Saint Alphonsus, Wexford

St. Alphonsus was founded in 1840.  Catholic settlement in the area began as early as 1790.  The early settlers were farmers, both Irish and Germans.  To attend Mass, these Catholics had to either depend on the occasional visit from a missionary priest, or, after 1808, to travel to Pittsburgh to visit St. Patrick.  The first known Mass in the area was celebrated in a private home in 1832.  In 1835, the Bishop of Philadelphia visited Wexford.  While there a local Catholic gave him a deed for land for a church. 

The actual building of a church did not occur until after the Redemptorist Fathers arrived in Pittsburgh and founded St. Philomena and took responsibility for the Catholics in Wexford.  The cornerstone for the new church was laid in May 1840 and the completed church was dedicated on July 19, 1840. 

For the first 24 years, St. Alphonsus was a mission of other parishes.  At various times it was a mission of St. Philomena, St. Mary in Sharpsburg, Ss. Peter and Paul in Beaver and St. Peter in Allegheny City (now Pittsburgh's North Side).  Sometime between 1843 and 1860, the original church was destroyed in a storm and a new church was built.

In 1864, the parish received its first resident pastor.  As the population grew over the years, the need for a larger church became obvious.  A new church was built in 1889.  As the population continued to grow, the church again became too small.  Rather than build a new church, the parish renovated and expanded the existing church in 1912.  The seating area was extended and two sacristies, a new sanctuary and altars, confessionals and a baptismal font were added.

In the 1960's, the congregation again outgrew the existing church.  Again the parish decided to expand the existing church rather than build a new building.  This expansion took place in 1968.  The original church building was renovated in 1976. 

This church continues to serve the congregation today.