St. Mary's Catholic Parish
Shade Gap, Pennsylvania
A Historical Sketch
(Text excerpted from the St. Mary's Bicentennial Celebration booklet, August 16, 1998)
Nestled in the mountains of southern Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, three miles south of the town of Orbisonia on State Route 522, opposite the covered bridge across Shade Creek, is St. Mary's Church. This venerable, time-worn sanctuary, its original stone walls dating from the mid-1840's, is the focus of life and worship for approximately seventy-five Catholic families who live in the surrounding area. Many of these families have deep roots in the parish, with generations of forebears buried in the parish cemetery.
To retrace the spiritual saga of Catholic life in Shade Gap is to go back in time 200 years and more, to the Revolutionary days of the founding of our country, and even to the Colonial period of the early 18th century. The epic history of St. Mary's Parish is, in its key elements, verified by documents few and precious; but to experience the full richness of the story we must rely upon oral tradition as it has been passed down to us, and as it still resonates in our hearts.
In the early decades of the 1700's--the exact year has faded from our collective memory--a house of worship for Catholic use, a single-room log structure, was erected on the left bank of Shade Creek on Turkey Hill, later known as the Logan tract. At that time the British Empire was bitterly anti-Catholic, and there is good reason to suppose that the construction of this "house of worship" was not strictly legal. In the Colonial period, so far as we know, Catholics were not permitted to have churches, but were free to exercise Catholic worship in their houses.
The Catholics in the colonies were mainly confined to Maryland and Pennsylvania. Even there, Catholics were denied the voting privilege and were excluded from holding public office. In the other colonies there were draconian laws against anything Catholic. In New York City on August 15, 1741, an Episcopal minister, the Rev. John Ury, was falsely accused of being a Catholic priest and was hanged! At the same time there were two German-speaking priests ministering quite openly to German settlers in eastern Pennsylvania. In this context it is not surprising that two rooms were subsequently added to the little log structure on Turkey Hill, about 1740, rendering it less like a church and giving it more the aspect of a house of worship.
The ecclesiastical authority over the colonies was in the hands of Bishop Richard Challoner, Vicar Apostolic of the London district in England. In 1756 he estimated the number of Catholics in the American colonies to be about 5,000 in Maryland, and about 2,000 in Pennsylvania, ministered to by 12 priests in Maryland and four in Pennsylvania. In 1765 he raised his estimates to 16,000 Catholics in Maryland, and 7,000 in Pennsylvania.
When the War of Independence cut the political ties with England, the way was cleared for the appointment of an American Catholic bishop. Bishop John Carroll was consecrated August 15, 1790 and served as Archbishop of Baltimore, his archdiocese encompassing the entire land area of the former thirteen colonies. Bishop Carroll was a cousin of Charles Carroll, the signer of the Declaration of Independence. His appointment brought the formal church structure to the United States.
The first priest to serve the Catholics of the Shade Gap area was, according to oral tradition, Fr. Matthias Manners, S.J., circa 1740. Fr. Manners was succeeded by Fr. Frombach, S.J. and assisted by Fr. Dietrich, S.J., circa 1745. Fr. Pallentz, S.J., labored here circa 1758.
The History of Huntingdon County records that religious services were held in the Shade Gap area as early as 1765 by Jesuit priests, who are said to have traveled from Hickory, Harford County, Maryland.
Fr. Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, the Russian prince who became a Catholic, emigrated to this country in 1792, studied for the priesthood under Archbishop Carroll of Baltimore and was ordained by him, and whose destiny was to become the "Apostle of the Alleghenies", while on a missionary journey from Loretto to Baltimore, stopped to water his horse at the farm of Jacob and Margaret Hegie in Shade Valley in 1796. Jacob extended to his visitor the hospitality of his humble home and told Father Gallitizin of his wife's heart condition which rendered her bedfast. Margaret asked for Fr. Gallitizin's blessing and asked him to pray for her recovery. Two years later as Fr. Gallitizin again travelled through Shade Valley, he stopped at the Hegie farm and found Margaret working in the garden clearly enjoying a marked improvement in her health. The Hegie family requested that Fr. Gallitizin instruct them in the Catholic faith and baptize them. In due course, the instructions were given, and Fr. Gallitizin baptized the couple. The 1798 visit of Fr. Gallitizin to the Hegie farm and their subsequent embrace of the Catholic faith is remembered in the oral tradition as a key transitional moment in the development of Catholic life in the Shade Gap area and the birth of the Shade Gap Catholic Parish. After 1798 Catholic worship tended toward greater consistency, with visits of priests based in Loretto, Bedford, Newry, and Huntingdon becoming more frequent and regular.
In 1809 the dioceses of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia were created, and from that time Shade Gap was part of the Philadelphia diocese (Baltimore for a time being still the only archdiocese).
In the period 1820-1850 the Catholic community in Shade Gap was served by three outstanding pioneer priests: Fr. Thomas Heyden, Fr. John O'Reilly, and Fr. James Bradley.
We do not know what happened to the log "house of worship" that had been established on Turkey Hill in the mid-1700s, but by the latter part of the century it was no longer available for use, and so Mass was offered in various homes of the people wherever the priest was able to come.
In the early decades of the 1800's Mass was offered once a month at the residence of Hugh and Jane Logan which was quite near the location of the present church. In 1816 Jane Logan was widowed, and as part of the disposition of her husband's property she directed that a section of the farm be set aside for the construction of a Catholic church. The deed also provided for the establishment of the two Catholic cemeteries associated with the church. Priests ministering to the Shade Gap congregation continued to offer Mass in the Logan's stone house which adjoins the present church grounds. Bridget Meloy, a granddaughter of Hugh and Jane Logan, lived in the Logan house and is remembered for serving breakfast to those in the congregation who had to travel from afar by horse and wagon. Her aunts, Nancy and Esther Logan, raised flax on the Logan farm and spun and wove it into linen. The first altar cloth for the new stone church was made from their linen, and they embroidered their initials on a corner of the cloth.
There is some doubt about when the new stone church was built, giving its name, St. Mary's, to the Parish. The deeds for the church lands contain the names of the first and third bishops of Pittsburgh, Michael O'Connor and John Tuigg, and the Pittsburgh diocese was not created until 1843. A letter to the editor of The Pittsburgh Catholic by M.L. (perhaps Mary Logan), reprinted in the St. Mary's Parish sesqui-centennial book of 1948, indicates that the beginning of construction was marked by a ceremonial laying of the corner stone on August 31, 1845 by Fr. John C. Brady, and that there were 23 Catholic families in the parish at that time.
The same commemorative book cites an article that supposedly appeared in The Pittsburgh Catholic that states: "The dedication of St. Mary's Church there (Shade Valley) by Bishop Michael O'Connor was held Sept. 1847." The commemorative book also states that The Register of March 18, 1945 sets 1848 as the time of the founding of the church. The book cites an unnamed authority that claims "the small stone church was built by Fr. Heyden about 1848." Bishop Michael O'Connor with a well-educated sense of beauty and relevance called it the "Mission Church of Our Lady of Vallambrosa" (Latin for Shade Valley). The name, beautiful and melodious as it was, did not stick. The church has always been called, simply, St. Mary's.
The Shade Gap church erected by Fr. Heyden was constructed of limestone at a cost of $1,200.00. Michael Krugh and Michael Fogal cut the limestone fo the new church. Andrew Hegie did the plastering work in the interior of the church. The original fence surrounding the church and grounds was a white picket fence. Years later, Ettore DeVecchis of Mount Union built the stone wall around the church grounds to replace the worn picket fence.
On May 27, 1901, word arrived from Rome that a new diocese was established with five counties (Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Huntingdon and Somerset) from the Pittsburgh jurisdiction, and three (Centre, Clinton, and Fulton) taken from Harrisburg. The new cathedral was to be located in Altoona, and the first bishop was Msgr. Eugene A. McGarvey, the vicar general of Scranton, who had established an outstanding record as pastor in Williamsport. By a strange oversight, the official document naming him Bishop of Altoona fails to mention him by name. It simply reads: "Beloved Son." He was consecrated on Sept. 8, 1901, in St. Peter's Cathedral, Scranton, and formally installed as head of the new diocese on the evening of Sept. 24, 1901, in St. John's Pro-Cathedral, Altoona.
In 1912 Bishop McGarvey gave permission to Fr. James Tolen, Pastor of Most Holy Trinity Parish in Huntingdon, which had two missions, Mount Union and Shade Gap, to build a church in Mount Union. The church was dedicated in 1913. Mount Union continued as a mission of Huntingdon until July 1, 1921, when the Parish of St. Catherine of Siena was established. St. Mary's in Shade Gap became a mission of St. Catherine's.
To retrace the spiritual saga of Catholic life in Shade Gap is to go back in time 200 years and more, to the Revolutionary days of the founding of our country, and even to the Colonial period of the early 18th century. The epic history of St. Mary's Parish is, in its key elements, verified by documents few and precious; but to experience the full richness of the story we must rely upon oral tradition as it has been passed down to us, and as it still resonates in our hearts.
In the early decades of the 1700's--the exact year has faded from our collective memory--a house of worship for Catholic use, a single-room log structure, was erected on the left bank of Shade Creek on Turkey Hill, later known as the Logan tract. At that time the British Empire was bitterly anti-Catholic, and there is good reason to suppose that the construction of this "house of worship" was not strictly legal. In the Colonial period, so far as we know, Catholics were not permitted to have churches, but were free to exercise Catholic worship in their houses.
The Catholics in the colonies were mainly confined to Maryland and Pennsylvania. Even there, Catholics were denied the voting privilege and were excluded from holding public office. In the other colonies there were draconian laws against anything Catholic. In New York City on August 15, 1741, an Episcopal minister, the Rev. John Ury, was falsely accused of being a Catholic priest and was hanged! At the same time there were two German-speaking priests ministering quite openly to German settlers in eastern Pennsylvania. In this context it is not surprising that two rooms were subsequently added to the little log structure on Turkey Hill, about 1740, rendering it less like a church and giving it more the aspect of a house of worship.
The ecclesiastical authority over the colonies was in the hands of Bishop Richard Challoner, Vicar Apostolic of the London district in England. In 1756 he estimated the number of Catholics in the American colonies to be about 5,000 in Maryland, and about 2,000 in Pennsylvania, ministered to by 12 priests in Maryland and four in Pennsylvania. In 1765 he raised his estimates to 16,000 Catholics in Maryland, and 7,000 in Pennsylvania.
When the War of Independence cut the political ties with England, the way was cleared for the appointment of an American Catholic bishop. Bishop John Carroll was consecrated August 15, 1790 and served as Archbishop of Baltimore, his archdiocese encompassing the entire land area of the former thirteen colonies. Bishop Carroll was a cousin of Charles Carroll, the signer of the Declaration of Independence. His appointment brought the formal church structure to the United States.
The first priest to serve the Catholics of the Shade Gap area was, according to oral tradition, Fr. Matthias Manners, S.J., circa 1740. Fr. Manners was succeeded by Fr. Frombach, S.J. and assisted by Fr. Dietrich, S.J., circa 1745. Fr. Pallentz, S.J., labored here circa 1758.
The History of Huntingdon County records that religious services were held in the Shade Gap area as early as 1765 by Jesuit priests, who are said to have traveled from Hickory, Harford County, Maryland.
Fr. Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, the Russian prince who became a Catholic, emigrated to this country in 1792, studied for the priesthood under Archbishop Carroll of Baltimore and was ordained by him, and whose destiny was to become the "Apostle of the Alleghenies", while on a missionary journey from Loretto to Baltimore, stopped to water his horse at the farm of Jacob and Margaret Hegie in Shade Valley in 1796. Jacob extended to his visitor the hospitality of his humble home and told Father Gallitizin of his wife's heart condition which rendered her bedfast. Margaret asked for Fr. Gallitizin's blessing and asked him to pray for her recovery. Two years later as Fr. Gallitizin again travelled through Shade Valley, he stopped at the Hegie farm and found Margaret working in the garden clearly enjoying a marked improvement in her health. The Hegie family requested that Fr. Gallitizin instruct them in the Catholic faith and baptize them. In due course, the instructions were given, and Fr. Gallitizin baptized the couple. The 1798 visit of Fr. Gallitizin to the Hegie farm and their subsequent embrace of the Catholic faith is remembered in the oral tradition as a key transitional moment in the development of Catholic life in the Shade Gap area and the birth of the Shade Gap Catholic Parish. After 1798 Catholic worship tended toward greater consistency, with visits of priests based in Loretto, Bedford, Newry, and Huntingdon becoming more frequent and regular.
In 1809 the dioceses of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia were created, and from that time Shade Gap was part of the Philadelphia diocese (Baltimore for a time being still the only archdiocese).
In the period 1820-1850 the Catholic community in Shade Gap was served by three outstanding pioneer priests: Fr. Thomas Heyden, Fr. John O'Reilly, and Fr. James Bradley.
We do not know what happened to the log "house of worship" that had been established on Turkey Hill in the mid-1700s, but by the latter part of the century it was no longer available for use, and so Mass was offered in various homes of the people wherever the priest was able to come.
In the early decades of the 1800's Mass was offered once a month at the residence of Hugh and Jane Logan which was quite near the location of the present church. In 1816 Jane Logan was widowed, and as part of the disposition of her husband's property she directed that a section of the farm be set aside for the construction of a Catholic church. The deed also provided for the establishment of the two Catholic cemeteries associated with the church. Priests ministering to the Shade Gap congregation continued to offer Mass in the Logan's stone house which adjoins the present church grounds. Bridget Meloy, a granddaughter of Hugh and Jane Logan, lived in the Logan house and is remembered for serving breakfast to those in the congregation who had to travel from afar by horse and wagon. Her aunts, Nancy and Esther Logan, raised flax on the Logan farm and spun and wove it into linen. The first altar cloth for the new stone church was made from their linen, and they embroidered their initials on a corner of the cloth.
There is some doubt about when the new stone church was built, giving its name, St. Mary's, to the Parish. The deeds for the church lands contain the names of the first and third bishops of Pittsburgh, Michael O'Connor and John Tuigg, and the Pittsburgh diocese was not created until 1843. A letter to the editor of The Pittsburgh Catholic by M.L. (perhaps Mary Logan), reprinted in the St. Mary's Parish sesqui-centennial book of 1948, indicates that the beginning of construction was marked by a ceremonial laying of the corner stone on August 31, 1845 by Fr. John C. Brady, and that there were 23 Catholic families in the parish at that time.
The same commemorative book cites an article that supposedly appeared in The Pittsburgh Catholic that states: "The dedication of St. Mary's Church there (Shade Valley) by Bishop Michael O'Connor was held Sept. 1847." The commemorative book also states that The Register of March 18, 1945 sets 1848 as the time of the founding of the church. The book cites an unnamed authority that claims "the small stone church was built by Fr. Heyden about 1848." Bishop Michael O'Connor with a well-educated sense of beauty and relevance called it the "Mission Church of Our Lady of Vallambrosa" (Latin for Shade Valley). The name, beautiful and melodious as it was, did not stick. The church has always been called, simply, St. Mary's.
The Shade Gap church erected by Fr. Heyden was constructed of limestone at a cost of $1,200.00. Michael Krugh and Michael Fogal cut the limestone fo the new church. Andrew Hegie did the plastering work in the interior of the church. The original fence surrounding the church and grounds was a white picket fence. Years later, Ettore DeVecchis of Mount Union built the stone wall around the church grounds to replace the worn picket fence.
On May 27, 1901, word arrived from Rome that a new diocese was established with five counties (Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Huntingdon and Somerset) from the Pittsburgh jurisdiction, and three (Centre, Clinton, and Fulton) taken from Harrisburg. The new cathedral was to be located in Altoona, and the first bishop was Msgr. Eugene A. McGarvey, the vicar general of Scranton, who had established an outstanding record as pastor in Williamsport. By a strange oversight, the official document naming him Bishop of Altoona fails to mention him by name. It simply reads: "Beloved Son." He was consecrated on Sept. 8, 1901, in St. Peter's Cathedral, Scranton, and formally installed as head of the new diocese on the evening of Sept. 24, 1901, in St. John's Pro-Cathedral, Altoona.
In 1912 Bishop McGarvey gave permission to Fr. James Tolen, Pastor of Most Holy Trinity Parish in Huntingdon, which had two missions, Mount Union and Shade Gap, to build a church in Mount Union. The church was dedicated in 1913. Mount Union continued as a mission of Huntingdon until July 1, 1921, when the Parish of St. Catherine of Siena was established. St. Mary's in Shade Gap became a mission of St. Catherine's.
Sunday, April 12, 1942, was a fateful day for St. Mary's Church. The heating system for the church consisted of a potbellied stove, and on the memorable day it somehow overheated and caught the church on fire. The interior of the church and much of the roof were destroyed.
In 1948, the Catholic parish of Shade Gap celebrated the sesqui-centennial of its origin in 1798. A commemorative book was published to mark the occasion, copies of which are today very highly prized. In 1948 there were 50 families on the parish roster.
In 1948, the Catholic parish of Shade Gap celebrated the sesqui-centennial of its origin in 1798. A commemorative book was published to mark the occasion, copies of which are today very highly prized. In 1948 there were 50 families on the parish roster.
In 1962 St. Mary's in Shade Gap, long a mission served from St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Mount Union, became an independent parish with its own resident pastor. Bishop J. Carroll McCormick established St. Mary's Parish and named Fr. John Halka as pastor. He remained the pastor from 1962 to 1964. During this time, the Parish Hall was constructed at a cost of $35,000.
Pictures of St. Mary's Church Before the Renovation
(Click on picture to enlarge)
Fr. Albert Anselmi arrived as pastor of St. Mary's on May 20, 1977. In addition to his pastoral duties at St. Mary's, he was also named pastor of St. Dismas Parish at the State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon. Thus a pattern was set of having the Huntingdon Prison chaplain also be the resident pastor of St. Mary's in Shade Gap--a pattern that would be repeated with two later pastors, Fr. Timothy Swope and Fr. David Becker.
By the late 1970's, St. Mary's Church was in need of renovation due to attrition over time, but also because of new directives for the sacred liturgy that had emanated from the Second Vatican Council in the mid-1960's. The needed improvements had to be made, but where would the resources come from? In September of 1981, Philip Franklin "Pete" Oppel of Shippensburg died and left the considerable sum of $225,000 in his estate to St. Mary's Parish. The church renovation project was begun in October of 1982, and completed in June of 1983. His generous gift is recognized by a plaque mounted in the vestibule of the Church.
Pictures of St. Mary's Church During the Renovation
(Click on picture to enlarge)
(Click on picture to enlarge)
On June 19, 1983, the Most Reverend James J. Hogan, Bishop of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese came to St. Mary's for the rite of consecration of the Church and altar hosted by Fr. Albert Anselmi, the Pastor of St. Mary's Church.
One week later, an open house was held. The renovation of the church provided a fresh new look and many improvements.
Fr. Timothy Swoipe was pastor from 1983 to 1968; Fr. Cletus Adams was pastor from 1986 to 1988; and Fr. David Becker was pastor from 1988 to 1998. Fr. Becker assumed his pastorate in a period of difficult financial circumstances for the parish. A Parish Finance Council was established which provided the parish with wise guidance and counsel. The parishioners responded generously to the leadership of the pastor and the Finance Council, and soon the parish was on a firm financial footing. The St. Mary's Guild was established and has functioned as a kind of parish council. The Guild has organized and carried out many beneficial projects within the parish including parish dinners. Other changes reflecting the times were introduced, among them lay ministers of the Eucharist, and a corps of alter servers comprising both genders.
Memories still linger of personalities who shaped the experience of Catholic life at St. Mary's over the years.
Memories still linger of personalities who shaped the experience of Catholic life at St. Mary's over the years.
- David Holden was caretaker for many years. He died in 1905 at the age of 80.
- Martha Krugh, "Aunt Martha" as she was affectionately known, was a housekeeper for St. Mary's for many years. She died in 1925 at the age of 76.
- William D. Repper was the first boy to study Latin in order to serve Mass. He was trained in Huntingdon to be an acolyte by Fr. Wallfel in the 1880's.
- Mary Eliza Repper was one of the first organists at St. Mary's.
- The Speck sisters, Jennie, Mamie, and Jessie devoted much time in service to the parish.
- Charles Doyle walked from his home in Orbisonia on Sunday mornings to build the fire in the church stove for Sunday service.
- Claude Laird often helped build the fire in the church stove before Sunday service.
- Clara McMath was awarded the Gallitzin Cross by Most Reverend Bishop Joseph V. Adamec in 1990 in recognition of her labors in the area of religious education.