittsburgh has 81 parishes, organized into two vicariates: a North Vicariate and a South Vicariate.

The North Vicariate includes 30 groupings or new parishes, under the leadership of regional vicar the Very Rev. John Gizler. The South Vicariate consists of 27 parishes, lead by regional vicar the Very Rev. Joseph Sioli. Within these vicariates, the faithful of the diocese learn Jesus, love Jesus, and live Jesus every day.

Father Matthew Hawkins, parochial vicar of St. Benedict the Moor Parish in the Hill District, and Father David Taylor, its senior parochial vicar, shared their insights with the Catholic News Agency (CNA) Newsroom about the June 2020 establishment of the parish as a personal parish for Black Catholics.

Check out the interview to learn about the history of St. Benedict the Moor Parish in Pittsburgh and to hear Father Hawkins' and Father Taylor's hopes for its future. 

After parish festivals were suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic, pastors have gotten the go ahead to plan celebrations this summer. All events will be consistent with PA Department of Health and county COVID safety guidelines.

When a friend of Deacon Rick Caruso came into an unexpected financial windfall, she knew that other people needed the money more than she did. She has given several thousand dollars to help people served by parishes in Pittsburgh's northern suburbs. 

This donation has benefitted the Saint Vincent de Paul Society and Stephen Ministry, which support people who are in need, hurting or in crisis.

Three parishes have recently repurposed existing spaces into functional offices. Read in The Pittsburgh Catholic how Mary, Mother of God, Our Lady of Hope and Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishes created new parish centers, thanks to the hard work of staff and parishioners.