Dozens attend tour of longstanding church in Butler
Paul Foster, of Evans City, has visited a lot of churches in his day, but every time he does, he learns something new.
On Sunday, Nov. 3, Foster stopped at St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Butler for a tour of the longstanding building, and pointed out interesting features of the church like the stained-glass window behind the altar and the preacher’s balcony. Foster is a member of the “Pittsburgh Mass Mob,” a loosely organized group of people who visit churches in the region to attend mass, but also learn about their histories.
He enjoyed his visit to the church Sunday, even after years of checking out churches throughout the Pittsburgh area.
“This is one of the more impressive ones,” Foster said. “We try to go around to every church in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.”
Church leaders led groups of people around different parts of the church, and the groups shifted stations every 15 minutes or so. Cathy Martin pointed out pieces of its exterior, Doc Steibel spoke about the main hall of the church and the Rev. John Baver, parochial vicar of the church, spoke about the altar.
The first St. Paul Church was built in the 1860s, and deeded to the bishop of Pittsburgh in 1866. The church originally had two altars, 52 pews and 10 windows, and had a tower that was 85 feet tall. During the outdoors portion of the tour, Martin pointed out that the cross placed near the church’s entrance used to be on top of the tower, but is now grounded as a relic of history.
On Sept. 10, 1911, the church was dedicated at a ceremony attended by then Bishop Regis Canevin and about 2,500 people.
The tour had groups of about 25 to 30 people each, who listened and looked at the parts of the church, which has lasted more than a century. The guides explained as much as they could about the church, although they each said there were some details they are unsure about.
“There’s just so much to learn,” Steibel said.
