The Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost was founded on October 1, 1878 by Fr. Joseph Strub and the Holy Ghost Fathers, who had been expelled from Germany during Otto von Bismarck's Kulturkampf six years earlier.[5] When the college was founded, it had six faculty members and 40 students.[6] The college obtained its state charter in 1882.[5] Students attended classes in a rented space above a bakery on Wylie Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh.