Philadelphia’s First Catholic Cathedral

...gton and John Adams attended Vespers there in October of 1774. On September 13, 1788, the Pennsylvania Legislator passed an act incorporating the new trustees of St. Mary’s. When Philadelphia was made a diocese in 1808 there were only four Catholic Churches in the city: Old St. Joseph’s, Old St.

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Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Rt. Rev. Thomas Shahan 1993.018.EOS017; CHRC On August 15th of 1913, the project that Msgr. Thomas Shahan has been working on and dreaming of since the early 1900s was given the green light by none other than Pope Pius X. The approval was for the building of the Basilica of

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World War One Army Chaplains

...,’ Father Wolfe Writes from Trenches” Catholic Standard and Times, November 16, 1918. [8] “Father Wolfe is Lauded for Bravery Under Fire,” Catholic Standard and Times, September 28, 1918. [9] Gibbons, Chris, “A Phila. Chaplain’s Heroic WWI Acts,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 1, 2017, http://www2.philly.com/philly/opinion/20170101_A_Phila__chaplain_s_heroic_WWI_acts.html. [10] “Funeral,” CST, July 8,

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Catholics in WWII

...s that there were never enough chaplains to go around. In a letter from May 19, 1942, O’Hara stated that they had over 1,000 Catholic chaplains but were in need of 600 more or else risked losing those spots to Protestant chaplains.[6] O’Hara’s letter also included a list breaking down

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