St. Hilary Roman Catholic Church began as a Polish congregation on Henderson Avenue, at the corner of Bruce St and Henderson Avenue (Rt. 18 North) in Washington, Pennsylvania within the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The congregants were mostly laborers who worked in nearby coal mines, steel mills, and heavy labor. The small building, which reeked of age and from thousands of candles burnt down to nubs over the years, sat within a few hundred feet of St.