Update: April 2025:

Scuola d’Italia Galileo Galilei, an Italian-language school and cultural organization, has submitted several offers to purchase the Immaculate Conception School and Church. Their proposal would not only revitalize the historic campus but also create a vibrant community hub—providing space for educational, cultural, social, and religious activities accessible to the entire neighborhood.

If you support preserving this important community asset and breathing new life into Bloomfield, please consider signing the petition below. Info on the school: https://www.scuolagalileo.org/home

About the Church:

While Pittsburgh boasts many outstanding houses of worship in various architectural styles, the Immaculate Conception Church in Bloomfield stands out as a unique religious building in the city.

Nestled into the tight urban fabric of Bloomfield, the church showcases innovative construction methods, towering stained glass windows, an imported altar mosaic, and numerous site-specific sculptures and furnishings. These elements culminate in a remarkable example of mid-century Expressionist design.

Designed by the Italian brothers Edo and Anthony Belli of Belli & Belli Architects, Chicago, the church represents one of the firm's most notable and complex projects. With a cost of nearly $850,000 in 1960 (equivalent to more than $9 million in 2024), the church houses irreplaceable artwork, including a large mosaic reredos crafted in Berlin, Germany. Additionally, the church features some of the largest Dalle de Verre stained glass windows in the country, towering almost four stories above the church’s two naves and fabricated by The Hunt Stained Glass Studio in Pittsburgh.

Despite its architectural significance, the church faces several challenges, including intense development pressure in Pittsburgh's East End, pressing maintenance issues, and the difficulty of finding an appropriate reuse. Like many churches in Pittsburgh, it is at serious risk of inappropriate alteration or demolition.

In recognition of its vulnerability, the church was listed on the Preservation Pennsylvania 2022 At Risk List, one of only five buildings included. Efforts are underway to attain local and national historic landmark protections.

We urge you to sign below to express your support for saving the Immaculate Conception Church and advocating for a new purpose that benefits the community while preserving this unique work of architecture and engineering.