Saint Januarius, Plum

Parish History

St. Januarius was established in 1925 as a mission of the Missionary Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (MCCD).  The diocese formed the MCCD to bring religious instruction to Catholics living in small, isolated communities who did not have easy access to an existing church.  The first Mass in the new parish was celebrated on the last Sunday of November of 1925 in the second floor of a store in town.  Until 1945, Mass was celebrated only once a month.  Beginning in 1945, Mass was celebrated weekly.  In October of 1946, St. Januarius became a mission of the Superintendent of St. Anthony Village.

All through this time, the parish continued to use the rented space in the store.  By 1950, the parish decided to build a church.  The first attempt to build a church quickly fell short.  On Easter Sunday of 1950, work on a church began.  After the foundation was laid, however, the parish decided that the chosen site had drawbacks that led the church to abandon it.  A new start was made on August 25, 1951.  The cornerstone of the new church was laid on March 23, 1952.  The first Mass to be celebrated in the new church took place on November 30, 1952, even though the interior of the church was not yet finished.  Lack of funds delayed the completion of the church until 1959.  The church was formally dedicated on October 9, 1960.

The parish became independent in 1973.

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. Januarius 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. Januarius Parish merged with the parishes of Our Lady of Joy, Holiday Park; St. Irenaeus, Oakmont; St. John the Baptist, Plum and St. Joseph, Verona to form the new Holy Family Parish.  As part of the merger St. Januarius Church remained open and became part of the new parish.