Bishop David Zubik relishes the life he lives as head of Pittsburgh's Roman Catholic diocese.
He often refers to the "great quality of the Pittsburgh people."
"I'll give you an example," said Zubik, 59, a charismatic, well-spoken man who was born in Sewickley and grew up in Ambridge.
"When you are driving on the interstate or the Parkway here in Pittsburgh and you need to change lanes, or when others need to do so, and you let them, they wave to thank you. You don't see that anywhere else.
"That is Pittsburgh."
Born Sept. 4, 1949, Zubik and his family moved from Sewickley to Ambridge and was a member of Good Samaritan Parish for many years. Zubik attended St. Stanislaus School and St. Veronica High School, both in Ambridge.
His father, Stanley, still lives in the Pittsburgh area. His mother, Susan, died in 2006.
There is excitement in his voice when he speaks of being installed as the 12th bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh in September 2007.
The boy who first thought of becoming a priest in first grade is proud to participate in the daily life of the Roman Catholic Church as much as possible. One way he does this is by forgoing one of the traditional trappings of a bishop.
Instead of living in a mansion that has served as the bishop's residence, he lives in a two-room apartment surrounded by the seminarians at St. Paul Seminary in Crafton.
Zubik is especially proud to continue the work of former Bishop Donald W. Wuerl, now the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, whom he considers to be his mentor.
"This is my life, leading the church," Zubik said in the living room of his apartment. "I love this. There is nothing that I would rather be doing."
Before returning to Pittsburgh as bishop, he was head of the Roman Catholic diocese in Green Bay, Wis., and auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh.
He is the fifth native son to lead the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, which encompasses a six-county area with 800,000 Catholics and 214 parishes. It is second in the state in population to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The mother church of the diocese is St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland.
"You are never going to know what is going to happen," said Zubik, who earned an undergraduate degree from Duquesne University and a theology degree from St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore. "I never expected to come back here.
"But that's what God wanted, and I was more than happy to do it."
The Pittsburgh diocese is selling the Shadyside mansion that had housed its previous five leaders. The 24-room structure, built in 1911 and donated to the diocese in 1949, has 9,842 square feet of living space, including 11 bedrooms, six full baths and one half-bath.
Real estate agents said the property could fetch almost double its appraised value of $1.5 million.
