St. Peter Claver

...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

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Thomas Nast Anti-Irish Cartoons

...with the National Guard protecting an Irish Protestant parade, Nast drew a number of anti-Irish cartoons for Harper’s Weekly. One cartoon illustrated the Draft Riots of July 1863, where Irish Catholics attacked African-Americans throughout New York City. At the top of the drawing Nast wrote that the Irish Catholic is

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Daughters of Charity Nursed Wounded Civil War Soldiers at West Philadelphia hospital

...ing the Battle of Gettysburg which occurred during July 1863, the greatest number of wounded were admitted to the hospital in a single month. The following month of August saw the greatest number of deaths in any one month, averaging at least one per day. In just one year, patients

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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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