Part X

The first graduating class from the now accredited Saint Mary High School celebrated their commencement in 1934. The Depression had left its mark in the community and every parish faced the struggles of paying the bills. A strong Catholic faith maintained them all, as parishioners were determined to hold on to their religion and practice it devoutly.

Saints Cyril and Methodius Parish marked its 25^th Anniversary in 1935, counting at that time 375 families on its rolls. The parish school covered 8 grades and enrollment was approximately 285 students.

When the Saint Patrick’s Day Flood hit Pittsburgh in 1936, McKees Rocks was affected. Families from the Bottoms, the lowlands along the Ohio Rover, and lower Chartiers Avenue were forced to evacuate their homes. The gymnasium at Saint Francis de Sales became an emergency shelter for those made homeless by the flood. Saint Mark Parish suffered great damage to the church, rectory, school and convent. In the aftermath a memorial of the high-water mark was painted below the ceiling in the school hall.

As the country was emerging from the Depression, Mother of Sorrows Parish welcomed the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a religious community of Sisters who arrived to take charge of the catechetical ministry in the parish. Known formerly as the Missionary Zelatrices of the Sacred Heart, these Sisters whose origin was in Italy, were known in the Pittsburgh Diocese because of their work in several Italian parishes, and at Saint Anthony Orphanage in Oakmont. The Sisters only served briefly in the parish.