"The parish of St. Hubert Roman Catholic Church, located in Point Marion, PA, was established in 1909 by Belgium immigrants. It is now a parish of multiple heritages and a small close-knit community
The original church was established by Catholic immigrants from Belgium in 1909 who came to this area to work in the glass trade, Sredzinski said.
Two fires at St. Hubert Roman Catholic Church early Tuesday, November 25, 2003 destroyed the small, wood frame building and left 108 parish families without a place of worship.
Although the four outside walls of the wood frame building remained standing, by early afternoon, the green roof had completely collapsed onto the pews and altar and the charred steeple was leaning over. The bell tower was still perched atop the small section of the roof that remained standing.
Rev. Sredzinski said the initial fire appeared to be contained over the baptistery and roof area. He said there was additional water damage, but none of the furniture was destroyed in the initial fire. He said before the firefighters left at 3:30 a.m., they took one good spray in the ceiling.
The priest of the parish said he went into the church building at 4 a.m. and back inside at 6 a.m. to prepare to hold the daily 9 a.m. Mass by collecting his challis, cruets and book. At that time, the priest said he was planning to hold Mass in the basement in Rosary Hall.
"After the initial fire, I thought we would clean it up and go on with life," he said.
Noticing that some linens had been damaged, he took them next door to the rectory to wash them. Amid getting ready for Mass at 6:55 a.m., Father said someone knocked on his door and said, "Your church is on fire."
Upon stepping out into the alley, Father said he saw flames shooting out of the roof near the church entrance.
Spread out among the entryway to the rectory was a collection of water- and fire-damaged November misselettes. A pair of church charters were leaning against the wall.
Father said his home, which is located in very close proximity to the church and connected with a breezeway, didn't receive any damage from the fire, but the smell of smoke had filtered inside. He was hopeful that the smell could be alleviated by "opening the windows and cleaning and cleaning."
A Dedication by then-Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt of the Roman Catholic Diocese helped make it official Saturday, September 17, 2005 when he is chief celebrant at a 3:30 p.m. Mass that includes the dedication of the church and consecration of the altar of sacrifice.
Dignitaries included the Knights of Columbus, national officers of the Polish Falcons of America, many former pastors and invited priests and 392 parishioners. Sredzinski will read the Gospel and welcome the bishop to the parish. Noelene Packrone, a direct descendant of the founders of the parish, will also participate in the Mass.
Since the fire, the church has held weekend Masses at the nearby Lions Skating Rink, located beside the St. Hubert property on Railroad Street. Weekday Masses were held in the parish's CCD Center, which was untouched by the fire. The skating rink was also the site for funerals, but no parishioners planned weddings there.
Reconstruction of the new church began on the same site last November by Fairchance Construction. Desmond and Associates of Pittsburgh developed the architectural plans. Parish representatives for the building committee included Patricia Cavenas, Al DuBois and Thomas Shusko. Brandt also provided input for the project.
Recently completed, the new building is beautiful and elegant.
The new church is a one-story, air-conditioned, handicapped accessible, white siding building with a covered overhang at the front door to protect against the elements. The steeple holds the bell from the original church.
Parishioners and visitors entering the front entrance take in a beautiful stained-glass window above the door, created by glass designer Terry Bengal of Greensburg with suggestions by Sredzinski. The window includes two rivers coming together, which represent the Cheat and Monongahela rivers that converge in Point Marion; a chalice and host, which represents the Church; a stag and cross, representing St. Hubert, the patron of the church and a patron of hunters; a dove, which stands for the Holy Spirit; a mountain laurel and the hills of Pennsylvania. There are stars above the dove and Sredzinski noted stars are included in all windows, tying them together.
Bengal also created two new windows for the church: one features the Greensburg Diocesan official emblem or logo in the confessional and the Vatican emblem used since 1978 when Pope John Paul II took office is a window in the sacristy (the priest's preparation room). St. Hubert was also able to salvage 10 stained glass windows from the former church and display them in the sanctuary.
"There's a time of day when the lights go through the windows and there is a rainbow of colors,' noted Sredzinski.
Once entering the new church, visitors walk into a vestibule that includes restrooms. They go through a set of double doors to enter the sanctuary, which measures 36 by 60 feet and was created in a gothic style.
"It has a larger seating capacity and will serve our needs for the 112 families or 392 registered parishioners,' said Sredzinski. "It's traditional but the bishop wanted to incorporate something special so we have gothic in here.'
The sanctuary includes a cathedral ceiling that Ed Balling of Fairchance Construction said is about 38 feet high. There are arches above the altar and windows, created by Dennis Cropp of Three Pines Wood Products of Uniontown, who did all the cabinetry, trim and mounted the Stations of the Cross, which were purchased from Atmerhaut in Pittsburgh.
The new sanctuary is painted with soft tones of white, beige, tan and gray. A baptismal font is in the back of the sanctuary as are alcoves that hold statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Blessed Mother and St. Joseph.
There is also a small statue of St. Hubert, the parish's patron saint, which was hand carved in Spain and is a gift to the church from the Holy Name Society. It is resting in an alcove until a statue of St. Faustina, who received the Divine Mercy devotion arrives. Then the statue of St. Hubert will be moved to the front of the church.
Unlike the old church, there is no choir loft here. Instead, the choir is positioned to the left of the altar next to an organ donated to St. Hubert by a Uniontown church.
The altar, crucifix and tabernacle were also saved from the old church.
The altar is raised with a ceramic tile floor, trimmed with oak. Ceramic tile is also placed in the main aisle of the church with carpeting in the remainder of the sanctuary. Twelve lanterns hang from the ceiling of the sanctuary.
The tabernacle is located in the back of the altar, flanked by small statues of angels. Sredzinski noted the Rosary-Altar Society/Christian Mothers purchased all new altar linens.
Behind the tabernacle is a series of black iron gates. The area behind the gates is being set up with kneelers as an altar of adoration, which will be open during the day. The area can be accessed by doors on either side of the back of the church. People can come in and pray before the tabernacle but will not be able to enter the sanctuary.
Miller's Greenhouse of Smithfield did the landscaping around the church. There was no social hall.
This new facility for St. Hubert Roman Catholic Church, located in Point Marion, Pennsylvania, replaces the original structure lost to fire in November of 2003. The new church is partially rebuilt on the original foundation and includes a worship space which seats 154, a social hall, a kitchen and toilet rooms. The new facility maintains the beauty and charm of a country church while providing for liturgical renewal and modern lighting, heating and air conditioning."
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