Saint Colman, Turtle Creek

Parish History

St. Colman was established in 1882.  The parish was formed to meet the needs of the small Catholic community of Turtle Creek and the surrounding area.  The first Mass of the new parish was celebrated in a local public school.  Later, Masses were offered in Black's Hall.  The parish purchased land and soon afterwards built a frame church.  The date of the church's construction is not known.  In 1887, the church was modified to enable the parish to open a school by converting the lower floor of the building to four classrooms.

With the growth of industry in the area, the congregation began to grow.  In 1889, the congregation decided that a new church was needed.  Ground for a new church was broken in 1900.  The cornerstone was laid on June 2, 1901, and the completed church was dedicated on May 10. 1903.  The old church was converted to a school.  It was torn down in 1928 to make room for a new school.

The church served the parish for 70 years.  By 1975, the church was in need of extensive repairs and renovation.  The parish initiated a study that year to determine whether the church should be repaired or a new church built.  A fire in the church on January 4, 1976, followed by a lightning strike on the building a few months later decided the issue.  Demolition of the church began in March of 1977.  While the church was being torn down and a new church built on the site, Masses were moved to the school.

Ground for the new church was broken on May 1, 1977, and the cornerstone was laid on October 16, 1977.  The completed church was dedicated on May 14, 1978.

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. Colman Parish remained an independent parish while sharing clergy and staff and eventually publishing a joint bulletin with the other parishes.   This ended on July 1, 2020 when St. Colman Parish merged with the parishes of Good Shepherd, Braddock; Madonna del Castello, Swissvale; St. Maurice, Forest Hills; St. John Fisher, Churchill; St. Jude the Apostle, Wilmerding and Word of God, Rankin/Swissvale to form the new St. Joseph the Worker Parish.  As part of the merger St. Colman Church remained open as part of the new parish.