HISTORY
1700s
1749 — The first Mass west of the Allegheny Mountains is celebrated near Kittanning.
1773 — Westmoreland County is formed.
1789 — The property where Blessed Sacrament Cathedral stands is purchased by six pioneer Catholics. They are considered the first permanent Catholic congregation west of the Alleghenies.
1790 — The site of present day Saint Vincent Archabbey, College, Seminary, and Basilica Parish in Latrobe is purchased
1799 — The City of Greensburg, named for Revolutionary War hero General Nathaniel Green, is founded.
1800s
1806 — Prince Demetrius Gallitzin, later known as Father Augustine, is thought to have established the church in Sugar Creek, the oldest church west of the Alleghenies, which is now a chapel of St. Patrick Parish in Brady’s Bend.
1843 — The Diocese of Pittsburgh is established.
1846 — Father Boniface Wimmer, a German immigrant, establishes the Benedictine presence at Saint Vincent by forming the first Benedictine monastery in the United States.
1846-47 — St. John Nepomuccene Neumann, a Redemptionist priest serving in Pittsburgh, helps establish the mother church of the Diocese, now Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg.
1847 — The Sisters of Mercy establish St. Xavier Academy in Latrobe.
1882 — The Sisters of Charity establish their motherhouse in Greensburg.
1865-1917 — More than 80 parishes and missions are built across the four counties of Armstrong, Fayette, Indiana and Westmoreland.
1900s
1951 — The Diocese of Greensburg is canonically erected by Pope Pius XII, March 10. The arms of the Diocese were devised by William F.J. Ryan of New York, NY, and West Chatham, Mass.
1952 — Bishop Hugh L. Lamb, an auxiliary bishop in Philadelphia, is installed as the first bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg January 16.
1959 — Greensburg Central Catholic High School is dedicated November 29. Bishop Lamb later passes away December 8, at the age of 69.
1960 — Bishop William G. Connare, a Pittsburgh priest, is appointed as the second bishop of Greensburg February 23. He is later ordained and installed May 4.
1961 — The Catholic Accent, the official newspaper of the Diocese, is established and first published June 1.
1964 — Geibel Catholic High School, now Geibel Catholic Junior/Senior High School, is dedicated in Connellsville.
1972 — Blessed Sacrament Cathedral is renovated to accommodate the changes of Vatican II.
1975 — Bishop Norbert F. Gaughan is appointed auxiliary bishop of Greensburg June 26; to date he is the only auxiliary to serve this Diocese.
1984 — Bishop Gaughan is appointed chief shepherd of the Diocese of Gary, Ind., July 9.
1987 — Bishop Connare submits his resignation January 20, his 75th birthday. Bishop Anthony G. Bosco is installed as the third bishop of Greensburg June 30.
1995 — Bishop Connare dies June 12, at the age of 83.
1999 — Bishop Gaughan dies October 1, at 78.
2000s
2000 — The Capital Campaign “Honoring Our Past… Shaping Our Future,” begins September 21. The campaign raises more than $28 million for the Diocese and its parishes.
2001 — The Diocese of Greensburg celebrates its golden anniversary.
2002 — Bishop Bosco submits his resignation August 1, his 75th birthday.
2003 — “Accent on the Air”, the diocesan award-winning radio newsmagazine, airs its final show March 30.
2004 — Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt is ordained and installed as the fourth bishop of Greensburg, March 4. The Diocesan Lenten Appeal is established.
2009 — The Capital & Endowment Campaign “Today’s Challenge ~ Tomorrow’s Hope” begins and receives more than $55 million in pledges and gifts. The first two permanent deacons in diocesan history are ordained August 10, and a training and certification process for all catechists is established October 15.
2010s
2010 — Catholic teaching programming begins airing on the diocesan-sponsored “We Are One Body” radio – WAOB-FM 106.7, WAOB 860 AM, and WPGR 1510 AM. The Diocesan Poverty Relief Fund administered by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Greensburg is established.
2011 — A restoration project at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral is culminated October 30. The Catholic Accent celebrates 50 years of publication.
2012 — The Diocese receives the DISC (Diocesan Information Systems Conference) Technology Award.
2013 — Bishop Bosco dies July 2, at the age of 85.
2014 — The Bishop’s Tuition Transfer Grant is created January 27. Bishop Brandt submits his resignation March 10, his 75th birthday. The Diocesan Heritage Center is blessed on the grounds of the Bishop Connare Center, Greensburg, May 13.
2015 — Bishop Brandt retires. Bishop Edward C. Malesic is ordained and installed as the fifth bishop of Greensburg July 13. Bishop Malesic and pilgrims from the across the Diocese travel to Washington D.C., New York and Philadelphia in September to commemorate the World Meeting of Families and greet Pope Francis during his first trip to America.
2017 — Bishop Malesic releases pastoral letter June 29, “A Pastoral Letter on the Drug Abuse Crisis: From Death and Despair to Life and Hope,” in response to the opioid epidemic in the region. In it, he calls on the people of the Diocese to take action against the opioid scourge and outlines diocesan and parish efforts focusing on prayer, education and cooperative actions with social service agencies already engaged in the fight against addiction.
2018 — In response to the clergy abuse crisis and the release of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report and in order to increase diocesan transparency and outside oversight, Bishop Malesic establishes a Safe Environment Advisory Council to assist the Diocese of Greensburg. The advisory council oversees a series of seven listening sessions around the Diocese, each of which is attended by Bishop Malesic and gives parishioners the opportunity to express their feelings about the grand jury report, make observations and offer suggestions.
2019 — In February, Bishop Malesic announces details of a Comprehensive Reconciliation Initiative, which includes a Survivors’ Compensation Program, to support survivors of abuse.
2020s
2020 — On July 1, Bishop Malesic announces the formation of the Saint Pope John Paul II Tuition Opportunity Partnership (TOP), which is made possible by the single largest donation from a family the Diocese has ever received in one year, $2.4 million. The announcements are made at separate media events at five different Catholic schools that day. Bishop Malesic is appointed the 12th Bishop of Cleveland by Pope Francis July 16, and installed as bishop September 14 in Cleveland. Msgr. Larry J. Kulick is elected diocesan administrator September 15. On December 18, the Most Rev. Larry J. Kulick, J.C.L, is appointed the Sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg.
2021 — Bishop Larry. J. Kulick, J.C.L., is ordained and installed as the Sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg February 11 at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg. By this time, enrollment at the Catholic schools in the Diocese had increased by 13%. An anonymous donor commits the St. Pope John Paul II Tuition Opportunity Partnership for two years.
2022 — Responding to the overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court, Bishop Kulick releases his first Pastoral Letter Donum Vitae: The Gift of Life,’ in which he reminds the faithful that until all acknowledge the truth that life is sacred from the moment of conception until natural death, we must continue our diligent work to protect the rights of the unborn.
