For members of St. Kilian Parish in Cranberry, the journey home is nearly complete. Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik will join parishioners at 2 p.m. on Sept. 25 to dedicate the Catholic parish's new church, adjacent to the existing parish center on 32 acres near the intersection of Franklin Road and Route 228. The event will be the culmination of a process that began nearly 15 years ago, when then-Bishop Donald Weurl reconfigured the canonical boundaries of St. Kilian and St. Ferdinand in Cranberry. The changes added more than 1,400 families to the St. Kilian congregation. The $11 million construction project, which includes the new church, maintenance building and renovated rectory, will be completed in time for the parish Centennial Celebration in 2017. “This truly feels like we are coming home,� said the Rev. Charles Bober, pastor at St. Kilian. “To walk into the building with Bishop Zubik for the dedication is going to be a thrill. We'll finally have a place where we feel like we belong.� Members have been attending services using chairs in the gymnasium in the parish center, or the auditorium at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School in Cranberry. The main level of the new building will provide church seating for more than 1,100, all in traditional church pews with kneelers. “People have been asking me how many people the new church will hold, and I tell them it depends on how wide they are,� Bober said with a laugh. The church will have an elevated altar, along with a sacristy, confessionals, choir area, child-calming area and more. The lower level will feature a church fellowship hall with seating for up to 350, a commercial kitchen, meeting rooms, office space and a bridal suite. The building, however, will not be without important pieces of history. Bober said the stained glass windows were preserved from five churches in the Pittsburgh and Scranton areas, and the tower will feature three bells. Two are 110 years old and once pealed at the former St. Matthew, in the South Side, and the third is 120 years old and has been stored at McShane's Bell Foundry in Baltimore, where it was originally forged. St. Kilian School will continue to be housed in the parish center, where it opened as a pre-kindergarten for the 2007-08 school year. The school since has grown to include pre-K through eighth grade, and with more than 600 students is the largest Catholic primary school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. St. Kilian Parish was formed in 1917 to serve Catholic residents in the Mars and Adams Township areas. The congregation in 1920 purchased a former Free Methodist Church that was used until 2008. The parish now has more than 11,400 members, making it one of the largest parishes in the diocese. Vince Townley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-772-6364 or vtownley@tribweb,com. Email Newsletters TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.