The Diocese of Altoona was established in 1901, with the Most Reverend Eugene A. Garvey as the first Bishop. It was renamed the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in 1957.
Eight counties comprise the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown: Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clinton, Fulton, Huntingdon, and Somerset. The diocese is divided into five deaneries, or geographic administrative units. As of 2021, the total Catholic population of the eight-county area was 69,721.
The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown is home to 87 parishes, served by both diocesan priests and priests from religious communities, including the Third Order Regular Franciscans, the Conventual Franciscans, the Capuchin Franciscans, and the Order of Saint Benedict.
Communities of nuns and sisters have served locally since 1848, today engaging in Catholic education, healthcare, social services, and contemplative lives of prayer.
Sacred Places
Cathedrals, a Basilica, and three Shrines
Cathedral
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament
Altoona
Dedicated 1931. Mother church of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
Cathedral
Saint John Gualbert Cathedral
Johnstown
Elevated as a Cathedral in 1957.
Basilica
Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel
Loretto
Designated a Minor Basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1996.
Shrine
Our Lady of the Alleghenies
Loretto
Dedicated in 1951 and the site of summer Outdoor Masses.
Shrine
Saint Joseph Mission Church
Hart's Sleeping Place, Carrolltown
An enduring site of pilgrimage and quiet prayer.
Shrine
Immaculate Conception Shrine
Bitumen
A historic shrine in the northern mountains of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
Chronology
Three centuries of Catholic life
From Fort Duquesne and the missions of Prince Gallitzin to the modern diocese — milestones in the story of the faith in our mountains.
Diocesan SIMPLIFIED Timeline
Compiled by Father Al Ledoux
Diocesan Timeline
Milestones in the life of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
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Portrait bust of Father Demetrius Gallitzin The event marks the beginning of organized Catholic life in the Alleghenies.
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Pennsylvania, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey are detached from the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Our ancestors in the faith acquired a new diocese and a new shepherd, Most Rev. Michael Egan, who visited in 1811 and confirmed 198 persons at Loretto.
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Monument marking Father Thomas Heyden's grave Father Heyden becomes the first priestly vocation to arise from what will eventually become the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. He would die as pastor of Bedford in 1870, just shy of his 50th anniversary of ordination.
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Saint Joseph's Church, Hart's Sleeping Place Missions at Newry, Bedford, Ebensburg, Hart's Sleeping Place, Wilmore, Huntingdon, Johnstown, and the Summit. Saint Joseph's, Hart's Sleeping Place, blessed October 10, 1830, is the oldest continuously used church building in our diocese.
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Cross marking the burial site of Father Gallitzin -
Of the eight counties of the future Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Fulton, Clinton and Centre will remain with Philadelphia, while the others will form part of the new diocese.
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Soon to be renamed Saint Francis College.
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The forerunner of Mount Aloysius College in Cresson.
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Saint John's Church, Altoona Population boomed with construction of the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and its car shops in Altoona. Fifty years later, a much-enlarged Saint John's would be named the "pro-cathedral" of the new Diocese of Altoona.
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The earthen dam holding back Lake Conemaugh gives way, killing over 2,200 people. Saint John Gualbert, the mother church for Catholics of Johnstown, was completely destroyed.
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Immaculate Conception Church in Cambria City after the flood Immaculate Conception Church remained standing and contained a wooden statue of our Blessed Mother that had floated on the inky waters and settled back down upon its pedestal. People of faith looked upon this as a sign of divine encouragement.
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Saint John Gualbert Cathedral, Johnstown An architectural marvel for its time — the weight of roof and tower rest on a steel superstructure rather than on masonry walls.
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Papal decree of Pope Leo XIII establishing the Diocese of Altoona With the counties of Blair, Cambria, Huntingdon, Bedford, and Somerset from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and Clinton, Centre, and Fulton from the Diocese of Harrisburg.
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After his episcopal consecration in Scranton on September 8, he arrived in Altoona September 24 and was installed as bishop the same day.
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Constructed of stone and principally funded by industrialist Charles Schwab. The dedication was Bishop Garvey's first official episcopal act.
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The Sisters of Mercy founded Mercy Hospital in Johnstown in 1911. Franciscans established a diocesan seminary at Loretto in 1912. Immaculate Heart Sisters from Scranton established orphanages in Cresson — Saint John's for boys and Saint Mary's for girls.
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Bishop John J. McCort Bishop McCort of Philadelphia had been appointed coadjutor earlier in the year because of Bishop Garvey's poor health and immediately succeeded to the diocese.
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Old Saint John's Church, Convent, and School in Altoona are demolished to make way for the new cathedral. The cornerstone was laid May 30, 1926.
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In May 1930, they moved into their permanent monastery in Loretto, dedicated to Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.
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Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Altoona Its interior remained unfinished because of the Great Depression.
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Bishop Richard T. Guilfoyle Johnstown is flooded in March. Bishop McCort dies April 21. Monsignor Richard Guilfoyle of Erie is named third bishop August 8, consecrated in Erie November 30, and installed in Altoona December 15.
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'Old Main,' containing the college library, administrative offices, and residential quarters for students and seminarians, was completely destroyed.
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Offices moved out of the bishop's residence and into specialized quarters adjacent to the Cathedral. The offices would remain there until the 1970s when they moved to Hollidaysburg.
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Dedication of Our Lady of the Alleghenies shrine at Loretto -
Bishop J. Howard Carroll Bishop Guilfoyle dies June 10. On October 9, the Holy See renames the diocese; Saint John Gualbert Church becomes co-cathedral. On December 7 the Holy See names Pittsburgh native Monsignor Howard Carroll as our fourth bishop.
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He launched an expansive parish building program, gave impetus to create a Catholic high school in Ebensburg later named for him, and finished the interior of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament after an interruption in construction due to the Great Depression. His funeral was the first ceremony in the completed cathedral.
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Bishop J. Carroll McCormick He presided over the end of the post-war building expansion, notably blessing Garvey Manor on June 24, 1965, and attended all three sessions of the Second Vatican Council before being transferred to Scranton March 4, 1966.
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It fell to Bishop Hogan to implement the decrees of the Second Vatican Council and consolidate parish life. He also presided over relief efforts after the third Johnstown Flood in 1977.
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He remained as apostolic administrator until Monsignor Joseph V. Adamec of Saginaw, Michigan, was ordained our seventh bishop on May 20, 1987.
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Responding to the pastoral challenges of the 'Rust Belt,' Bishop Adamec led diocesan reorganization efforts that resulted in parish mergers and clusterings, fostered greater implementation of the liturgical decrees of Vatican II, and gave greater emphasis to vocations to the diaconate and lay ministries.
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Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel, Loretto Bishop Adamec declared 1999 the Gallitzin Bicentennial Year, with events commemorating the arrival of Father Gallitzin to Loretto in 1799. The centennial of the diocese was marked with the centennial Mass on May 27, 2001, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and a diocesan pilgrimage to Rome the following month.
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The Holy See named Monsignor Mark L. Bartchak of the Diocese of Erie as his replacement, who was ordained our eighth diocesan bishop on April 19, 2011.
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Bishop Mark L. Bartchak Following a 2016 Grand Jury Report, Bishop Bartchak has led efforts to heal and reunite Altoona-Johnstown. Building on the foundations laid by his predecessors, he is credited with taking on the task of enhancing parish life amid declining population, reorganizing Chancery functions and relocating diocesan offices into the former Our Lady of Lourdes School in Altoona in 2019, regionalizing Catholic education, opening Saint Leonard's Home in Hollidaysburg for retired priests, and fostering vocations to the priesthood and permanent diaconate.
Diocese FULL Timeline
1754
Fort Duquesne is founded.
December 22, 1770
Demetrius Gallitzin is born at the Hague, Netherlands.
1785
Captain Michael McGuire settles his family at McGuire’s Settlement, near what became Loretto.
1787
Gallitzin is converted from the Russian Orthodox Church to Roman Catholicism.
Patrick Cassidy Settles in Newry.
August 18, 1792
Gallitzin sails to the United States from Rotterdam.
November 5, 1792
Demetrius Gallitzin enters the Sulpician Seminary in Baltimore under the name Augustine Schmet (Smith).
1794
First Settlement is established at Johnstown.
March 18, 1795
Gallitzin is ordained by Bishop John Carroll. He is posted to the Conewago Mission in Pennsylvania.
While there, he answers a sick call to McGuire’s Settlement.
December 25, 1799
Bishop Carroll appoints Father Smith (Gallitzin) as Pastor of McGuire’s Settlement.
Father Smith (Gallitzin) celebrates Midnight Mass in the newly constructed Saint Michael’s Church.
1800
Baptism of the first infant born in McGuire’s Settlement – Joseph Bradley, son of Charles and Mary Bradley.
Father Smith (Gallitzin) establishes the community of Loretto, in honor of the Shrine of Our Lady in Loreto, Italy.
1802
Father Smith (Gallitzin) becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States.
1808
Bishop John Carroll is proclaimed the first Archbishop of Baltimore by Pius VII.
The Diocese of Philadelphia is established, with Michael Egan as its first Bishop.
1809
Father Smith (Gallitzin) receives legal permission to resume the use of his real name – Rev. Demetrius Gallitzin.
1811
Bishop Egan visits Loretto and confirms 198 of Gallitzin’s parishioners.
1815
Archbishop John Carroll, Archbishop of Baltimore and architect of the Catholic Church in the United States, dies.
1816
Gallitzin publishes his Defense of Catholic Principles.
Saint Patrick Church in Newry is constructed and becomes the second parish in the area.
1817
Gallitzin constructs a second, large-frame church at Loretto.
Gallitzin’s sister, Marianne, marries and so deprives her brother of his rightful inheritance.
1819
Gallitzin publishes An Appeal to the Protestant Public in reply to Vindication of the Doctrines of the Reformation.
1820
Gallitzin publishes A Letter to a Protestant Friend on the Holy Scriptures.
1823
Gallitzin is appointed Vicar General of Western Pennsylvania.
1829
Rev. Patrick Rafferty is appointed Assistant Pastor to Gallitzin.
1832
Gallitzin oversees construction of a larger house and adjoining chapel, the present Prince Gallitzin Chapel House.
1834
Gallitzin is thrown from his horse and suffers an injury to his leg, complicated by a hernia from which he never recovers.
Rev. Peter Lemcke is appointed assistant.
1835
Johnstown’s first parish – Saint John Gualbert – is established.
1836
Gallitzin publishes The Bible: Truth and Charity.
May 6, 1840
Rev. Demetrius Gallitzin dies.
He is buried three days later on May 9.
1841
Saint Mary Parish is founded in Hollidaysburg.
1843
Pope Gregory XVI creates the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
1847
Gallitzin’s remains are exhumed and moved to a vault outside the church entrance.
Franciscan friars arrive at Loretto from Ireland and establish Saint Francis School for Boys.
1848
Sisters of Mercy arrive in Loretto.
1849
The city of Altoona is founded.
1853
Sisters of Mercy establish the Saint Aloysius School for Girls.
The city of Altoona receives its first resident pastor, Father John Tuigg.
1854
The third church is built at Loretto, constructed of brick. It is dedicated by Saint John Neumann, Bishop of Philadelphia.
1860
Immaculate Conception Church – “Old Saint Mary’s” – in Altoona is built for German Catholics.
1869
Sisters of Saint Joseph establish a foundation at Ebensburg.
1870
At the invitation of Father Tuigg, four Sisters of Charity arrive in Altoona from Cincinnati to establish a community in Altoona and teach in his school.
1876-77
The diocese of Allegheny has its brief life.
1889
The Johnstown Flood brings massive devastation and death.
Saint John Gualbert Church is destroyed in a fire.
1899
Centennial of the founding of Loretto.
Archbishop John Ireland of St. Paul, Minnesota dedicates the enlarged and expanded tomb of Rev. Gallitzin.
Charles Schwab donates funds and makes possible the construction of the fourth church at Loretto – the present Saint Michael’s.
1901
The present Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel is completed.
The Diocese of Altoona is established by Pope Leo XIII. Bishop Eugene Garvey is named its first Bishop.
1909
Saint John’s orphanage is opened.
1910
Mercy Hospital in Johnstown is opened by the Sisters of Mercy.
1912
Bishop Garvey opens an ecclesiastical seminary at Loretto.
1917
Saint Mary’s Orphanage is opened and run by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
1920
Bishop John J. McCort becomes the second Bishop of Altoona.
1924
Groundbreaking is held for the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.
1926
Bishop McCort invites Discalced Carmelite Nuns from France to establish a community in the Altoona Diocese.
1930
The Carmelite Monastery of Loretto is completed with funds donated by Charles Schwab.
Bishop McCort launches a program to assist the many victims of the Great Depression.
1931
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is dedicated.
1934
Bishop McCort establishes The Catholic Register, the Diocesan newspaper.
1935
Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth assume management of Mercy Hospital in Altoona.
1936
Bishop Richard T. Guilfoyle becomes the third bishop of Altoona.
Another flood devastates Johnstown.
1939
Mount Aloysius Junior College is founded by the Sisters of Mercy.
1940
A pageant is held in honor of Rev. Gallitzin following a Pontifical Mass celebrated by Bishop Guilfoyle.
1942
A fire destroys the principal building of Saint Francis College, including virtually the entire Gallitzin library of 200 irreplaceable books.
1946
Bishop Guilfoyle has confirmed 29,000+ total young people and ordained 108 total priests.
1951
The Shrine of Our Lady of the Alleghenies is dedicated by Bishop Guilfoyle.
1957
The Diocese of Altoona is renamed the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
Saint John Gualbert Church becomes Co-Cathedral.
Bishop Howard J. Carroll becomes the fourth Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown.
1958
A fire destroys the 45,000 volume library at Saint Francis College.
1959
Bishop Carroll McCormick becomes the fifth Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown.
1962-65
Bishop McCormick attends Vatican Council II.
1966
Bishop James Hogan is appointed sixth Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown.
1970
Bicentennial of Rev. Gallitzin’s birth is celebrated.
1971
The Carmelite Community of the Word is founded.
1979
Saint Francis Seminary in Loretto closes its doors.
1987
Bishop Joseph V. Adamec becomes the seventh Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown, the first bishop ordained in the Diocese.
The Co-Cathedral of Saint John Gualbert is consecrated Saint John Gualbert Cathedral.
1989
The 100th anniversary of the Johnstown Flood.
1990
The 150th Anniversary of the death of Rev. Gallitzin.
The Prince Gallitzin Cross Award is established by Bishop Adamec.
1991
Mount Aloysius Junior College becomes a four-year college.
1996
Saint Michael the Archangel Church is designated a Minor Basilica by Pope John Paul II.
1999
Bicentennial celebration of the founding of Saint Michael Parish by Prince Gallitzin and the birth of Loretto.
The relics of Saint Therese of Lisieux visit the Diocese.
Bishop Adamec dedicates the Prince Gallitzin House in Mandeville, Jamaica.
2000
The Church celebrates the Jubilee Year.
2001
The 100th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
2010
Bishop Adamec blesses the Papal Insignia at the Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel in Loretto.
2011
Bishop Mark L. Bartchak is ordained and installed as the eighth Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown.
Saint Joseph Catholic Academy is established in State College
2013
The Diocese marks the conclusion of the Diocesan Phase of the Cause for Canonization of the Servant of God Demetrius Gallitzin.
2016
Catholic elementary schools in the Altoona and Johnstown areas regionalize into one school with three campuses.
2019
Bi-weekly publication of the Catholic Register ceases; Proclaim! Magazine is launched
2021
Bishop Bartchak is appointed to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura – the Vatican’s highest court