Immaculate Heart of Mary remains an active parish church in the Diocese of Pittsburgh as of 2023. In 2019 it was reorganized as a personal (non-territorial) parish within the Shrines of Pittsburgh, a grouping of six churches with unique histories which the diocese hoped to promote as pilgrimage and visitor destinations.[4][5]
History
Immaculate Heart of Mary was founded in 1897 as a Polish ethnic parish.[6] Beginning in 1885, Polish immigrants began settling on Herron Hill in Pittsburgh. Eventually so many immigrants settled there that the area was renamed Polish Hill. At first, the residents attended St. Stanislaus parish in the Strip District, but by 1895, the population of Polish Hill grew to the point that a committee of local citizens petitioned the bishop for their own parish.[6] Permission was granted and the cornerstone of a combined church, school, and convent was laid in October 1896.[6] The completed building was dedicated in August 1897.[7] The top floor of the four-story building served as the church, while the lower floors housed classrooms and living quarters for the teaching nuns.[8]
This parish was the first in the United States of America to have the Divine Mercy Novena.[6] They continue to have the novena and to have a very large celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, the Sunday immediately after Easter Sunday.
Loosely modeled after St. Peter's Basilica, the church is 200 feet (61m) long and 110 feet (34m) wide, and is positioned with the long axis parallel to the street. The building is organized around a central dome which is 50 feet (15m) in diameter and has an internal height of 98 feet (30m). The exterior of the dome measures 138 feet (42m) to the highest balustrade, with a 12-foot (3.7m) cross on top. The church is constructed from brick in two contrasting colors, gray and brown, with Indiana limestone trim. The front elevation is classically ordered with Composite pilasters, a central pediment, and two 116-foot (35m) domed towers. The interior has a 43-foot (13m) vaulted ceiling and a seating capacity of 1,800.[8][11]
Kirkland, Kyle (May 20, 2019). "Grouping of 5 shrines aims to draw Catholics, visitors". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Clippings of the first page and second page via Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 11, 2023.