Mission Statement
As a catholic parish, we welcome everyone to share our faith in God, our Father, through our Savior Jesus Christ. In the Holy Spirit, we strengthen our community, as we put into action our core values of truth, work and struggle.
Parish History
Holy Trinity Parish of McKees Rocks, PA was formed in 1921 and was named St. Joseph Parish. A small group of Polish immigrants decided it was time break away from the Roman Catholic Church for reasons that were common to that time. They started meeting in a local club and began to plan to build a church. Over the next year they purchased a corner lot on Olivia Street. They also purchased 9 acres of land for a cemetery on a hilltop several miles away.
The parish grew in number, but the great depression took its toll. In the winter of 1941, they had to choose between buying coal and paying the mortgage. They didn’t think the bank would foreclose so they bought the coal, but the bank did foreclose. When it was certain that they would lose the building, the young men of the parish, in the dead of night, emptied the building of everything they could carry, including the beautiful altar and all the statues. Since the parish could not obtain credit to buy a new building, a building was purchased in 1942 by two parishioners and promptly transferred to the church. The new building was one block away from the former church. The church name was changed to Holy Trinity. The building consisted of a large hall with apartments on the second floor where the priest took residence.
This was just a temporary stop for this parish. They started to plan for another building that would be their church. In 1953, they found a building two blocks away that was once a Presbyterian church and purchased that building also. The men of the parish once again took over to make this building a beautiful catholic church. The altar was brought in and placed in the building and all of the artifacts they had saved from the original building. Members of the parish donated stained glass windows, and their names were engraved on each. The interim church was turned into our social hall and the apartments were rented out. These two buildings served our Parish well for 50 years.
In 1996 we celebrated our Diamond Jubilee. Shortly after this celebration we started planning for a new church facility. We purchased land adjacent to our cemetery and sold the social hall. We worked, planned and saved for ten years and finally our dream of a new church building was a reality, we celebrated our first Mass at the new church in December of 2006. Our beautiful new church contains the stained glass windows from our prior building and many of the artifacts that were added to our parish through the years. A social hall is located across the hall from the sanctuary, all on one floor. We have our church, social hall and cemetery together in one beautiful complex as we continue to worship our Lord and Savior and build up the Body of Christ.
Symbols
The motto of our Church is “WITH TRUTH, WORK, AND STRUGGLE, WE WILL SUCCEED”
- THE BOOK signifies the Word of God.
- THE SUN means religious freedom and fervor.
- THE CROSS signifies suffering and consecration for others.
- THE PALM stands for peace.
Pastors
St. Joseph’s Parish
- Rev. Paul Kuznik (1921-1922)
- Rev. P. Pokrowiecz (1922-1930)
- Rev. Paul Robak (1930-1931)
- Rev. Bazyli Sychla (1931-1934)
- Rev. Theodore Rasielewski (1934-1937)
- Rev. Anthony Turkiewicz (1937-1938)
- Rev. Charles Kawalkowski (1938-1942)
Holy Trinity Parish
- Rev. Charles Kawalkowski (1942-1952)
- Rev. D. Kent Kulawasz (1950-1952)
- Rev. Thaddeus Kraus (1952-1956)
- Rev. Marian Czerny (1956-1974)
- Rev. John Senko (1975-1978, 1988-1989)
- Rev. Bruce M. Sleczkowski (1978-1988)
- Rev. Robert F. Pleczkowski (1990-1993)
- Rev. Michael T. Selep (1993-current)