The Ninth Annual John Cardinal Wright Vocations Mass will be held August 21st, 2011 at 4:30pm. This year, the Vocations Mass will be held at Saint Juan Diego Parish at St Mary's Church, in Sharpburg, PA. Fr. Frank Almade, (BLS '71), is the pastor. We would like to thank the parishioners of Saint Juan Diego parish and especially Fr. Frank Almade for sharing the beautiful St. Mary's Church for our celebration.

The second church served the community until after the turn of the century. In the spring of 1916, the church was destroyed to make room for new, larger church. This church was dedicated on October 14, 1917. This church survived the flood of 1936, when the flood waters reached the tops of the pews. For the parish's 1952 centennial, the church was extensively renovated and redecorated. The church was again renovated in the 1970's.

In 1994, St. Mary parish was officially suppressed as a German parish during the diocesan reorganization project. However, it was reborn as a territorial parish with the boundaries comprising the Borough of Sharpsburg. St. Mary Church and parish continued to serve the Catholic community of Sharpsburg today.

St. Mary Church in Sharpsburg was established as a German parish in 1852. At first, these German Catholics traveled to St. Patrick Church in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, and then St. Mary Parish in Pine Creek after that parish was founded in 1841. When St. Joseph, Sharpsburg, was established in 1845 both German and Irish residents of Sharpsburg attended that parish.

The Germans were more interested in founding a school. Worse yet, the pastor did not speak German. In 1852, with the permission of the bishop, the Germans of St. Joseph split off to form their own congregation. Work on a new church began that year. The first Mass at St. Mary was held in the basement church on December 8, 1852. German-speaking Redemptorist priests served St. Mary Parish for Masses and visitation to the sick. Among the priests was Father Francis Xavier Seelos, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

The cornerstone was laid on July 10, 1853, and the completed church was dedicated on June 18, 1854. The building included a church on the first floor, living quarters for the priest in rooms behind the main altar and a school in the basement. On January 4, 1866, fire destroyed the church. The congregation built a temporary church on the grounds of the original church while simultaneously planning work on a permanent church on nearby land. The temporary church was opened in May. On July 22, 1866, the cornerstone of the permanent church was laid. Less than a year later, on June 16, 1867, the new church was dedicated. The temporary church was then converted to a school. This building was eventually torn down around 1890 to make room for a larger school.

The Awards Dinner will follow the Mass at the Pittsburgh Field Club, in Fox Chapel. Cocktails and Hors d'ouvres will begin at 5:45pm, and a buffet dinner will start at 6:00 pm.

We are having the sports memorabilia and photos for the silent auction, along with a 50/50 raffle.