History

A Catholic History of Philadelphia

Catholic Philadelphia begins under William Penn's Charter of Privileges, with Jesuits saying Mass in private houses and Joseph Greaton building a chapel in 1733 that the Provincial Council let stand in 1734. Old Saint Mary's hosted Congress during the Revolution, the diocese came in 1808, and nativist mobs burned two churches in 1844. John Neumann was bishop from 1852 to 1860, Katharine Drexel founded her sisters in 1891, and the city held the Eucharistic Congress of 1976 and the World Meeting of Families of 2015, when Pope Francis spoke at Independence Hall. Parish mergers, the abuse reckoning and the Augustinian Pope Leo XIV mark the years since.

1682 to 1732

Penn's Charter and the First Masses

William Penn founded Pennsylvania as a holy experiment in which each person could worship according to conscience. The Charter of Privileges of 1701 guaranteed freedom of worship to everyone who believed in one God, though holding office was limited to Christians, and Catholics who sought office faced an oath rejecting the Mass. The colony soon drew Catholics from neighboring colonies.

After Maryland passed a law in 1704 against the spread of popery, the Jesuits moved their base north to Old Bohemia, just over the Pennsylvania line, and rode into Philadelphia to say Mass in private houses. The archdiocese dates the first public Mass to 1707 and the Catholic Historical Research Center to 1708 in a private home. Joseph Greaton, an English Jesuit, was living in the city by 1729.

Sources(22)

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