Saint Ambrose, Spring Hill

Parish History

St. Ambrose was established in 1894.  The origin of the parish can be traced to 1893, when a group of local Catholics formed a committee to petition the bishop for a parish.  The bishop agreed to form a parish once the committee raised enough funds to build a church.  In 1894, the local Catholics built a temporary church on donated land with donated material.  On June 25, 1894, a resident pastor was assigned to the new parish and the first Mass in the temporary church was celebrated on July 1.

Shortly afterwards, land was purchased for a combination church and school building.  The cornerstone of the new building was laid on Labor Day of 1894 and the completed building was dedicated on May 30, 1895.  Originally the building contained a rectory in the basement, a school on the first floor and the church on the second floor.  In 1896, the basement was converted from a rectory to a convent for the newly arrived Sisters of Divine Providence.  In 1911, a separate convent was built and in 1928 a separate school building opened.  After the new school opened, the school rooms in the original church building were converted into an auditorium.

Over the years, the church was renovated and redecorated.  In 1916, an organ was installed in the church.  Three years later, stained glass windows were added and the three altars were renovated.   Renovations took place in 1930, 1942 and 1963.

By the late twentieth century, the population of the North Side of Pittsburgh could no longer support the number of independent parishes in existence.  In 1994, St. Ambrose merged with St. Boniface to form the new Holy Wisdom parish.  St. Ambrose Church remains open and serves the new parish.