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A Historic Tour of
Catholic Philadelphia
TIME:
April 19, 2008 10:00 AM
EVENT DESCRIPTION:
The International Institute for Culture
presents:
Join the IIC for a trolley/walking tour of Colonial Catholic Philadelphia in honor of the 200th Anniversary of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Founded in 1682, William Penn’s “holy experiment” of Pennsylvania permitted religious toleration for persecuted Catholics which lead to public masses and a growing Catholic population in the colonial city of brotherly love. In 1733 Old St. Joseph’s was the first Catholic church to be built followed by Old St. Mary's. Both played a role in the early history of the city, with St. Mary’s as the first location to commemorate the Declaration of Independence and serving as the Cathedral for the new diocese when it was established in 1808 with Michael Egan, O.F.M. as the first Bishop.
Date: Saturday, April 19, 2008
Time: 10am-4pm
Location: leaving Ivy Hall at 10am for Society Hill,
returning to Ivy Hall at 4pm
Cost: $75 for trolley, tour & lunch at the Historic City Tavern
RSVP required (PLEASE RSVP BY APRIL 15TH –LIMITED TO 30 PARTICIPANTS)
The tour includes an introduction to the early church in Philadelphia, trolley ride to historic Society Hill, a walking tour of Old St. Joseph’s and Old St. Mary’s (each guided by staff of the parish) along with a visit to the American Catholic Historical Society, housed in a grand colonial Federal brick row house. Lunch will be served at the reconstructed City Tavern followed by a visit to Holy Trinity German Catholic Church established in 1788. Please join us for this first local IIC sponsored tour of our Great City!
Itinerary:
10:00 AM: Leave Ivy Hall, the Headquarters of the International Institute for Culture, located at 6331 Lancaster Ave. in the historic Overbrook Farms section of Philadelphia on a Trolley to the Society Hill section of the city.
11:00 AM (approximately) Tour Old St. Joseph’s Catholic Church located at Willings Alley, between Walnut & Locust, 3 rd & 4 th streets. web: www.oldstjoseph.org.
In 1733 the first public Catholic mass in Philadelphia was celebrated in this first Catholic parish in the city by Jesuit Father Joseph Greaton. Although challenged as contrary to English law, the right to such worship was upheld by the Provincial Council under William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges. In 1757, the chapel was replaced by a larger church and six years later, St. Mary’s was constructed a block away. The two operated as one parish until 1799. In 1839, the present church building was dedicated, and in 1888, the parish became known as “Old St. Joseph’s.”
Walking down Willings Alley into the small walled courtyard, one falls back into the colonial past in the city’s first parish and the early beginnings of what is now St. Joseph’s University. The present church features religious art added over the years, including the 1850 stained glass window above the altar, the glass mosaic windows along the north and south walls and the ceiling painting, The Exaltation of Saint Joseph into Heaven, by Italian artist Philippo Costaggini, whose work also appears in the Capitol in Washington, D.C. The stations and bas relief in the back are from contemporary Philadelphia artist Tony Visco.
 
11:30 AM (approximately) Walk 1-2 blocks to Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church located at 248 South 4 th Street above Spruce.
The city's second-oldest Catholic church was built circa 1763. A Gothic-style facade was added in 1880; the interior was redone in 1979. The stained-glass windows, a ceiling mural of the Virgin Mary, and brass chandeliers that hung in the Founders Room of Independence Hall until 1967 are highlights. Commodore John Barry, a Revolutionary War naval hero, and other famous Philadelphians are buried in the small churchyard.
The church was the site of the first public religious commemoration of the Declaration of Independence and became the first Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Diocese of Philadelphia (1810-38).
Though not members of St. Mary's congregation, the rich and famous spent time in her pews. Members of the Continental Congress officially attended services here four times from 1777 to 1781. The ecumenical George Washington worshiped here on at least two occasions. Puritan-born John Adams came too and wrote to his wife Abigail,
"The music, consisting of an organ and a choir of singers, went all the afternoon except sermon time, and the assembly chanted most sweetly and exquisitely. Here is everything that can lay hold of the eye, ear, and imagination, everything which can charm and bewitch the simple and ignorant, I wonder how Luther ever broke the spell."
12:15 PM (approximately) walk across the street to The American Catholic Historical Society building located at 263 South 4 th Street. web: www.amchs.org
The American Catholic Historical Society (ACHS) was founded for the purpose of collecting and preserving materials relating to American history and the contributions of Catholics to the building of our great nation, as well as the Catholic Church in the United States. It is the oldest historical organization of its kind in the United States.
Founded in 1884, the society's goal has been to collect research and maintain a history of Catholic contributions to our culture. From the beginning of our history, Catholics have been instrumental in adding to the forward progress of our nation.
The headquarters of the American Catholic Historical Society is a patrician four-story building on South Fourth Street, Philadelphia. Erected in 1810, its design is in the austere style of the Federalist period.
The building is listed by the U.S. Department of Interior in the National Register of Historic places and was designated Historic by the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Originally (since 1895) the Society had been in the former Biddle mansion at 715 Spruce Street. When that building was needed by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority they encouraged the Society to seek new quarters elsewhere. Fortunately, at that time, the present building on Fourth Street became available in the heart of the newly restored Independence Area, a major project of the U.S. National Park Service.
1:15 PM Arrive at City Tavern for Lunch located at 138 South 2nd Street at Walnut St. www.citytavern.com
Called the "most genteel" tavern in America by John Adams, City Tavern was one of the social, political, and economic centers of late-18th century Philadelphia. It was built originally in 1773 by a group of eminent Philadelphians who felt that their hometown deserved a fine tavern that reflected its status as the largest, most cosmopolitan city in British North America. The tavern gained fame as the gathering place for members of the Continental Congresses and the Constitutional Convention and for officials of the Federal Government from 1790 - 1800. The building has been reconstructed on the original site and serves as a unique venue to experience gracious meals that would have been served in the 18 th century.
Menu: The Liberty Menu
First Course
Lancaster Field Greens Salad
Entrée
Colonial Turkey Pot Pie
Dessert
Fresh Fruit Cobbler
All entrees are served with freshly baked breads, chef’s choice of accompaniments & coffee & hot tea unless otherwise noted (vegetarian option available upon request). All alcohol, soda & juice are additional.
2:30 PM Leave City Tavern on Trolley for Holy Trinity German Catholic Church located at 6 th and Spruce Streets.
Holy Trinity was built in 1788-89 by Philadelphia’s German Catholic community. William Palmer was the master builder. It was the first parish church in the United States established specifically to serve a national group. The religious turmoil and economic hardships of war-torn Germany had brought German immigrants to Pennsylvania since its founding by William Penn in 1682. By the 1780s they accounted for more than half the Catholic population of the city. Their request to build a separate church and school where they could pray and teach in their native language received approval of John Carroll, Prefect Apostolic, in 1788. Today the church appears almost exactly as it did in 1789. The front of the church is placed perpendicular to Spruce Street so that the altar faces east, a custom of early Catholic churches in America. Holy Trinity's brickwork is one of the city's finest examples of Flemish bond with red stretcher bricks alternating with glazed black headers.
The alter painting of the crucifixion was completed by Francis Drexel who became the founder of the Drexel banking business and father of St. Katherine Drexel.
The churchyard inspired the final scene of H.W. Longfellow's poem, Evangeline.
Side by side, in their nameless graves,
the lovers are sleeping.
Under the humble walls of the little
Catholic churchyard,
In the heart of the city they lie,
Unknown and unnoticed.
The poem was based on the real tragedy of the Acadians, who were exiled from Nova Scotia by the British as punishment for their loyalty to France during the French and Indian War (1754-63). More than 450 Acadians found refuge in Philadelphia at that time.
Return to the International Institute for Culture at 4:00 PM.
COST
Cost: $75/each
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