A priest who served in Wilmington, Delaware, Patrick Reilly (1807-1885) founded and ran St. Mary’s College in 1841. The school was considered the most prominent Catholic men’s boarding school in the mid-Atlantic region. Attendance at the school dropped significantly during the Civil War due to the fact that more than

Born into a prominent Philadelphia Quaker family, Thomas Middleton Cooke (1842-1923) converted to Catholicism and joined the Augustinian order. After his ordination, Middleton was assigned to Villanova University (then Villanova College) where he served for almost 60 years. He served as the University’s tenth president from 1876 to 1878. He

... This collection contains various souvenir materials, including correspondence, ephemera, published items, and photographs commemorating the Marian year celebrations and events that took place within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1954. View legacy finding aid (PDF) ...