St. George Historic Designation On Hold

CITY COUNCIL VOTE DELAYED BY RESTRAINING ORDER As Pittsburgh City Council was preparing for a final vote on the historic designation of St. John Vianney (dedicated as St. George Church), Bishop Zubik filed a complaint in U.S. District Court. This restraining order prevented the vote from taking place.  This costly action blocks the efforts of those who are dedicated to preserving this irreplaceable community landmark. Many faithful parishioners, alumni, neighbors and  organizations have expressed their support for this designation. The nomination was launched in order to protect the church and prevent it from being cannibalized which would leave an empty, windowless building in Allentown. For now, the historic designation is on hold as City Council has referred this issue to their Legal Department for further review.  In June, Bishop Zubik's workers were seen making preparations to remove the stained-glass windows, along with the statues, the tabernacle, altar furnishings and the pews. To protect the building from being dismantled, an application for historic designation was submitted to the Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission (HRC). The application was approved by the HRC and moved on to the City Planning Commission, where it was approved again. These actions were followed by an affirmative preliminary vote at City Council that would have lead to the final vote. Because of the Bishop's complaint, the final vote before City Council is now on hold. Seemingly without any consideration of the repeated offers and outreach that parishioners and St. George Church Preservation Society (SGCPS) have made to care for and restore the church at no cost to the Diocese, Bishop Zubik has chosen to take a costly and contentious approach with the threat of a law suit. Instead of “bridging the gap” and having meaningful dialog with parishioners who seek an agreement that would preserve the church and offer vibrant and essential outreach within the community, Bishop Zubik has chosen to blight the Allentown neighborhood with a vacant shell of a building. The agreement that parishioners have been seeking since 2017 is a proposal that is very similar to those in other dioceses where separate nonprofits provide for the care of Catholic churches. One example is St. Rose of Lima Chapel in the Diocese of Joliet, IL. Their bishop actually proposed the successful arrangement and now the Association for the Preservation of St. Rose of Lima Chapel owns and cares for the church at no cost to their diocese.  You can learn more about St. Rose Chapel at: www.strosechapel.com

YOU Can Help! We are reaching out to all of our supporters to express their concerns to Bishop Zubik. Please share your support of the efforts to protect and preserve St. George Church.   Emails can be sent to Bishop Zubik via lrectenwald@diopitt.org.  If you prefer to write a letter: Bishop David Zubik 111 Boulevard of the Allies Pittsburgh, PA  15222-1618 Or you can call: (412) 456-3010 We also ask you to share this email with your family, friends and neighbors and to get our message out on social media.