Misericordia Hospital

...ast first approached the Sisters about building a hospital.[2] So with the support of the Archbishop, Mother Mary Patricia Waldron, head of the order in Philadelphia, purchased a farm plot for $100,000 after having to mortgage most of the Sister’s properties.[3] To help offset the costs, Prendergast started a fundraising

Continue reading

Alliance of Catholic Women

...er notable part of the Alliance was its focus on education. This took on a number of different forms over the years. In 1920 with its first major program, the ACW established an endowment to fund scholarships to the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania.[6] Named after an early member, the

Continue reading

World War One Army Chaplains

...Catholic priests in the armed forces; however, by the end of the war that number grew to over 1,000.[2] Of those, 38 chaplains came from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.[3] One chaplain’s life of remarkable note was that of Father Joseph L. N. Wolfe. Born December 26, 1881, Wolfe attended Roman

Continue reading

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

...merging of Byzantine and Romanesque styles.[3] The change in design had a number of reasons, which the architect, 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

Continue reading