Philadelphia’s First Bishop

...ffered the safety of religious tolerance, but 50 years passed before great numbers of Catholics settled in the colony. The English-born Jesuit, Reverend Joseph Greaton, lived in Maryland as early as 1720, and traveled to Philadelphia to offer Mass and administer the sacraments. By 1729, Father Greaton had taken up

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Archbishop Ryan

...5, respectively.[10] Ryan was also active in labor relations, working on a number of occasions as a mediator before management and labor unions to bring about peace resolutions. The most notable was the city’s trolley car strike in 1885-1886. Ryan, serving as chairman of the negotiating committee, helped broker a

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Parish and School Closing

...ey_667J_009 Halvey_667J_013 Halvey_677J_024   Parishes Merge In 1992, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua announced plans to examine the closing of a number of parishes in North Philadelphia and the city of Chester. Both areas saw a major decrease in parishioners, with both areas losing around 60% of registered members from 1970 to

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Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

...mainly a story of the Church in Washington D.C., Philadelphia would have a number of important connections to the building of the shrine, including Reverend Bernard McKenna, who acted as Shahan’s secretary from 1915-1929 and then as the first director of the shrine from 1929-1933.[6] McKenna was born in Philadelphia

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