Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

...merging of Byzantine and Romanesque styles.[3] The change in design had a number of reasons, which the architect, Charles Maginnis, stated arose out of a desire for a “distinctively American” church that would allow for a blending of the architecture in Washington D.C.[4] Another practical reason was the contemporary building

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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

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World War One Army Chaplains

...as “tired and weary and sad for their dead” but able to repel the German advance “by cold steel and American valor.”[7] According to a lieutenant in his company, even when the battle was raging father Wolfe was always “right up in the front line all the time, encouraging and

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Catholics in WWII

...stant chaplains.[6] O’Hara’s letter also included a list breaking down the number of chaplains from each diocese, in which Philadelphia had the second most with 51. As the war continued that number would increase to 68, unfortunately eight of those Philadelphia priests would die in the war, the most of

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