During the time that Fort Duquesne at the Forks of the Ohio was in French
hands, we find recorded that Father Denys Baron was probably the first Catholic
priest in Western Pennsylvania. The first mass was said in 1754.
According to Leland Baldwin’s “Pittsburgh, the story of a City”, the
“Recollect priest, Father Denys Baron, was busy with the affairs of his
parish, baptizing the children of the French families housed around the Fort,
saying mass in the little chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary at the
Beautiful River, listening to the confessions of homesick soldiers...”
At the age or 19 months, Mary Jane Vermet was the first white child to be
baptized in the chapel in 1755.
The site of the original chapel is unknown, but the chapel is commemorated by
a plaque on St. Mary’s Church at Stanwix Street and the Boulevard of the
Allies in downtown Pittsburgh. The inscription reads: “This tablet
commemorates the first Holy Mass at Fort Duquesne, celebrated April 16th, 1754,
by Rev. Denys Baron, Chaplain to the French Forces in occupancy. This Church of
St. Mary derives from the chapel of that period called “La Chapelle de L’assomption
de la Ste. Vierge a la Belle Riviere”. - Erected by Fort Pitt General Assembly
4th Degree Knights of Columbus, Anno Dominie 1929.”
Vivien Richman
Listen to a Schmertz clip (at Smithsonian Folkways site)
Father Barron at Fort Duquesne
Strove for the Lord each day.
A small log chapel he fashioned there
And chinked it with twigs and clay -
(While) over the altar he lifted there
He lifted our Lady Beyond Compare
And she was “La Vierge de la Belle Riviere -”
La Vierge de la Belle Riviere, Riviere -
La Vierge de la Belle Riviere.
Father Barron spoke ancient words
To Indians and Frenchmen too
And as they knelt in Our Lord’s own house
They prayed, as all men should do.
(And) over the altar they saw her there
Our wonderful Lady Beyond Compare
And she was “La Vierge de la Belle Riviere -”
La Vierge de la Belle Riviere, Riviere -
La Vierge de la Belle Riviere.
Father Barron at Fort Duquesne
Christened the first born child
And as he named her with Mary’s name
I know that Our Lady smiled -
(And) over the altar stood smiling there
Our wonderful Lady Beyond Compare
And she was - “La Vierge de la Belle Riviere -”
La Vierge de la Belle Riviere, Riviere -
La Vierge de la Belie Riviere.
A certain church on a certain street
Isn’t so very far
From the small log chapel where Frenchmen prayed
Under a western star
And over the altar you’ll find her there
Our wonderful Lady Beyond Compare
And she is “La Vierge de la Belle Riviere -”
La Vierge de la Belle Riviere, Riviere -
La Vierge de la Belle Riviere!
Descant: Ave Maria, Regina Coeli.
