Saint Nicholas Catholic Church

St. Nicholas Catholic Church, established in 1894, was the first Croatian Catholic parish in America. The present structure was built in 1922 on Bennet Hill in Millvale, PA, which was one of many mill towns along the Allegheny River where immigrants flocked to from around the world to work in the steel mills and coal mines.

The church is unassuming until you enter and behold a standing piece of the city of Pittsburgh history in its early industrial stage.

Beginning in 1937, pastor Father Albert Zagar commissioned Croatian artist Maxo Vanka to cover the interior walls of the church with murals. The works were done in two stages, the first resulting in eleven murals focusing on the main themes of the Croatian immigrant life in the old and new worlds, while the second set of fourteen murals, painted in 1941, focused on social injustice and the inhumanity of war. Today the church and the murals are listed in the National Historic Register.

Established in 1991, the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka (SPMMMV) has raised nearly $1.5 million to begin restoration of the murals to their original brilliance. Recently, they installed state-of-the-art LED lighting to ensure visitors have a well-lit experience.

Vanka called the murals his “Gift to America.”  They tell the story of the Croatian immigrant experience, one that shows how Pittsburgh was built on the backs of low-paid workers, where mothers lost their sons in industrial accidents.

One mural tells the story of an actual industrial accident where four brothers were lost in a Johnston, Pa. mining accident.  Another mural depicts holy women crying for those lost in war, while the mother sits at her dead son’s side. In the distance on a small hill, is St. Nicholas Catholic Church.

Other murals show an American capitalist being served a sumptuous dinner by a black servant, while on an adjacent wall, the scene shows a Croatian working family of that period in Pittsburgh sharing a simple meal of bread and soup while Jesus Christ stands in the background as protector.

In this, his most important work of art, Vanka merged traditional Croatian folk art with other artistic elements — including Mexican muralism, European symbolism and surrealism. This art is his legacy and a lasting tribute to those who gave their lives in the building of America and in the wars that would fracture his homeland forever.