St. Titus Church

, due to the steel industry boom in western Pennsylvania, the need for another Catholic church in the area would soon became apparent. In 1906, J&L Steel began construction of its plant in Aliquippa. The Catholics living in the Woodlawn area were a mission under St. Joseph Parish in West Aliquippa. The first Mass in the Church of St. Titus, which was actually a converted vacant storeroom at the Woodlawn Trust Building located at 340 Franklin Avenue, was offered by Fr. Michael McGarey, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, on Christmas Day 1910. The building, which as of this writing still stands, is near the current Aliquippa Police Department. A few months later, Mass was offered at the DeCastrique Nickelodeon, a movie theater which was located at 754 Sheffield Avenue, just a few blocks away fron our current church and very close to the high-rise apartments formerly called the Eleanor RooseveIt. The parish was officially created by Bishop Regis Canevin on February 6, 1911. When St. Titus Parish moved into the nickelodeon, it was renamed Bonneville Hall. The first Mass there was celebrated on Easter Sunday, April 16, 1911. In October of 1914, St. Titus got its first resident pastor, Fr. Rockliffe. It was he who arranged for the purchase of the current St. Titus properties on Franklin Avenue, Sheffield Avenue and Sycamore streets. Abruptly in 1917, Father Rockliffe left the parish. As a British subject, he was recalled for duty as a chaplain in the British Navy. His successor was Father John J. Greanery , who came to St. Titus in October of 1917. According to records, construction of a new church under Fr. Greanery began it 1919 that was designed to be a temporary church that would become part of a new parish grade school. This initial church was dedicated on October 20, 1920. The parish school was dedicated on September 5, 1926 by Monsignor Martin Ryan, Pastor of St. Brigid Parish in Pittsburgh, with Fr. Paul E. Campbell, then Superintendent of Schools, giving the dedicatory sermon. The school was staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden, PA. with Sr. Claire Marie as its first principal. The 'temporary church'...was used as the parish church for 36 years! During Monsignor Edward Zauner’s 38-year tenure at St. Titus, the parish experienced tremendous growth. At one time, St. Titus was the largest parish in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Among Monsignor Zauner’s many projects were the addition of a third floor to the parish school in 1951 and the building of a new rectory in 1954. At some point during his first 24 years as pastor, then Fr. Zauner dreamed of the day his parish would have a new church which would serve its growing congregation. Ground was broken for the new building on November 28, 1954 and the cornerstone was placed in a ceremony on August 7, 1955. The dream was realized on the morning of Saturday, November 17, 1956, when the current church, erected at the cost $650,000, was dedicated in an impressive ceremony. Over 70 priests attended the dedication and eight priests concelebrated Mass, including Bishop John Dearden of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. No less than 18 altar boys also participated. The men’s and boys choir sang the melodic “Missa Regina Pacis” (Queen of Peace Mass), while an estimated 2,000 persons attended the dedication. A few hundred more were unable to gain admission into the new church because it was already filled to capacity. Designed by Aliquippa architect Joseph Bontempo, the new church featured contemporary designs, with a seating capacity of 956 in the main nave and 100 more in the choir loft at a price of about $650,000. Among other features were altars made of imported Italian marble, a massive bell tower, and a brilliant set of stained glass windows. A newspaper report noted that at the time the front facade of the church was highlighted by one of the largest stained glass window installations in the United States. Fr. Zauner remained the pastor of St. Titus Parish until his death in 1970. With Fr. Zauner's passing, Fr. Joseph F. McCarthy was named the parish pastor in March of 1970 until his untimely death on February 13, 1971. Thomas J. Cassidy was then assigned as pastor of St. Titus in 1971 and remained so until his death on December 2, 1992. Daniel Sweeney, then the parochial vicar, was named as the parish administrator in January 1993 until April 4, 1994. At some point in the 1970s, the basement classrooms in the school were reconfigured in order to create a space where gym classes could be conducted. In later years, this space would be remodeled and renamed Cassidy Hall, enabling its use as a cafeteria. Added to the school in the 1980's were computer and science labs as well as expanded library space. Under a diocesan-wide reorganization headed by Bishop Donald Wuerl, Fr. John P. Sweeney was named pastor of St. Titus Parish on May 23, 1994. Though originally established in 1911 after being a mission under the Parish of St. Joseph, St. Titus Parish was reestablished in 1994 when it was merged with St. Joseph Parish, West Aliquippa. Paul C. Householder was assigned the position of pastor on July 25, 2005 until his retirement in July 2016. Titus School remained viable until 2008, when decreasing enrollment and increasing costs and maintenance caused it to close. The faith community of St. Titus is grateful to all the religious and lay teachers as well as staff who served throughout the school's history. Howard Campbell was assigned as Administrator in July 11, 2016 until September 30, 2017. On October 2, 2017, Fr. Martin de Porres Bartel, OSB, who was already pastor of St. Frances Cabrini, Center Township, was additionally named adminstrator of St. Titus, Aliquippa, and Our Lady of Fatima, Hopewell Township. Bishop David Zubik on April 28, 2018, in his call to the Church of Pittsburgh under the On Mission for the Church Alive! initiative, announced that Saint Titus, Aliquippa would join with the parishes of Saint John the Baptist, Monaca; Saint Frances Cabrini, Center Township; and Our Lady of Fatima, Hopewell Township to form a parish grouping or cluster on October 15, 2018, and asked all to join in a journey to better fulfill the mission of Jesus and ensure vibrancy in every parish. The temporary name selected for the cluster by representatives from the four parishes and approved by the diocese was 'MACH1 Parish Grouping'. Martin Bartel, O.S.B., was assigned to serve in the role of administrator until his election as archabbot of St. Vincent Archabbey on July 5, 2020. Beginning on July 9, 2020, Fr. Jean-Luc Zadroga, O.S.B. was assigned the role of administrator pro-tem. In November 2020, the process of gathering parish name suggestions from parishioners for submission to the diocese was completed. On May 29, 2021, Bishop David Zubik officially announced the name of the future parish, made up of the then parishes of St. John the Baptist (Monaca), St. Titus (Aliquippa), St. Frances Cabrini (Center Township), and Our Lady of Fatima (Hopewell Township) and to be established on July 1, 2021, to be ‘Mary, Queen of Saints’. Each church would retain its original patronal name.