The rear of St. Bernard Church, as seen from the St. Clair Cemetery.
Father Pitt
Why should the beautiful die?
St. Bernard Church and School, Mount Lebanon
See a random picture
and become a better person
if you wanted a book.
if you wanted a book.
Why should the beautiful die?
See a random picture
and become a better person
5 responses to “St. Bernard Church and School, Mount Lebanon”
I wonder, sir, if this was built by the same firm as Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg. The two churches are near twins and even have similarly boxy modernist schools hanging off a hillside to their rear.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_the_Blessed_Sacrament_(Greensburg,_Pennsylvania)
“The church, originally a parish church under the supervision of the Benedictine order, was constructed in the English Gothic style by the architectural firm of Comes, Perry and McMullen in Pittsburgh.[2] It was dedicated in May 1928,”
You have a good eye for architectural style. Mr. William R. Perry—the Perry of Comes, Perry and McMullen—was the architect of St. Bernard.
Thank you. I would have looked for it myself, but Mt. Lebanon having never been split out into a separate diocese, St. Bernard doesn’t have its own Wikipedia page.
If Father Pitt ever cares to take the Lincoln Highway east a ways, the cathedral is well worth seeing. It recently went through an expensive and controversial remodeling that left the interior quite stunning. It is open until 9 most evenings. I can’t say whether it’s preferable to see it in the day when the new frescos can be properly appreciated, or at night when only a few safety lights and the lamp over the Tabernacle are lit.
Across the road, you’ll find the Westmoreland Museum of American Art which has a better collection than one would expect to find in a 3rd class county seat (especially if you like Hudson School landscapes) and is just finishing its own extensive (and quite strange) renovation.
On Reddit, the other day, someone had collected images of every Roman Catholic cathedral. I noticed that Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo is also of this same design. Lo and behold, Comes and Perry. It’s even more ornate, but missing a lantern and crossing.
I wonder how many men or firms have designed multiple cathedrals.
A dedicated Comès researcher has put together a good list of the firm’s works (though old Pa Pitt has found one or two that the site missed). Among them:
1922-31, Cathedral of Saint Mary, Saint Cloud, Minnesota 25 8th Avenue South, Saint Cloud, MN
1935-43, Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Milwaukee, WI 812 North Jackson Street, Milwaukee, WI
1936-39, Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta, Georgia 2699 Peachtree Road, NE, Atlanta, GA
Comès himself died in 1922 at the age of 49, having accomplished more in that lifetime than most architects who live to be centenarians. His name was kept at the head of the firm because he had established a reputation as one of the leading ecclesiastical architects in the United States. Perry seems to have left in 1929, after which the firm was (ghost of) Comès & McMullen.