Saint John Capistran was born in the Italian town of Capistrano on June 24, 1386. He studied law in Perugia, and for a time was governor of that city.

John entered the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) and was ordained a priest. He was known as a great speaker, and his preaching throughout Europe touched many hearts. John often preached about devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.                                                                              

John was a great defender of the faith, and worked to refute heresy. He died on October 23, 1456, and was canonized a saint in 1724. John is the patron saint of judges, jurists, and military chaplains. His feast day is celebrated on October 23.


Sir Thomas More was born in 1478 with a silver spoon in his mouth. His dad was a judge and at an early age, Thomas More became a page in the household of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This was his early training in court life. As a young man he was introduced to classic Greek and Latin works and was fluent in those languages. From age 23 to 27 as he pursued legal studies he also lived with the Carthusian monks and joined them in their daily prayers. But Thomas knew his vocation was not to be a monk, although for the rest of his life he led his family in daily devotions and wore an inner hair shirt as penance. When he was 28 he married a much younger Jane Colt. They had four children: Margaret, Elizabeth, Cecily and John. Tragically Jane died after only 6 years of marriage and Thomas was a widower at age 34 with four children under the age of 5. Knowing his children needed a mother, within a month of Jane’s death, he married Alice Middleton who was wealthy, attractive, and fashion-conscious. Alice tried to smarten up Thomas More's appearance and to humanize his monkish rigorous order of the household. Thomas More looked after the education of his four children and contrary to the times he assured that his daughters received the best education. In fact his oldest daughter, Margaret, grew up to become one of the most learned women of her day. 
In 1532 the Convocation of Clergy submitted to Henry's authority as Supreme Head. Only John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and Thomas More did not submit. In 1534 Thomas was summoned to Lambeth Palace to swear an oath of allegiance to the new Act of Succession acknowledging Anne as rightful Queen and Henry head of the Church of England. The King’s Council considered More's refusal of the oath to be merely a foolish scruple. Many of his political friends urged Thomas to “trim his conscience" to political reality, and save them all the embarrassment. After his imprisonment in the Tower of London, even his wife, Alice, and his daughter, Margaret, pleaded with him to sign the Oath of Succession. Thomas More was to spend over a year imprisonment in the Tower. There in the dark, cold and damp stone chamber he wrestled with his fate. Just months before his execution he wrote in Latin his last work: On the Sadness, Weariness, Fear, and Prayer of Christ Before His Passion. We can imagine More meditating on Jesus in the garden, praying in the darkness in Agony; the apostles were sleeping. During those hours Jesus fought and won the battle. Would not you and I be tempted to simply sign the oath, knowing that we fought the good fight and people would know that it was just a piece of paper? Surely, Thomas More prayed the words of Jesus “Father, let this cup pass me by!" But ultimately he surrendered to God: "Father, let it be done according to your will, not mine.” Thomas More was formally indicted for treason and appeared on trial at Westminster Hall on July 1, 1535. He was condemned to death, and was sentenced was "mercifully" commuted to beheading. It was carried out on July 6, 1535 on Tower Green. He died as he lived: “I die as the King’s loyal servant, but God's servant first."

The first St. John Capistran Church was a sectional building erected on land donated by John H. Hoffman, the son of a farmer who settled in the area in 1860.

December 1923: The chapel, a mission of St. Agatha Church in Bridgeville, was dedicated. Mass was celebrated there once a month.

January 1938: Mass was celebrated every Sunday at St. John’s.

June 1947: Bishop Hugh C. Boyle merged St. John’s with the newly established Our Lady of Grace Church to form one parish. Rev. Oliver D. Keefer was appointed Pastor.

August 1948: St. John Capistran reverted to the status of a mission of Our Lady of Grace Church.

February 1953: A public school adjacent to the church was purchased from Upper St. Clair Township, remodeled and dedicated as St. John Capistran Church.

December 1968: St. John’s became a separate parish. Rev. Eugene J. Dougherty was the first resident Pastor. July 1971: Rev. Edward F. Sweeney was appointed Pastor.

February 1972: Ground was broken for a new church. The first mass celebrated there was the Christmas mid-night mass.

March 1975: Rev. Bernard M. Harcarik was appointed Pastor.

April 1982: Ground was broken for Capistran Hall and for the total refurbishment of the original school building. The new construction was formally dedicated by Fr. Harcarik and Msgr. Keefer in October.

Spring 1985: The new Rectory was completed.

May 1986: Rev. John M. O'Toole was appointed Pastor.

July 1991: Rev. Robert J. Reardon was named as Pastor.

June 2003: The Pastoral Room, constructed earlier, was dedicated and renamed the Reardon Room.

July 2003: Rev. James J. Chepponis was named as Pastor.

St. Thomas More Church was established June 17, 1953. Reverend James P. Logue was appointed the first pastor of St. Thomas More by Bishop John J. Dearden.

The first Sunday Masses were held in the old Upper St. Clair Fire Hall on Rte. 19.  When that became to small, Sunday Masses were conducted in the old Clifton School, now the site of Upper St. Clair High School. Rev Logue rented an office on the 2nd floor of the Mitchell Corner Shopping Center, over a shoe store and next door to a bowling alley.

In October of 1953 plans were laid for the construction of a small, portable all-alluminum church to be built on the Highland Road property belonging to the Sisters of St. Joseph. Just one year later, this church - the first of it's kind - was dedicated on October 2, 1954.  When the Sisters required that site for the building of Fontbonne Academy in 1958, the so-called "Quonset Hut" church was relocated to church property facing Fort Couch Road.  It could seat 500.

At the same time, plans went ahead for the building of a school, office, multi-purpose room and cafeteria. The first students attended in 1957 and by 1959 the school was expanded to include 16 classrooms and other facilities. Another building - the convent - was completed in 1963. The former convent, a frame house on Fort Couch Road, was converted into the priests rectory.

Upon the sudden death of Rev. Logue in October 1965, Monsignor Francis J. Rooney was assigned as Pastor to St. Thomas More Parish. In September of 1966, grading for the new church and rectory was completed. The corner-stone was laid on April 21, 1969 by John Cardinal Wright. On September 14, 1969, the church was dedicated by Bishop Vincent M. Leonard.

This church was rededicated by Bishop Donald Wuerl on June 12, 1993, following a complete renovation under the guidance of Rev. Kenneth R. White, then the pastor.

In 2008, Fr. James Wehner is named Pastor of St. Thomas More. 
In 2009, Fr. Mark Eckman was named Pastor of St. Thomas More. 
In 2013, Fr. James Farnan was named Pastor of St. Thomas More. 
In 2018, Fr. Peter Horton was named Administrator of St. Thomas More.  
In 2018 Fr. Peter Horton was named Administrator of  St. John Capistran. 
In 2020, Fr. Mark Eckman was named Administrator of St. John Capistran and St. Thomas More churches.
January of 2021 the two churches merged to become Resurrection Parish.