Pittsburgh diocese forms new parish to meet spiritual, cultural need of black church members

St. Benedict the Moor Church in Pittsburgh’s Hill District has been designated a “personal parish” that will serve the spiritual needs of Black Catholics in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Bishop David Zubik announced.

The decision to return the church’s status to a separate parish comes just six months after St. Benedict the Moor was merged with St. Mary of Mercy and the Church of the Epiphany in Downtown to create Divine Mercy Parish.

“A personal parish is a parish that responds to specific spiritual needs often related to a particular culture or an extraordinary need,” Zubik wrote in a news release. “In the case of a personal parish, anyone who desires to be a part of that Catholic community is welcome to join.”

The bishop said the move to create a personal parish for black Catholics in the diocese developed from a listening session he conducted at the church in February.

Gwendolyn Young, a member of St. Benedict the Moor for 35 years who helped guide the process for creating the new parish, said the move is a “return to our roots.”

“We’ve always been a special place where people have come from all over the area to join us for worship,” she said. “So in that regard, we’ve been a personal parish for a long time.”

Young said St. Benedict the Moore “has extraordinary gifts to share, and not just with the diocese and other church members.”

“As Catholics, we’re always part of the community where we’re located,” she said. “Part of our mission is to serve people’s spiritual and cultural needs, whether they are Catholics, Protestant, African-American or anything else.”

As part of the plan to develop the new parish, the bishop also called for formation of a task force of clergy and parishioners who worship at St. Benedict the Moor to develop and present recommendations to him that address their concerns.

In submitting its proposal for the creation of a personal parish, the task force told the bishop: “This is not a call for separatism” but instead is “a pledge of commitment to the Church and to share in her witnessing to the love of Christ.”

Zubik said church members also shared the importance of St. Benedict the Moor’s 130-year history of “presence and ministry to black Catholics in the Hill District and throughout the diocese, while also navigating the same systems of disadvantages that black Americans face in the Pittsburgh region, the nation and the Catholic Church.”

“Along with their sincere enthusiasm and passion for their Catholic faith, I heard and felt their desire to have their unique spiritual and cultural needs met,” Zubik said. “I am committed to the needs of black Catholics in our community.

“We need to work together to make sure that black citizens from all walks of life are treated with the same respect that God intends all of us to have,” Zubik said.

Young said it is “most important” for people to know that the formation of the new parish is “is in no way” an attempt to segregate black Catholics from their brethren.

“This process began long before the death of George Floyd and the protests that followed,” she said. “We approached the bishop and explained what our needs were. He not only listened, he really took it to heart.”

The bishop said clergy assignments for the new parish are in the works.

Zubik is tentatively scheduled to celebrate Mass at St. Benedict on July 12.