Philadelphia’s First Bishop
...adelphia. After Egan’s appointment as bishop, Saint Mary’s became the diocesan procathedral (an existing parish church used as a cathedral). Engraving of Old St. Mary, n.d. Michael Egan was named the first bishop of the Diocese of Philadelphia in April 1808, although political conditions in Europe and slow communications from
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
Parish and School Closing
...es. This almost forced Roman Catholic High School for Boys, the first diocesan high school in the country to close in 1988. While it was able to recover, other institutions would not be so lucky. Halvey_654J_021 Halvey_654J_022 Halvey_667J_004 Halvey_667J_009 Halvey_667J_013 Halvey_677J_024 Parishes Merge In 1992, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua announced
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