Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

...D.C.[4] Another practical reason was the contemporary building of the Episcopal Cathedral in the Gothic style just across town.[5] Early draft of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception; CHRC While mainly a story of the Church in Washington D.C., Philadelphia would have a number of important

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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

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Portrait photograph of Robert M. O'Reilly, circa 1870

A lengthy and active military career

.... For a time, O'Reilly was stationed at Red Cloud Agency, one of the first reservations established by the U.S. government, located in the northwestern corner of present-day Nebraska. This agency served as one of the centers of activity during the Sioux Wars of 1876-77. The government assigned troops to

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A Brief History of the Growing Pains of the Church in Philadelphia

...ogan was excommunicated, Old St. Mary’s supported him by ordering all “episcopal insignia be taken down” from the church and that Hogan resume his position as pastor of the parish.[8] The schism would even gain the attention of the Vatican, which sided with the authority of the bishop in a

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