St. John The Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral (Pittsburgh) - The First Cathedral, 1903

The First Cathedral, 1903

In need of a larger church, in the summer of 1902 two lots were acquired on the corner of Tenth and Dicksons Streets in the newly created (from Homestead) borough of Munhall. It was designed by the Hungarian-born architect, Titus de Bobula, and patterned after the Rusyn Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Uzhhorod, Austria-Hungary. The church's twin towers, which rise 125 feet (38 m), are composed of white brick in a Greek cruciform pattern set into sandstone. They rise 125 feet (38 m). The church was dedicated on December 27, 1903 under Co-Adjutor Bishop Regis Canevin of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, which then had jurisdiction over Greek Catholics in its region.

The congregation grew to more than 700 families in the 1920s. In 1929 it was chosen as the cathedral for the newly created Ruthenian Greek Catholic Exarchate in America. The historic structure was the first cathedral in America exclusively for Carpatho-Rusyns.

In the 1950s the parish began the task of renovating and modernizing the Cathedral. While the renovation progressed, Divine Liturgy was held in the school auditorium. Msgr. John Gernat, who served as rector from 1959 to 1963, completed the renovation.