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

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true apostle, he was desirous of bringing Christ to those remote regions. Shortly after becoming established at the Mount, Father Griffin conceived the idea of organizing a Pittsburgh Apostolate. The work of the Apostolate had been successfully organized by Father Elliot in Detroit, Michigan, and Father Griffin was confident that the same kind of missionary work could be carried out in the Pittsburgh diocese. In 1904, Father Griffin placed his well-drawn plans before Bishop Canevin, who gave wholehearted consent and lu-ged Father Griffin to execute his plans on a diocesan basis and to assume fidl responsibility for the organization as its first direc- tor. Thus, St. Mary of the Mount became the first home of the Apostolate and the house on 127 Ulysses St. became the headquarters for the missionary work of the diocese. The priests appointed to assist Father Griffin, Very Reverend William J. MiUlen and Reverend J. Quinn, made their residence at the place of the Apostolate Headquarters, which became known as i he Apostolate House. This building stands today next to the Church on Ulysses St. and is now used as the home of the custodian of the Church and the School. These first priests were soon to be joined by others and the Apostolate became a very active organization of secular priests giving missions throughout the diocese. To get an idea of the tremendous work accomplished by the Missionary Workers, we give here the contents of a public report which Father Griffin pre- sented on September 20, 1910. The report included the various missionary works that were accomplished from September, 1909, to July, 1910. The report stated that the year had been a most successful one and that the missionaries were justly proud of their 47 missions and 16, 652 confessions. Father regretted the fact that because of lack of funds the Apostolate was unable to give missions for more non-Catholics. In conducting the Catholic Missions, Father pointed out that each mission included rmong its spiritual exercises, an Hour ' s adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and a Holy Name Rally. As a result, ten Confraternities of the Holy Name were organized by the Apostolate during the year. The missionaries ' greatest consolation, the report continued, was the number of very splendid converts whom the priests of the Apostolate had received into the Church in that one year. Another great grace was the return to the Church of 1 1 8 schismatics. Because Father Griffin forsaw that the coming year 1910-1911 was to be a very demanding year for the Apostolate, he urged pastors desiring missions to make application for them early. Father concluded his report by announcing that the missionaries of the Apostolate were prepared to hear confessions in English, Ger- man, Italian, French, Polish, Hungarian and Lithuanian.

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- ' prisoners of the Allegheny County Jail and of the Boys of Morganza Training School. During his Chap- laincy Father Griffin became associ- ated with the Reverend Walter Elliot, a noted Paulist missionary, in conducting missions for non- Catholics throughout the Pitts- burgh diocese. Although ill health from over- work forced Father Griffin to re- linquish his Chaplaincy and his mission vork, he never abandoned the idea of finding ways and means to reach out to the souls in outlying regions where there were no means of Catholic Instruction. After a short period of eight steps from Duquesne Heights to Carson Street months at St. Joseph ' s in North Oakland, Father Griffin regained his health and assumed the pastorate of St. Joseph ' s Parish in New Brighton. From New Brighton he came to St. Mary of the Mount in 1903. Through his missionary experiences with Father Elliot, Father Griffin was aware of the spiritual condition of the people residing in the remote sections of the widely- scattered Pittsburgh diocese vhere there vere neither Churches nor priests. Like a

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