About Shrines of Pittsburgh, Immaculate Heart of Mary (Polish Hill) · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church (Polish: Kościół Matki Boskiej) is a historic Roman Catholic parish atop Polish Hill in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and one of the six churches that make up the Shrines of Pittsburgh, a grouping of personal parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh designated as pilgrimage destinations. Founded in 1897 as the third Polish ethnic parish in the diocese, the parish built its present monumental church in 1904–05 in the Polish Cathedral style, modeled on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The parish is renowned as the first in the United States to pray the Divine Mercy Novena (since 1979) and continues to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday with great solemnity, while maintaining its Polish Catholic heritage.
- Established
- 1897
- Patron
- Immaculate Heart of Mary (Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Rev. Nicholas S. Vaskov, S.T.L.
- Diocese
- Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
Why belong here
Immaculate Heart of Mary is a living piece of Pittsburgh's Polish Catholic heritage and a designated pilgrimage church within the Shrines of Pittsburgh, offering a Roman-Renaissance worship space of unusual grandeur at modest parish size. Parishioners belong to a community that prays the country's first Divine Mercy Novena (held every year since 1979) and gathers for outstanding seasonal celebrations at Easter and Christmas that draw visitors from across the region. As part of a team-ministry model serving six historic shrines, the parish combines deep immigrant-rooted tradition with active sacramental and devotional life.
Mass times at Shrines of Pittsburgh, Immaculate Heart of Mary (Polish Hill)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:30 PM – 4:15 PM
- Wednesday 5:30 PM – 6:15 PM
History of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church
Immaculate Heart of Mary parish was founded in 1897 as a Polish ethnic parish — the third Polish parish in the Diocese of Pittsburgh after St. Stanislaus in the Strip District and St. Adalbert on the South Side. Polish immigrants began settling on Herron Hill in 1885; as their numbers grew, the neighborhood was renamed Polish Hill, and by 1895 residents petitioned the bishop for their own parish. A combined church/school/convent was dedicated in August 1897. The present monumental church, designed by William P. Ginther in the Polish Cathedral style and modeled on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, was dedicated by Apostolic Delegate Archbishop Diomede Falconio on December 3, 1905. The parish has welcomed Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, General Joseph Haller, and General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski; mourned Polish Air Force crash victims in 2010; received a relic of Pope St. John Paul II in 2014; and in 2019 was reorganized as a personal parish within the Shrines of Pittsburgh.
- 1885 — Polish immigrants begin settling Herron Hill
- 1897 — Parish founded; first church/school/convent dedicated August 1897
- 1899 — Land purchased for a larger church
- July 31, 1904 — Cornerstone of present church laid
- December 3, 1905 — Church dedicated by Archbishop Diomede Falconio
- 1970 — Designated a Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation landmark
- 1979 — First Divine Mercy Novena prayed in the U.S.
- 1997 — Parish school closes after 101 years
- 2010 — Memorial Mass for victims of Polish Air Force crash
- 2014 — Relic of Pope John Paul II's cassock presented
- 2019 — Reorganized into the Shrines of Pittsburgh
Architecture
Immaculate Heart of Mary is a prime example of the Polish Cathedral style, an opulent Renaissance Revival idiom practiced by Polish-American parishes in the early 20th century. Architect William P. Ginther of Akron, Ohio, intentionally modeled the building on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, organizing it around a great central dome with two smaller side domes. The exterior combines gray and brown brick with Indiana limestone trim, Composite pilasters, a central pediment, and twin 116-foot domed towers; the dome's outer surface climbs 138 feet, capped by a 12-foot cross blessing the neighborhood. Inside, the 43-foot vaulted ceiling soars above 1,800 seats, eight altars carved from Spanish White Oak and edged in 23-karat gold, and 53 stained-glass windows imported from Austria. Architectural historian Walter C. Kidney called IHM the 'most Baroque' of Pittsburgh's churches.
- Architect: William P. Ginther, Akron, Ohio
- Style: Renaissance Revival / Polish Cathedral
- Dimensions: 200 ft long × 110 ft wide; seating 1,800
- Central dome: 50 ft in diameter; 98 ft interior height; 138 ft exterior
- Two flanking towers: 116 ft each
- Eight altars carved from Spanish White Oak, edged in 23-karat gold
- 53 stained-glass windows from Austria
- Vaulted ceiling: 43 ft
Clergy & Staff
Immaculate Heart of Mary is served through a team ministry that shares priests and a deacon across the Shrines of Pittsburgh. The Moderator and Pastor is Rev. Nicholas S. Vaskov, S.T.L.; Fr. Michael R. Ruffalo serves as Team Ministry member and Curator of the Patrimony; and Deacon G. Gregory Jelinek assists. The parish office can be reached at 412-621-5170 ext. 501 or [email protected].
- Rev. Nicholas S. Vaskov, S.T.L. — Moderator, Team Ministry and Pastor
- Rev. Michael R. Ruffalo — Team Ministry / Curator of the Patrimony
- Deacon G. Gregory Jelinek
Divine Mercy Devotion
Immaculate Heart of Mary holds a singular place in American Catholic devotion: it was the first parish in the United States to pray the Divine Mercy Novena, a tradition it has kept since 1979. The parish continues to gather for the novena and to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter) with great solemnity. A first-class relic of Pope St. John Paul II — a fragment of his blood-stained cassock, presented in 2014 by his former private secretary Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz — is venerated at the side altar dedicated to Divine Mercy.
- First U.S. parish to pray the Divine Mercy Novena (since 1979)
- Annual Divine Mercy Sunday celebration (Sunday after Easter)
- Relic of Pope St. John Paul II displayed at the Divine Mercy side altar
Polish Heritage & Notable Visitors
From its founding the parish has served as a center of Polish Catholic life on Polish Hill. Through the decades it has hosted some of the most distinguished Polish Catholic figures of the 20th century: Cardinal Karol Wojtyła (later Pope St. John Paul II), Polish general and WWI hero Józef Haller, and General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, leader of the Warsaw Uprising. In 2010 a memorial Mass was offered for the Polish President and others killed in the Smolensk air disaster. The parish continues to value, transmit, and promote its Polish heritage, and is well known for its elaborate seasonal decorations at Easter and Christmas that draw visitors from across the region.
- Cardinal Karol Wojtyła (future Pope St. John Paul II)
- General Józef Haller (Polish WWI hero)
- General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski (Warsaw Uprising)
- Memorial Mass for Smolensk air disaster victims (2010)
- Easter and Christmas decorations that draw regional visitors
Shrines of Pittsburgh
In 2019 the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh grouped six historic parishes with distinctive stories into a single pastoral configuration called the Shrines of Pittsburgh, designed to be promoted as pilgrimage and visitor destinations. Immaculate Heart of Mary is one of those six, sharing a team ministry with Most Holy Name of Jesus (Troy Hill), St. Nicholas (Millvale), St. Patrick–St. Stanislaus Kostka (Strip District), and St. Anthony Chapel (Troy Hill, with its extraordinary relic collection). The Immaculate Heart of Mary parish office, at 3058 Brereton Street, serves as one of the administrative centers of the grouping.
- Most Holy Name of Jesus Parish — Troy Hill
- St. Nicholas Parish — Millvale
- St. Patrick–St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish — Strip District
- St. Anthony Chapel — Troy Hill (founded by Fr. Suitbert Mollinger, the 'Healing Priest')
- Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish — Polish Hill (administrative center)
Visit & Contact
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church sits at 3058 Brereton Street on Polish Hill, above the Strip District in Pittsburgh, PA 15219. The parish office can be reached at 412-621-5170 ext. 501 or [email protected], and full parish information — including the current bulletin — is published at pghshrines.org.
- Address: 3058 Brereton Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
- Phone: 412-621-5170 ext. 501
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: pghshrines.org/immaculate-heart-of-mary