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.
Unfortunately, the population loss did not stop but continued into the next century. By 2014, the parish was down to 1,398 registered members. The nearby parish of Holy Cross in East Pittsburgh suffered even more severe losses and was down to 346 registered members. In consultation with the financial and parish councils of both parishes, the diocese decided to merge Holy Cross parish into Good Shepherd Parish effective April 28, 2014. The parish retained the name Good Shepherd and retained its church buildings. The two church buildings of Holy Cross Parish, St. Helen and St. William were officially closed the same day,
With the turn of the century, trends in the Diocese of Pittsburgh began to reveal a decline in Mass attendance and sacramental participation. At the same time, the number of priests available for parish ministry also began to decline.
To address these challenges, Bishop David Zubik announced on April 12, 2015 a new diocesan initiative, On Mission for The Church Alive!, a consultative strategic planning process designed to foster viable, sustainable and vibrant parishes. As part of this process, the Bishop, in consultation with the faithful, began to consider new models of parish life based on pastoral needs, financial and temporal resources and available clergy.
In 2018, following the period of consultation, parishes were grouped together and served by a single clergy team to eventually form one new parish.
During this transition period, Good Shepherd Parish remained an independent parish while sharing clergy and staff and eventually publishing a joint bulletin with the other parishes. This ended on July 1, 2020 when Good Shepherd Parish merged with the parishes of St. Maurice, Forest Hills; Madonna del Castello, Swissvale; St. Coleman, Turtle Creek; St. John Fisher, Churchill; St. Jude the Apostle, Wilmerding and Word of God, Rankin/Swissvale to form the new St. Joseph the Worker Parish. As part of the merger both Good Shepherd churches, Good Shepherd and Sacred Heart, remained open as part of the new parish.