We are a Roman Catholic parish joyfully journeying toward holiness and salvation. Inspired by Martha’s heart of hospitality and service, and Mary’s spirit of prayer and discipleship, we invite all to join us in centering our lives around Jesus Christ in Word, Sacrament and Community.

St. Catherine of Sweden Roman Catholic Church can trace its beginnings to Catechism classes held in various locations in the Wildwood area under the supervision of the Missionary Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.  The earliest records of this religious instruction date back to 1934.

At that time, St. Ursula Church in Allison Park was the closest parish for Catholics living in Hampton and Richland Townships.  Most families would have to walk four to seven miles to the church, since few people had cars and the Butler Shortline trolley service had been discontinued.

Catholics in the area began a movement to develop a parish.  In 1943, Bishop Hugh C. Boyle of the Pittsburgh Diocese granted permission for a group to organize the people with the intent to erect a church in the future.  Rev. Victor J. Majka, a missionary priest, was delegated to organize the district.  The survey of the district showed 147 people who would be part of the new parish.

In the fall of 1943, the fledgling parish found a home in a 39-by-26 foot room in an old Hampton school building on West Hardies Road.  The space was crowded and had second-hand furnishings, but the mission celebrated a joyous first Mass there on December 12, 1943.

That same day, the parishioners started a campaign to raise money for a church building.  Soon afterward, a nearby two-acre plot of land was found that was suitable for the church's purposes. 

On September 28, 1947, the parishioners laid the cornerstone for the new building.  The church was placed under the patronage of St. Catherine of Sweden to honor the name of Catherine Lawrence, mother of David L. Lawrence, mayor of Pittsburgh and eventually governor of Pennsylvania.

The 400-seat church was dedicated and its ground blessed on September 2, 1948.  Portions of the church remained incomplete however, and St. Catherine's still had to use some second-hand items from its mission days.

By 1953, St. Catherine's received its first resident pastor, Rev. Francis A. Stifter.  Under his leadership, the parish launched another capital campaign.  Those funds helped complete the church interior and build the rectory, convent, parking lot and school.  The school was dedicated  in 1960.  By the end of that year, the parish had grown to 640 families.

Through the 1960s and 1970s, the parish continued to grow.  More changes took place, such as the transformation of the Latin Mass to English.

Despite its growth, St. Catherine's had to close its school in 1972 as a result of declining enrollment, financial problems and a shortage of nuns.

In 1974, the church interior was renovated to comply with new liturgical directions.

In the early 1990s, the Pittsburgh diocese surveyed its districts and found that the population growth in the northern suburbs, including Hampton and Richland Townships, warranted the addition of new parishes.  In 1992, St. Richard's parish was formed for Catholics in Richland Township.

In September 1998, St. Catherine's parishioners commemorated the 50th Anniversary of their church building with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Donald Wuerl of the Pittsburgh Diocese.

To keep up with the times and rapid population growth in the area, St. Catherine's constructed a new church that was dedicated on October 2, 2004.  By the time of the dedication, the parish had grown to include approximately 1,700 families.

In June of 2006, St. Catherine's congregation began a fund-raising campaign to complete the church project with the addition of a new Pastoral Center.
We hope and pray that this short biography and mission statement will give you a bit of knowledge about our friendly and active parish. We are always looking for new ideas and gifts to build the Body of Christ and we encourage you to become involved and share your gifts with our parish family. In the Eucharist, we are united as sisters and brothers vitally interested in worshiping our God and caring for one another. Our goal as Catholic Christians is to unite by working together to respond to the joys and challenges of the Gospel and we welcome the involvement of everyone.

St. Richard Parish was established on November 1, 1992, the feast of All Saints. The parish would cover the borders of Richland Township and would draw parishioners from St. Catherine of Sweden in Wildwood, Holy Sepulcher in Middlesex and St. Kilian in Mars. The original parish census statistics showed a potential of 600 families, but only 425 families joined the parish at that time.

The parish family worshiped at the chapel at St. Barnabas Nursing Home for the first three years of existence. Faith Formation classes were held in the homes of parishioners and the church office was located at the off-site rectory. Due to the generosity of the congregation, our beautiful church building on the hill was built and dedicated on December 17, 1995. Father Philip Pribonic was appointed as temporary administrator with his term lasting six months until Father Kenneth Oldenski began his assignment as Pastor of St. Richard parish on July 8, 1996. He served until his retirement on June 30, 2010. After his retirement, the energetic and dynamic Father Thomas Sparacino began his assignment at our parish on July 6, 2010 and was later assigned as the Rector and Director of Pre-Ordination Formation at the seminary in July 2017. Since On Mission, we've had the privilege of being guided by several priests beginning with Father Mike Conway until August 1st, 2018 and Father Vince Kolo from August to October of 2018. In October of 2018, our permanent Pastor and Pariochal Vicar,  Father Bob Vular and Father Chris Mannerino, began to oversee both St. Richard and St. Catherine of Sweden parishes.

On January 4th, 2021 the two former parishes merged to become Sts. Martha & Mary Parish.