St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Parish was established in 1944. The parish was the end result of the growth of population in the suburban community of Whitehall, then called either Baldwin Manor or Baldwin Township. On September 12, 1944, a group of local Catholics met to discuss ways to form a local parish. As a result of the meeting, they sent a petition to the bishop for their own parish. While waiting for this permission, they acquired land for a church and school. On November 25, 1944, the bishop assigned a pastor to the new, and yet unnamed, parish. The first Mass in the new parish was celebrated on December 8, 1944, in the chapel of the Sisters of St. Francis. Subsequent Masses were celebrated at St. Francis Academy.
On January 29, 1945, the congregation requested permission to name the new parish St. Gabriel. Permission was granted on March 6. For several years the parish engaged in fund raising for a new church and school. In the spring of 1949, ground was broken for a school building that would also contain a temporary church in the basement. The cornerstone of the new building was laid on Mother's Day in 1949. The school opened in September of 1949 and the first Mass was celebrated on January 1, 1950.
The parish soon outgrew its original building and work on an addition to the original building began in August of 1953. The completed addition was dedicated on October 10, 1954. Even with this addition, the school again quickly ran out of room. On December 1, 1957, ground was broken for the foundation and basement of a church. The basement was completed and the first Mass in the new structure was celebrated on February 27, 1959.
In 1974, the parish drew up plans to complete the church structure begun in 1957. Work began in 1975 and the completed church was dedicated on April 23, 1976.
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. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Parish remained an independent parish while sharing clergy and staff and eventually publishing a joint bulletin with the other parishes. This ended on January 4, 2021 when St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Parish merged with Nativity Parish, South Park; St. Germaine Parish, Bethel Park and St. Valentine Parish, Bethel Park to form the new Our Lady of Hope Parish. As part of the merger St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Church remained open as part of the new parish.
