Parish and School Closing

...2, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua announced plans to examine the closing of a number of parishes in North Philadelphia and the city of Chester. Both areas saw a major decrease in parishioners, with both areas losing around 60% of registered members from 1970 to 1990. Due to this and lingering financial

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Philadelphia’s First Catholic Cathedral

...cemetery for Old St. Joseph’s, Old St. Mary’s was referred to as “Mission Number 1” as St. Joseph’s was seen as the principal place of worship. The church was originally 50 feet by 80 feet and the entrance was through 5th street. Both George Washington and John Adams attended Vespers

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1832 Cholera Outbreak in Philadelphia and Duffy’s Cut

...-stricken patients in that Hospital. Four others of the Sisters gave their services in other hospitals…priests proved their character and their strong virtues, caring for the sick in the exercise of the sacred ministry; while non-Catholic ministers generally fled from the city.” Excerpt from Kenrick's diary, September 22, 1832 Kenrick

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Digital Collections

Digital Collections CHRC has a large number of items that have been digitized through various digitization projects, partnerships, patron research requests, and social media initiatives. We endeavor to provide standardized descriptive practices and open access to this growing collection over the web. CHRC's Omeka site features a growing set of

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