St. Bruno Church in South Greensburg celebrates 100 years

St. Bruno Catholic Church is off to its second century serving South Greensburg, after the congregation over the weekend celebrated its first 100 years of existence.

The church has generations of history, said Amy Fiaschetti, who has been a member since 1993 and works as the church’s office manager.

“It’s the families that have their history and have carried it over,” she said. “It is truly one of the most welcoming parishes.”

St. Bruno is part of the bedrock of South Greensburg, and not just for the people who worship there, said the Rev. Lawrence Manchas, church administrator.

“People who are not Catholic and not part of the parish say, ‘Oh, we know where St. Bruno is, you have the best fish fry,’ ” Manchas said.

The church celebrated its first Mass on Aug. 24, 1919, in a small Sunday school hall. Several months later, workers broke ground on a site for a new church, a wooden building that opened in 1920 and would house the congregation for more than 40 years.

In 1960, work began on the stone building that is the church’s current home, located next door to the original location which has long since been demolished.

The stone building continues to impress visitors, Manchas said.

“The church itself is an architectural masterpiece,” he said.

In 2013, Bishop Lawrence Brandt put St. Bruno Parish under the administration of St. Paul Parish in Hempfield. This decision upset many parishioners, more than 100 of whom sent a petition to the Vatican asking for the decision to be overturned.

Despite the furor, St. Bruno is going strong six years after the merger, with about 1,000 parishioners, Fiaschetti said. Parishioners from St. Paul and St. Bruno regularly attend each other’s masses and volunteer at each other’s events.

“Everyone just pulled together, everything worked out, and the parish is thriving,” she said.

By turning 100, the church joins auspicious company. There are 52 parishes among the Diocese of Greensburg’s 78 that are more than a century old, according to diocese spokesman Jerry Zufelt.

The church celebrated its birthday at a special Mass on Sunday, concelebrated by Bishop Edward C. Malesic and several other priests, most of whom have served at the church in various capacities over the years.

After Mass, the church hosted a celebration at Rizzo’s Malabar Inn in Crabtree.

Manchas anticipates a long future for St. Bruno.

“I see many, many more years of this parish,” he said.