Day of Great Joy: Sisters of St. Joseph in Philadelphia

Bishop Kenrick wrote that May 4, 1847 was a day of great joy for the Diocese of Philadelphia because it was on that day after weeks of traveling across the country from St. Louis, the Sisters of St. Joseph arrived to take control of St. John’s Orphanage.[1] Bishop Kenrick had

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The Church and Labor

CHRC has a large collection of pamphlets and writings that deal with Catholics and its teaching on the economy. The Catholic Church has a long connection to labor and the plight of the worker, beginning with Pope Leo XIII's famous Encyclical, Rerum Novarum (Latin for Of New Things), published in

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Building of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a diocese must be in want of a cathedral. When the Diocese of Philadelphia was established in 1808, Bishop Michael Egan made Old St. Mary’s the first Cathedral of the diocese.[1] In 1837, Bishop Francis Kenrick tried to moved his seat to St.

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Centennial Exposition

The International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine was held from May to November 1876 in Fairmount Park to mark the 100th anniversary of the United States. Called the Centennial Exposition for short, it was a world’s fair featuring displays from around the country and

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