Good Shepherd

Good Shepherd was inaugurated on April 27, 1985.  The parish was formed by the merger of the then six existing parishes in Braddock: St. Brendan (Irish), St. Isidore (Lithuanian), St. Joseph (German), St. Mary of Mount Carmel (Italian), St. Michael (Slovak) and St. Thomas (Irish).  The merger was the product of the slow erosion of population in the area in the middle and later part of the twentieth century.  The immediate impetus for the creation of the parish was the decline of the manufacturing industry in the Mid-Mon Valley and the destruction by fire of St. Thomas Church on December 30, 1983.  Rather than automatically rebuild St. Thomas, the diocese decided to conduct a study of economic and population trends in Braddock.  This study led to the decision to consolidate all of the parishes in Braddock into one new parish, Good Shepherd.  St. Michael Church was completely renovated and became Good Shepherd Church. The former Sacred Heart (Polish) Parish in Braddock Hills became part of the Good Shepherd Parish family on April 25, 2005. Good Shepherd Church and Sacred Heart Church are the two buidlings where Masses are currently celebrated.