Sacred Heart Parish was founded on 1872, a spin-off as it were SS Peter and Paul’s German Pariah of Larimer Avenue. Both the first temporary church building, and the first permanent church, school and rectory buildings were located on Center Avenue near Euclid, adjacent to the Northern section of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The construction of the present magnificent church was begun on March 7, 1924, with the first usage of the facilities, the “Nave” or body of the church commencing in 1926 with a covered nave with two temporary side walls on Emerson and Shady sides. Parishioners were able to be seated and services held, and the people became an intimate part of the building of the church. Construction was to continue, in one form or another for the next thirty years until the Marian Year of 1954 when the Blessed Virgin Chapel was constructed, and the Bell Tower completed. At about that same time, the rectory, parish offices and high school building were completed; and the Clerestory Windows, statues in the Church Proper and Narthex Organ were installed.
Sacred Heart Church has many features that are unique not only in the United States, but through-out the world. Sacred Heart is not a cathedral, nor a basilica, nor a shrine. It is a parish church.
Stained Glass is one of the chief glories of Gothic architecture, were less and less solid masonry was used with more and more windows and buttresses. The Façade Window over the main entrance to the church is the third largest in the world, measuring forty-eight feet in height and twenty-six in width. The favorable position of the window enables t to catch the sunlight all day long, and the open spaces all about it insure torrents of light. The Rose Window over the Blessed Sacrament Chapel was made with over 30,000 separate pieces of jeweled glass, the first window in the history of the world to be made in this way. It points to the majesty of God our Hope. The Window is of symbolic construction and contains in a series of fifty medallions a pictorial history of the Catholic Church of America.
The Tabernacle in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and its accompanying crucifix and six candle holders are all examples of the “Champleve” process.
The Map of the World in the sanctuary, in front of the main altar was inspired by the words of the Prophet Malachi, “From the rising of the sun, even to its going down, my name is great among the Gentiles…” Jesus is the light of the world. One little fact: it contains various little “metal dots” on it. Father Coakley had asked each of the builders where they all originally came from and a dot depicts each different birth place.
The Choir Window, above the choir stalls on the Epistle side of the Church depicts three of the greatest figures in the history a Sacred music:
Above these three figures are the authentic portrait heads of 8 of the greatest Catholic Church Musicians of all times. They are Guido, Dunstable, Witt, Singenberger, Wilbye, Couperin , Frank and Perosi.
The main aisle, almost 200 feet, is the longest aisle in the city of Pittsburgh. It is the “Path of Virtue” paved with 62 alberene blocks symbolizing the Virtues leading us to eternal life.
The lights in the nave are ship’s lanterns, equipped with the same Fresnel lens used by ships and lighthouses. These lanterns symbolize the Church’s mission to guide the faithful’s journey through the sea of life. Carved statues of the Apostles stand at the base of each wooden truss, throughout the nave. There are 14 statues because St. Paul and Judas Iscariot are also included.
Three great bells uniquely placed so that their sound comes down into the Church, stand atop the tower which reaches to a total height of 150 feet. The Saint Thomas Bell (8,400 pounds) is inscribed: “To worship I call”. The Saint Walter Bell (3,556 pounds) announces: “The dead I mourn”. The Saint Raphael Bell (1,680 pounds) proclaims: “Glad tidings I bring”. This tower with its English bells crowns the structure. A masonry staircase of 149 steps, inside the right front pier leads t the open-air bell chamber.