Nativity, South Park

Parish History

Nativity Parish was established in 1905.  It began as a mission of St. Francis of Assisi, Finleyville to serve surrounding mining communities.  Mass was offered in a local school.  In 1910, the parish became independent with the appointment of a resident pastor.  Shortly afterwards a church was built, but it did not last long.  During the night of February 25, 1918, the church caught fire and burned down.  Until a new church could be built, Mass was celebrated in the Moose Hall and Lamb's Hall.  The cornerstone of the new church was laid on July 28, 1918 and the completed church was dedicated on December 25, 1919.

This church served the congregation for 40 years.  In the 1950's, plans were drawn up for a new combined church/school building.  Groundbreaking for the new building took place on November 1, 1959.  The completed building was dedicated on October 22, 1960.  In 1966, the old church was torn down to make room for a new activities building.

The parish renovated the church in 1983-1984.  A new organ was purchased in 1995 and stained glass windows were installed in 1998-1999.  The church was again renovated in 2007. 

In February of 2010 a massive snowstorm caused a power outage which was followed by a surge.  This led to the failure of the heating system.  Water pipes above the church froze and caused serious water damage to the church.  The parish moved Mass to the parish gym until the damage could be repaired.  On December 18, 2010, the restored church reopened with a Mass of thanksgiving.

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, Nativity Parish remained an independent parish while sharing clergy and staff and eventually publishing a joint bulletin with the other parishes.   This ended on January 4, 2021 when Nativity Parish merged with St. Germaine Parish, Bethel Park; St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Parish, Whitehall and St. Valentine Parish, Bethel Park to form the new Our Lady of Hope Parish.  As part of the merger Nativity Church remained open as part of the new parish.