Last Days of the Union

...11 marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. The state of South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. In apparent response to this news, Reverend Joseph Cullen from St. Bridget's Parish recorded a brief yet profound statement in the church marriage register. Dated

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Beloved Cardinal Archbishop: John Francis O’Hara

...John Francis after his patron St. Francis de Sales.[1] His family moved to South America when he was a child, living in both Peru and Uruguay. Returning to the United States in 1908, John attended the University of Notre Dame and soon after graduating entered Holy Cross Seminary in 1912.[2]

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Cardinal Dougherty Jubilee

...1940. Over 160,000 people packed Municipal Stadium (later JFK Stadium) in South Philadelphia to celebrate it. Dennis Joseph Dougherty   Planning the Jubilee Dougherty’s Golden Jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood was seen as a way to honor his work in expanding the Catholic Church, as well as celebrating

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A Brief History of the Growing Pains of the Church in Philadelphia

...of the Diocese of Philadelphia included all of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and South Jersey. The first bishop was Michael Francis Egan, who had only 11 priests and 12 churches under his jurisdiction in Pennsylvania.[5] As the first bishop, Egan faced problems in establishing authority, with the trustees who ran Old Saint

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