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Guide to the Papers of Reverend James W. Garvey, 1989-1996

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Papers of Reverend James W. Garvey
Collection Number
MSS 236
Extent
2.0 cubic feet (4 boxes)
Date
1989-1996
Abstract
Reverend James W. Garvey was a parochial vicar of St. Charles Lwanga Parish in the Homewood-Brushton neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Garvey was an active participant in many events in religious, social, and cultural spheres of Pittsburgh local community life. The collection primarily contains printed ephemeral items, such as booklets, programs or dinner invitations.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
This guide to the collection was originally prepared by Tatyana Antsupova and Stephen Doell on June 28, 1996. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in Summer, 2001.
Sponsor
This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Biographical Sketch of Reverend James W. Garvey (b.1938)

Reverend James W. Garvey (1938-2023) was a Catholic priest, author, and historian. Reverend Garvey was an active participant in the religious, social, and cultural spheres of local Pittsburgh community life.

James W. Garvey was born on September 9, 1938, to William T. Garvey and Margaret C. Blaney Garvey. He had two brothers, George F. Garvey and Joseph T. Garvey, and a sister, Mary Ellen Garvey Vercoe. In 1956, Rev. Garvey graduated from St. Francis de Sales High School in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. In 1973, he graduated Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Pittsburgh, and received his Master of Divinity Degree from St. Francis Seminary in Loretto, Pennsylvania, in May 1976. He was ordained a Deacon on May 24, 1975, and was ordained a priest on October 23, 1976, in St. Paul Cathedral, Pittsburgh, by The Most Reverend Vincent M. Leonard, D. D., Bishop of Pittsburgh. Rev. Garvey served in ministry and other assignments throughout the Diocese of Pittsburgh including:

1976-1981 St. Anne, Castle Shannon, Pa.

1981-1985 St. Ursula, Allison Park, Pa.

1985-1992 Diocesan coordinator of Programs for the Homeless, and Director, St. Joseph's House of Hospitality, Pittsburgh, Pa.

1986-1987 Administrator, St. Joseph Parish, Manchester, Pittsburgh, Pa.

1987-1992 Administrator, Immaculate Conception Parish, Carnegie, Pa.

1992-1997 Parochial Vicar, St. Charles Lwanga Parish, Homewood/Brushton, Pittsburgh, Pa.

1997-2001 Pastor at St. Bartholomew Parish, Penn Hills

2001-2004 Pastor at Church of the Epiphany

2004-2008 Senior Priest at St. Margaret Mary Parish, Moon Township

Rev. Garvey retired from full-time priestly ministry in 2009.

Rev. Garvey was active in many community organizations. He was a founding member of the Sto-Rox Community Federal Credit Union (1969); Vice President of the Citizen's Community Action Committee, Inc. (1969-1972); one of the founders of the Jubilee Association, Inc. (Jubilee Soup Kitchen, 1979) and Chairman of its board for ten years. For his dedicated work and devotion to the poor and underprivileged, Rev. Garvey was selected as the Carnegie, Pennsylvania, 1990 Signal-Item Citizen of the Year.

Rev. Garvey was an active historian of the Catholic Church in Western Pennsylvania. He served two terms as president of the Board of Directors of the Catholic Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and contributed books, manuscripts, and artifacts to the Archives of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Room, Carnegie Library. On its fiftieth anniversary Rev. Garvey wrote a history of St. Joseph's House of Hospitality, and he researched and authored histories of several Roman Catholic parishes including St. Joseph, Manchester, North Side, Pittsburgh; St. Francis de Sales, McKees Rocks (Allegheny County); Immaculate Conception, Carnegie (Allegheny County); Epiphany, Uptown, Pittsburgh; St. Margaret Mary, Moon Township, (Allegheny County); St. Raphael, Morningside, Pittsburgh; and St. Anne, Castle Shannon (Allegheny County). In addition, Rev. Garvey contributed a chapter to A Reflection of Faith, St. Paul Cathedral, 1906-2006, published to mark the centenary of St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland, authored a booklet about Monsignor Charles Owen Rice, and wrote a memoir about riding the streetcar, Transfer Please: Memories of Riding the Streetcar. Rev. Garvey also wrote articles for Pastoral Life and The Pittsburgh Quarterly.

Scope and Content Notes

The collection primarily contains printed ephemeral items, such as booklets, programs or dinner invitations. The materials the religious institutions of the Pittsburgh area and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, e.g. Diocese of Pittsburgh, St. Paul Cathedral or St. Charles Lwanga Parish. Service programs of various churches represent the routine life of Catholic congregations, their ceremonies and practices. Commemorative brochures contain valuable information on local church history, as well as on history of local social organizations, such as, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Theater and concert programs provide information and evidence of cultural events, which took place in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in the early 1990s. In general, the collection serves as relevant source material on everyday life and the activities of local communities in both spiritual and cultural spheres.

Arrangement

The Reverend James W. Garvey Papers are arranged in four series. Series have been designated for Diocese of Pittsburgh; Catholic churches and parishes; social, educational, religious and other institutions and campaigns; and for miscellaneous materials.

The Reverend James W. Garvey Papers are housed in four archival boxes.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These materials came in seven accessions and were combined into one body of collection in 1996.

Acc# 1990.0153 Gift of Rev. James W. Garvey

Acc# 1991.0096 Gift of Rev. James W. Garvey

Acc# 1992.0128 Gift of Rev. James W. Garvey

Acc# 1993.0006 Gift of Rev. James W. Garvey

Acc# 1994.0116 Gift of Rev. James W. Garvey

Acc# 1995.0280 Gift of Rev. James W. Garvey

Acc# 1996.xxxx Gift of Rev. James W. Garvey

Preferred Citation

Papers of Reverend James W. Garvey, 1989-1996, MSS 236, Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Tatyana Antsupova and Stephen Doell on June 28, 1996.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on May 24, 2001.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Action Housing, Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Assumption Theatre Guild (Bellevue, Pa.)
    • Corpus Christi Residence (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank (Allegheny County, Pa.)
    • Roselia Center (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • St. Charles Lwanga Parish (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • St. Paul Cathedral (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • St. Paul Seminary (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • San Damiano Concort (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

    Geographic Names

    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Religion

    Other Subjects

    • AIDS (Disease) -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Arts -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County
    • Catholic Church -- Customs and practices
    • Catholic church -- Dioceses -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Catholic Church -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County
    • Charities -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County
    • Churches -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County
    • Churches -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Music -- Programs -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Social service -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County
    • Theater -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County

Container List