About St. Thomas the Apostle Parish - St. Maximillian Kolbe Church · Homestead, Pennsylvania
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Homestead, Pennsylvania is a merged Catholic parish in the Diocese of Pittsburgh that unites eight former parishes — Christ the Light of the World (Holy Name), Holy Trinity, Resurrection, St. Agnes, St. Joseph, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Rita, and St. Therese of Lisieux — across the Steel Valley communities of Duquesne, Homestead, Munhall, West Mifflin, and Whitaker. Formally created on July 1, 2020 as part of Bishop David Zubik's 'On Mission for The Church Alive!' initiative, the parish today worships in six remaining church buildings. St. Maximilian Kolbe Church itself sits at 363 W. 11th Ave. Extension in Homestead and serves as one of the worship sites, with Sunday Mass celebrated at 10:30 AM and weekday Mass on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 8:00 AM.
- Established
- 2020
- Patron
- St. Thomas the Apostle (parish patron); the St. Maximilian Kolbe worship site is named for St. Maximilian Kolbe
- Diocese
- Diocese of Pittsburgh
Why belong here
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish welcomes everyone to worship at one of its six remaining churches spread across Duquesne, Homestead, Munhall, West Mifflin, and Whitaker, with St. Maximilian Kolbe Church offering a 10:30 AM Sunday Mass in Homestead and 8:00 AM weekday Mass on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The parish runs an active Eucharistic Ministry that distributes Holy Communion at every Mass and reaches out to homebound parishioners and residents of Locust Grove, plus offers a schedule of Confession and Eucharistic Adoration. As part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh's 'On Mission for The Church Alive!' initiative, the parish is committed to keeping Catholic life vibrant across the Steel Valley communities that grew up around the old Homestead steel works.
Mass times at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish - St. Maximillian Kolbe Church
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Friday 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM — St. Maximilian Kolbe
About St. Thomas the Apostle Parish
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish is a Catholic parish in the Diocese of Pittsburgh serving the Steel Valley communities of Duquesne, Homestead, Munhall, West Mifflin, and Whitaker. It was formed on July 1, 2020 by the merger of eight parishes — Christ the Light of the World (Holy Name), Holy Trinity, Resurrection, St. Agnes, St. Joseph, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Rita, and St. Therese of Lisieux — under Bishop David Zubik's 'On Mission for The Church Alive!' initiative. The parish website invites all to 'join us' and emphasizes that 'All are welcome and encouraged to join us!' across its six remaining church buildings.
- Eight founding parishes merged July 1, 2020
- Six churches currently remain open as worship sites
- Part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh's 'On Mission for The Church Alive!' initiative (begun 2015)
St. Maximilian Kolbe Church — Homestead Worship Site
St. Maximilian Kolbe Church sits at 363 W. 11th Ave. Extension in Homestead, Pennsylvania 15120. It is one of six active worship sites within St. Thomas the Apostle Parish and the direct successor of the former St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, which itself was created in 1992 by merging several Homestead and Munhall parishes. The church is recognized locally for the large 24-foot statue of St. Joseph the Worker in front of it, originally placed on the bell tower of St. Michael Church in 1966 and sculpted by the same artist who created the Honus Wagner statue outside PNC Park.
- Address: 363 W 11th Ave Ext, Homestead, PA 15120
- Phone: (412) 461-4054
- Email: [email protected]
Ministries & Outreach
The parish website highlights Eucharistic Ministers and a Shut-In Ministry among its active lay ministries. Eucharistic Ministers assist the celebrant in distributing Holy Communion at every Mass, with training provided and a schedule built around each volunteer's availability. The Shut-In Ministry coordinates visits to parishioners who are homebound and to residents of Locust Grove (located behind Resurrection Church and within parish boundaries); volunteers are dismissed from the 9:00 AM Mass at Resurrection every Sunday to bring Communion to Locust Grove residents and other housebound parishioners.
- Eucharistic Ministers — assist at all Masses with distribution of the Eucharist
- Shut-In Ministry — visits homebound parishioners
- Locust Grove Ministry — weekly Communion visits to Locust Grove residents
- Contact for ministries: [email protected]
History & the Steel Valley Catholic Community
The parish was formally created on July 1, 2020 following a five-year diocesan planning process that began in April 2015 when Bishop David Zubik launched 'On Mission for The Church Alive!' to address declining Mass attendance, reduced sacramental participation, and a shrinking pool of priests. After consultation, parishes were grouped and served by a single clergy team from 2018 before formally merging in 2020. Three of the original nine church buildings have since closed: St. Hedwig in Duquesne (January 31, 2022), and Holy Name in Duquesne and Resurrection in West Mifflin (both August 15, 2023).
- April 12, 2015 — Bishop Zubik announces 'On Mission for The Church Alive!'
- 2018 — parishes grouped under a single clergy team
- July 1, 2020 — eight parishes formally merged into St. Thomas the Apostle Parish
- Jan 31, 2022 — St. Hedwig Church (Duquesne) closed
- Aug 15, 2023 — Holy Name Church (Duquesne) and Resurrection Church (West Mifflin) closed
The Origins of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish (1992)
St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish was originally created in 1992 through the merger of several Homestead and Munhall parishes — including St. Michael (Munhall), St. Margaret (Munhall), St. Mary Magdalene (Homestead), and Ss. Peter and Paul (Homestead) — as the collapse of the Homestead steel works drained population and resources from the valley. The parish then sustained multiple church buildings for years before mounting expenses and a dwindling congregation forced the closure of several, including St. Michael and St. Mary Magdalene. The surviving St. Maximilian Kolbe Church at 363 W. 11th Ave. Extension became the principal worship site of the former parish and, from July 1, 2020, one of the worship sites of the new St. Thomas the Apostle Parish.
- 1992 — six Homestead/Munhall parishes merged to form St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish
- St. Michael Church (Munhall), founded 1897, eventually closed 2009
- St. Mary Magdalene (Homestead), founded 1881, eventually closed 2009
Steel Valley Heritage
The Steel Valley Catholic Community worships in churches that grew up alongside the steel mills along the Monongahela River. St. Michael Parish in Munhall was founded in 1897 by Slovak immigrants who worked at the Homestead Works of Carnegie Steel; its 1927 brick church later housed the 24-foot St. Joseph the Worker statue (1966), which now stands at St. Maximilian Kolbe. St. Mary Magdalene, the first Catholic church in Homestead, was founded in February 1881 to serve mill workers and their families; its 1896 church on Amity Street had 150-foot steeples before being destroyed by fire in 1932 and rebuilt.
- Homestead steel mills drew waves of Catholic immigrants from the 1880s onward
- St. Joseph the Worker statue — 24 feet tall — moved from St. Michael to St. Maximilian Kolbe
- Statue was sculpted by the same artist who created the Honus Wagner statue at PNC Park