Saint Cecilia, Glassport

Parish History

St. Cecilia was founded in 1901.  Before the parish was established, local Catholics traveled to St. Peter, McKeesport to attend Mass.  The children of these Catholics attended Sunday School in various local commercial buildings, including a vacant jail.  Around the turn of the century, the pastor of St. Peter appointed a committee to explore the possibility of forming a parish in Glassport.  On March 11, 1901, the committee purchased land for a church.  Work on the church began in May of 1901.  A pastor was assigned to the parish on July 17, 1901 and the first Mass of the parish was celebrated four days later.

The town began a period of rapid growth, which led to the growth of the congregation.  In 1906, land was donated for a new, larger church.  On May 29, 1910, the cornerstone for a combined church/school building was laid.  The first story of the building would serve as a school and the second floor as a church.  On March 26, 1911, the first Mass in the church was celebrated and the completed building was dedicated on November 5, 1911.  The old church was converted into a parish hall.  The original church building was later torn down in 1925 to make room for an addition to the school.

On February 2, 1962, the church was badly damaged by a fire set by vandals.  While the fire damage was being repaired, St. Cecilia shared Holy Cross school and church facilities.  The church reopened in December of 1962.  The church was again damaged by vandal set fires twice within the next two years, but not badly enough to interrupt use of the building.  The church also survived a tornado in August of 1963 with just minor damage.  The church was remodeled in the mid 1970's.

By the early 1990's it became obvious that Glassport could no longer support two independent parishes.  In 1994, St. Cecilia merged with Holy Cross parish to form the new Queen of the Rosary parish.  As part of the merger, St. Cecilia Church was closed and sold shortly afterwards.