St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral (Pittsburgh) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. John the Baptist Cathedral |
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St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral
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 Location in Pennsylvania
Location in the United States
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| 40°22′56″N 79°54′55″W / 40.3821°N 79.9153°W | |
| Location | 210 Greentree Road Munhall, Pennsylvania |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| History | |
| Founded | 1897 |
| Past bishop(s) | Basil Schott |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | 1993 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Archeparchy of Pittsburgh |
The St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral is a very important church. It is known as the "mother church" for the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. You can find it at 210 Greentree Road in Munhall, Pennsylvania. Munhall is a town near Pittsburgh, located in the Monongahela River valley.
Contents
History of the Cathedral
In the 1880s, many thousands of people called Rusyns came to Pittsburgh. They traveled from the Carpathian Mountains in Europe. They came to work in the big steel factories there. One of the biggest was Andrew Carnegie's steel mill in Homestead, Pennsylvania.
In 1894, the large Rusyn community in Homestead decided to start their own church. In January 1897, their new church was officially opened. It was named St. John the Baptist Greek Catholic Church.
The First Cathedral Building (1903)
The church community grew quickly and needed a bigger building. In the summer of 1902, they bought two pieces of land. These were on the corner of Tenth and Dicksons Streets in Munhall.
A Hungarian architect named Titus de Bobula designed the new church. He based his design on a cathedral in Ungvár (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine). The church had two tall towers, reaching about 125 feet (38 meters) high. These towers were made of white brick and sandstone. The church officially opened on December 27, 1903.
The church continued to grow, with over 700 families by the 1920s. In 1929, it became the main church, or "cathedral," for the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in America. This historic building was the first cathedral in America just for Carpatho-Rusyns.
In the 1950s, the church started to update and modernize the cathedral. While the work was happening, church services were held in the school hall. The renovation was finished in the early 1960s.
The Second Cathedral Building (1993)
In 1973, a new leader, Msgr. Judson Procyk, took charge of the cathedral parish. He had a plan to move the church and build a brand new cathedral. In 1978, the church bought 18 acres (about 73,000 square meters) of land off Greentree Road in Munhall.
The new cathedral was finished in 1993. This is the building that stands today.
In 2004, the original cathedral building from 1903 was sold. The Carpatho-Rusyn Society bought it. They now use it as their main office and a cultural center.
See also
In Spanish: Catedral de San Juan Bautista (Pittsburgh) para niños
