St Mary of the Mount High School - St Mary Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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Church Cornerstone Laying — 1896 Former Rectory in Background In the fall of 1869, Father C. V. Neeson was appointed the first resident pastor of St. Malachy ' s. It was Father Neeson who purchased the property for a new church; but it was his successor. Father Michael Murphy, who supervised the building of the chinch. Father Murphy was succeeded by Father M. J. Mitchell. When Father Mit- chell retired on December 20, 1871, Father James Cosgrave, the founder of St. Mary of the Mount Parish, was appointed pastor. As pastor of the flock at St. Malachy ' s, Father Cosgrave worked tirelessly, liquidating the debt, making improvements, and caring for the spiritual needs of his people. Because St. Malachy ' s Parish was hemmed in on the west by St. James ' Parish, on the north by the Monongahela River, and by the steep bluffs of Mt. Washington on the south, any hope of expansion vas ephemeral. Since the new inclines made the Mt. Washington region accessible, many Catholic families from St. Malachy ' s parish estab- lished themselves on the Moinit. Father Cosgrave, realizing the opportunities and advantages for growth and development in this aiea, began to make plans for the spiritual needs of his extended parish. His first concern vas to build a chapel.

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Artist ' s Sketch of First Church Located on Belonda Street to Mt. Washington available. A year after the completion of the incline, Mt. Washing- ton began to flourish. In 1876, another factor that contributed to the growth of the Mt. Washington district was the construction of the Ducjuesne Incline. At first the residents did not patronize the Incline, preferring rather to save their pennies and use the hillside trail. A somewhat ludicrous legend is associated with the Duquesne Incline to the effect that shortly after the construction of the Incline, the preferred hillside trail suddenly became haunted by a ghost. Immediately the Incline trade picked up. Police investigation revealed that the ghost had been hired by the Incline Company in order to discourage the economy-loving residents from valking do vn the hill trail. Be that as is may, in 1871 there were 2,200 souls on Mt. Washington and where there are souls, there also, is Holy Mother Church. The parish of St. Mary of the Mount was established originally as a mission of St. Malachy ' s, a thriving parish on the South Side. St. Malachy ' s, one of the last parishes to be separated from the Cathedral, was established to ser ' e the Irish immigrants vho lived along Carson Street between St. John ' s, South Side and St. James ' , West End.

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Interior of Church Before Redecoration