Saint Adalbert, South Side

Parish History

St. Adalbert, the second Polish parish in the diocese, was founded in 1883.  The growth of the Polish population in Pittsburgh in the nineteenth century was the result of recruiting efforts of the city's factories and mills.  At first, the Poles who lived in the South Side either attended St. Stanislaus parish in the Strip District or other ethnic South Side churches.  In 1880 a group of Poles formed the St. Adalbert Society to work for a local Polish parish.  In 1883, St. Adalbert parish was created.

In 1884, work was begun on a church building.  Until it was completed, the parish held weekly services at St. John the Evangelist Church.  This first church was just a temporary structure that was soon to be replaced.  In 1889 construction of the permanent church was begun and the church was dedicated in October 1890.  The old church was converted to a school.

This church still stands today.  Over the years, there have been several changes to the building.  In 1911, major repairs and renovations were made to the church.  In 1923 the original wooden altars were replaced with marble altars.  In 1932 the original church spires were replaced and murals were painted on the church's interior walls.  On January 5, 1941, the church caught fire.  Luckily, the fire was extinguished quickly enough to save the building, although the church suffered some damage.  The last major renovation to the church's interior took place in 1982.

As the rise of the steel industry led to the creation of the parish, the demise of that same industry led to its suppression.  By the late 1980's the loss of heavy industry in Pittsburgh was followed by a major loss of population.  Maintaining all of the South Side parishes as independent entities became impossible.  In 1992, all of the South Side parishes were merged into the new Prince of Peace parish.  St. Adalbert Church, however, remains as a worship site for the new parish.