On March 26, 1889, Archbishop Patrick Ryan wrote to Mother Katharine Drexel to inform her that he had secured a priest to minister to the Black Catholics in Philadelphia.[1] There had been a growing need for a dedicated ministry for some time. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Black Catholics did not have a church of their own but rather attended Mass at various churches in the city, such as Old St. Joe’s, Old St. Mary’s, and Holy Trinity.[2] It was Father Hiltermann of Holy Trinity that was one of the first to recognize the importance of giving the Black Catholics their own space, similar to the Germans he served. So, in 1886, Hiltermann reserved one Sunday Mass per week to be for the Black Catholics and at the same time organized them into the St. Peter Claver Union.[3] While Holy Trinity did not have enough priests to maintain the Mass for more than a year, the St. Peter Claver Union continued and its members would meet weekly throughout the rest of the 1880s.[4]
When Katharine Drexel was in Pittsburgh studying under the Sisters of Mercy to form her own order, she meet the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. Also known as the Holy Ghost Fathers, this order of priests had numerous missions in Africa and through the work of Drexel and Ryan, agreed to come to Philadelphia. Father Peter McDermott CSSp arrived in Philadelphia in 1889 and set up a small rectory, chapel, and school at 832 Pine Street, in a house purchased by Katharine Drexel.[5] Right away the school had over 80 children, taught by the CSSp and the Sisters of Notre Dame and the chapel was standing room only.[6] With the help of the Beneficial Saving Fund Society (future Beneficial Bank), St. Peter Claver was able to purchase an old Presbyterian church. On January 3, 1892, Archbishop Ryan dedicated the new church, among those in attendance were Katharine Drexel and other members of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.[7]
In October 1898, the church would have the first designated shrine in the archdiocese, which was dedicated to Our Lady of Victory.[8] Originally installed as a side altar in April of that year, the devotion to Our Lady of Victory eventually grew so that the parish joined the Archconfraternity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a society started in France in 1836. Within a few years, there were over 10,000 members in Philadelphia.[9] The shrine itself was modeled off the original church in France and the statues were imported from Italy.[10] In 1903, new electrical lights in the shape of stars were installed and two gold crowns were made to adorn the statues of Jesus and Mary.[11]
As St. Peter Claver’s grew, a new school was needed, which was dedicated in 1906.[12] Eventually, the parish became the mother church for the growing number of Black Catholic churches in the city. The church would continue to play an important part in the lives of Black Catholics until its closure in 1985.[13] Despite the church’s closure, the spirit of the parish lived on through the St. Peter Claver Center for Evangelization which was based out of the rectory.
[1] Letter to Katharine Drexel, 3/26/1889, MC 76: 61.686
[2] Historic St. Peter Claver R.C. Church, 101st Anniversary, PH 120
[3] Souvenir of the Diamond Jubilee of St. peter Claver’s Parish, 1961, PH 120
[4] Golden Jubilee of St. Peter Claver’s, 1936, PH 120
[5] Golden Jubilee of St. Peter Claver’s, 1936, PH 120
[6] Catholic Negroes: the work that is Done for them in this City, Catholic Standard, 2/1/1890
[7] The New St. peter Claver’s Church, Catholic Standard, 1/9/1892
[8] Shrine of Our Lady of Victories, Saint Peter Claver’s Church: Perpetual Novena, (Philadelphia: Jeffferies and Manz), PH 120
[9]Shrine of Our Lady of Victories in Saint Peter Claver’s Church, Catholic Standard and Times, 02/01/1902
[10] Souvenir of the Diamond Jubilee of St. peter Claver’s Parish, 1961, PH 120
[11] Shrine of Our Lady of Victories, Saint Peter Claver’s Church, 1903, PH 120
[12] Golden Jubilee of St. Peter Claver’s, 1936, PH 120
[13] Historic St. Peter Claver R.C. Church, 101st Anniversary, PH 120