Saint Bartholomew, Penn Hills

Parish History

St. Bartholomew was established on June 28, 1950, in response to the growth of population in Penn Hills.  The first Mass in the new parish was celebrated in a private home.  Afterwards, the parish rented the Penn Hebron Garden Club for the celebration of Sunday and Holy Day Masses until a church could be built.  In February of 1951 ground was broken for a building that would include a temporary church and parish hall.  The first Mass in the new temporary church was celebrated on October 7, 1951, and the building was officially dedicated on October 28, 1951. 

Work on a school addition to the original building began in 1953.  The addition included a school gymnasium that would be used as temporary church.  The addition was completed in 1954 and dedicated on September 2, 1954.  The original space used as a temporary church was then converted to classrooms.

By the early 1960's the parish had paid off all of its debts and was ready to build a permanent church.  Ground for the church was broken in September 1964.  The cornerstone was laid on February 11, 1965, and the completed church was dedicated on May 24, 1965.

With the turn of the century, trends in the Diocese of Pittsburgh began to reveal a decline in Mass attendance and sacramental participation.  At the same time, the number of priests available for parish ministry also began to decline.

To address these challenges, Bishop David Zubik announced on April 12, 2015 a new diocesan initiative, On Mission for The Church Alive!, a consultative strategic planning process designed to foster viable, sustainable and vibrant parishes.  As part of this process, the Bishop, in consultation with the faithful, began to consider new models of parish life based on pastoral needs, financial and temporal resources and available clergy.

In 2018, following the period of consultation, parishes were grouped together and served by a single clergy team to eventually form one new parish.

During this transition period, St. Bartholomew Parish remained an independent parish while sharing clergy and staff and eventually publishing a joint bulletin with the other parishes.   This ended on January 6, 2020 when St. Bartholomew Parish merged with the Monroeville parishes of St. Bernadette and North American Martyrs and the Penn Hills parishes of St. Susanna and St. Gerard Majella to form the new Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish.  As part of the merger St. Bartholomew Church remained open to serve the new parish.