Herman Joseph Heuser Papers

...5) was a nun dedicated to identifying and attending to the needs of Native Americans and African Americans and protesting the injustices of racism. Born to a family which owned a large banking fortune, Drexel used her wealth to fund missions and schools. She was beatified by Pope John Paul

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Catholics in WWII

...stant chaplains.[6] O’Hara’s letter also included a list breaking down the number of chaplains from each diocese, in which Philadelphia had the second most with 51. As the war continued that number would increase to 68, unfortunately eight of those Philadelphia priests would die in the war, the most of

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Archbishop Ryan

...5, respectively.[10] Ryan was also active in labor relations, working on a number of occasions as a mediator before management and labor unions to bring about peace resolutions. The most notable was the city’s trolley car strike in 1885-1886. Ryan, serving as chairman of the negotiating committee, helped broker a

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Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

...itect, Charles Maginnis, stated arose out of a desire for a “distinctively American” church that would allow for a blending of the architecture in Washington D.C.[4] Another practical reason was the contemporary building of the Episcopal Cathedral in the Gothic style just across town.[5] Early draft of the Basilica of

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