Saint Agatha Cemetery

Open Date: 1894 Close Date: 1994 Presently Located: Holy Child (Bridgeville) Parish History St. Agatha was established in Bridgeville in 1894. Before the parish was founded, local Catholics had to travel to either the South Side of Pittsburgh or to Carnegie to attend Mass. On March 11, 1894, the parish was formally established. Until a church could be built, the parish rented a storeroom to celebrate Mass. At the turn of the century, the parish began work on a new church. The cornerstone was laid on August 29, 1900, and the church was completed shortly afterwards. The parish continued to grow and by the late 1920's it was outgrowing its church. The existing church was moved to make room for a new church in 1931. Ground for the new church was broken in May of 1931 and the cornerstone was laid on July 26, 1931. The completed church was dedicated before the end of the year. The old church was then converted to a parish social center. The first church was eventually torn down in 1954. The parish continued to grow. In 1966, the church was expanded to accommodate the larger congregation. However, by the end of the century, the population trend had reversed itself. By 1994, it became obvious that Bridgeville could no longer support the number of existing parishes. In that year St. Agatha merged with St. Anthony to form the new Holy Child parish. At first, the parish maintained both churches. However, after the turn of the century, the parish decided to close St. Anthony Church. On September 8, 2007, St. Anthony closed and St. Agatha was renamed Holy Child Church.