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
Thomas Nast Anti-Irish Cartoons
Among the recently digitized images added to our online collection are a number of drawings by cartoonist Thomas Nast. In 1846 at the age of six, Nast immigrated with his mother to the United States and by age 15 he had begun drawing for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated News.[1] He joined
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
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