Saint Henry, Arlington Heights

Parish History

St. Henry parish was founded in 1903.  The creation of the parish was the result of the growth of population in the South Pittsburgh area.  The first Mass was held in a rented hall on the first Sunday in November, but it soon became obvious that the hall was inadequate.  By the end of the month work was begun on a small frame church that was completed by Christmas.  Initially, the church was named St. Gregory, but the name was soon changed to St. Henry.

Beginning in early 1904, work was begun on a new combination church and school.  The cornerstone was laid on July 17, 1904 and was dedicated on January 25, 1905.  The first floor of the building was used as school and the second floor was the church.

This church served the community for over 40 years.  In 1945 a building fund for a new church was started and in 1949 the parish received permission from the Bishop to begin construction.  Ground was broken on October 15, 1950 and the church was dedicated on November 26, 1952.  In 1959, the old combined church and school was condemned and torn down. 

As the growth of population at the beginning of the century led to the creation of the parish, the loss of population in Pittsburgh near the end of the century led to its closing.  In 1994, St. Henry was merged with three other parishes to form St. John Vianney parish.  At first the church remained open and served the new parish.  As time went by, however, the population of the area continued to decline.  In 2004, St. John Vianney parish initiated a pastoral planning committee to study whether the parish needed to keep all its churches open.  The committee recommended that the parish only keep one church open.  St. Henry was one of the churches identified for closing.  The final Mass of the church was celebrated on August 28, 2005.