American Federation of Catholic Societies
...that the Church had experienced in the mid-1800s. Despite these concerns a number of archbishops and bishops supported the new organization and it slowly started to expend. In 1903, the Pennsylvania Federation was founded with the goal of “cementing the bonds of fraternal union among the Catholic laity and the
Philadelphia’s First Bishop
..., the city and county of Philadelphia had over 100,000 inhabitants. As the number of Catholics in the United States grew, Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore suggested that his immense diocese be divided, and in 1808 the Dioceses of Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Bardstown, Kentucky were established. The newly
Archbishop Ryan
...focused on serving minorities in the community by serving on the Board of Indian Commissioners (appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt) and opening the first African-American parish, St. Peter’s Claver.[12] His work with the underserved could be seen most clearly in his connections with Saint Katharine Drexel. After the death of
Parish and School Closing
...2, 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 1990. Due to this and lingering financial