Philadelphia’s First Catholic Cathedral
...races its history to 1763, when a second church was needed for the growing number of Catholics in the city. Built on land originally bought to serve as a cemetery for Old St. Joseph’s, Old St. Mary’s was referred to as “Mission Number 1” as St. Joseph’s was seen as
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
Philadelphia’s First Bishop
...priest, Reverend William Harold. Bishop Egan suffered ill health for many years, with symptoms suggesting tuberculosis. His poor health was exacerbated by the almost yearly outbreaks of yellow fever in Philadelphia. During these outbreaks, over half the city residents fled to the country, and churches and gathering places were nearly
American Federation of Catholic Societies
...s of the clergy were nervous that this would give rise to anti-Catholic sentiment that the Church had experienced in the mid-1800s. Despite these concerns a number of archbishops and bishops supported the new organization and it slowly started to expend. In 1903, the Pennsylvania Federation was founded with the