St. Barbara, Bridgeville
St. Barbara was established in 1894 as a Slovenian parish. The origin of the parish can be traced to the opening of coal mines in the Bridgeville area. These mines led to the rise of population as people gravitated to the community to find work. Many of these new arrivals were European immigrants. In March of 1894 a parish for the English speaking residents was established. However, the recent arrivals from Europe who did not speak English wanted a parish where they could worship in their native tongues. A group of local Catholics representing the German and Slovenia communities met on August 15, 1894, to discuss organizing a parish. The outcome of the meeting was a proposal to invite a recently arrived priest from Slovenia, who spoke seven languages, to form a parish. Land was donated for a church and work began in 1894. The first Mass of the new parish was celebrated on December 4, 1894, in the unfinished church. The building was completed in 1895 and it was dedicated on November 28, 1895.
On July 30, 1896, the church was severely damaged in a wind storm. The church was soon repaired. The building was remodeled in the 1920's and the 1930's. In 1938, the parish was changed from a Slovenian parish to a territorial parish. The church was again renovated and remodeled in the early 1940's for the 50th anniversary of the parish. Additional church improvements were made in 1967.
However, the parish eventually had to replace the original church. Work on a new church began in the early 1980's and the completed church was dedicated on December 8, 1985.
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| First St. Barbara Church, 1933 | Interior of first St. Barbara Church, 1933 | Current St. Barbara Church, 2002 | Interior of St. Barbara Church, 2002 |
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