“A pilgrimage is not purposeless wandering. It is a journey with a higher purpose and that purpose is to honor God.”

One of the unique ways the U.S. Province has celebrated our sesquicentennial has been through pilgrimages to former Spiritan Parishes. Seeing the ways early U.S. Spiritans lived out their mission and supported local communities has been an immersive and impactful way to learn about some of the events that occurred in our 150-year history in the United States. 
 

Pittsburgh Pilgrimage Part 1

On April 23, 2023, a group of Spiritans and locals boarded a bus at Duquesne and visited a group of Pittsburgh area parishes that were at one time staffed by Spiritans including St. Stanislaus Shrine in the Strip District, St. Mary Church in Sharpsburg, St. Anthony/Holy Spirit in Millvale, St. Ann’s site also in Millvale, Immaculate Heart of Mary in Polish Hill, St. Benedict the Moor in the Hill District, and Epiphany Parish in Downtown Pittsburgh.

St. Mary in Sharpsburg was the first parish staffed by Spiritans in the Pittsburgh area. Spiritans served in St. Mary from 1874 to 1997.

In 1889, Fr. Patrick McDermott, C.S.Sp. was inspired to create a black mission in Pittsburgh. St. Benedict the Moor was established that year as the first church for Black Catholics in Pittsburgh. The building in the Hill District was built in 1894, and it is now a personal parish for the black Catholic Community in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.  

These are just a few of the parishes that Spiritans served in the area that the pilgrimage group visited. 
 

Louisiana Pilgrimage 

The next Pilgrimage event was a 663-mile journey in November through western Louisiana. The theme of the trip was "The Spiritan Contribution to the African American Catholic Experience in Louisiana."  Four churches, formerly staffed by the Spiritans, were visited giving the participants the opportunity to engage with the parishioners and to hear their recollections of the Spiritan priests and brothers who served their churches. 

“If it were not for the Spiritans, I would not be the person I am today," said Josephine Paillet, 77-year-member of Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Opelousas.
These churches included Immaculate Heart of Mary in Lake Charles, Holy Ghost Church in Opelousas, Assumption Church in Carencro, and St. Augustine Catholic Church in Isle Brevelle.

At each of the churches visited the pastor was presented with a Spiritan medallion and a letter of appreciation for welcoming the group to their church.
The first Spiritan Church in Louisiana was St. James Memorial Catholic Church established in 1911. In time some 40 parishes and missions would be established in the state. Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Opelousas, established in 1920 “would long be distinguished as the largest (by population) African American parish in the country.”

Additionally, many schools were established in collaboration with Saint Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

While the Spiritans do not serve in Louisiana today, they do serve the African American community in New York, Baltimore, Houston, Dayton, Arkansas, and Virginia.
 

Pittsburgh Pilgrimage Part 2

After a successful first Pittsburgh area pilgrimage, a second pilgrimage was envisioned to visit spots that couldn’t fit into the first trip. 

On April 22, 2023, another Pittsburgh Area Pilgrimage will take place visiting parishes in Tarentum, Emsworth, Glenfield, and Hazelwood. 

You can find updated information at spiritans.org/events/pilgrimage-to-spiritan-parish-part-2.

• This story was originally shared in the Spring 2023 issue of One Heart, One Spirit. You can read more stories from the issue, here.