41st International Eucharistic Congress
In 1976, Philadelphia hosted a major event unrelated to the bicentennial celebrations. It was the 41st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC), which brought Catholics together from around the world to celebrate and discuss a theme connected to the Eucharist. The history of the event dates back to 1881, when a one
Archbishop Ryan
135 years ago on July 8th, 1884, Patrick John Ryan was appointed as the new Archbishop of Philadelphia. Ryan replaced Archbishop Wood who had passed away a year prior. Patrick Ryan was born in Thurles, Ireland on February 20, 1831.[1] His father would pass away when he was nine and
Catholics Responses to the Spanish Civil War
April marks 80 years since the end of the Spanish Civil War, in which the Nationalists defeated the Republicans. Both groups were diverse coalitions, with the Nationalists comprised of groups from monarchists to fascists while the Republicans contained liberal democrats to anarchists. The Catholic Church found itself thrust into the
Dougherty’s Movie Boycott
On May 23, 1934, Cardinal Dougherty called on all Catholics living in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to boycott motion picture theaters.[1] By doing so, Dougherty declared it sinful for any of the area’s 800,000 Catholics to enter a movie theater. In his letter to the priests of the Archdiocese, Dougherty