Philadelphia’s First Bishop

...his immense diocese be divided, and in 1808 the Dioceses of Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Bardstown, Kentucky were established. The newly formed Diocese of Philadelphia encompassed all of Pennsylvania and Delaware, and the southern half of New Jersey. Just two years later, the Diocese of Philadelphia had approximately 11

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

...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 consumed more than 800,000 pounds of bread, 16,000 pounds of butter and 334,000 quarts of milk. During the war,

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Parish and School Closing

...eight parishes in North Philadelphia would close and consolidate into two new ones: Our Lady of Hope and St. Martin de Porres. In Chester, all six parishes in the city would merge into one new parish called Blessed (now Saint) Katharine Drexel. Other parishes to close in 1993 included St.

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Philadelphia’s First Catholic Cathedral

...later. Due to all these issues, Kenrick sought to move the cathedral to a new church. Finally in 1838, Kenrick designated St. John the Evangelist as the new pro-Cathedral. Despite the rocky relationship between the trustees and the bishops, Old St. Mary’s served as vital role in the history of

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