Ten years ago, Bishop Donald Wuerl watched the city's annual St. Patrick's Day parade from a window inside the Epiphany Catholic Church across from Mellon Arena as a blizzard covered the region. The head of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh had a strikingly different vantage point Saturday. As grand marshal of the 134th annual parade, Wuerl -- whose mother was Irish -- led about 200 marching groups and bands along the clogged streets of Downtown. "It's a wonderful day," said Wuerl, minutes before kicking off the event with a short prayer. "The special joy about St. Patrick's Day is that it's a salute to the roots of everyone. St. Patrick reminds us that we all have roots and woven into our roots is our faith." Thousands of Irish and Irish wannabes took in the parade -- and the picture-perfect weather -- with some wearing shorts and T-shirts. The mercury hit 64, according to meteorologists at the National Weather Service. Former City Councilman Bob O'Connor remembered a chillier time. He was one of the few brave marchers who took to the streets during the 1993 blizzard that dumped two feet of snow on the region. "There was no one here 10 years ago, maybe 100 people," said O'Connor, now director of Gov. Ed Rendell's southwestern regional office in Pittsburgh. "It's a lot better today." Paul Flaherty, of Shadyside, agreed. He marched 10 years ago, as he did yesterday, with the Gaelic League of Pittsburgh. "Today may be one of those days when I get sunburned," said the fair-skinned Flaherty, who brought along his daughter, Campbell, 4. The event drew rave reviews from Shawn Felsing, of the North Side, who attended along with his sons Shawn, 5, and Dustin, 3. "I don't think it can get any better than this," said Felsing, sitting on a sidewalk at the corner of Centre Avenue and Washington Place. St. Patrick's Day holiday has special meaning to Sheila Burke, of Ross. Three years ago, she met her soon-to-be-husband, John Duffy, on St. Patrick's Day. "We always get together with friends and family and meeting John on St. Patrick's Day has made it even more special," said Burke, 31, who plans to wed in October. "We have lots of reasons to celebrate. It's a great day to be Irish."

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---