I was proud to hear visitors tell me that Philadelphia is a beautiful city and that Saint John's is an amazing place to pray and attend Mass. People comment on the beauty of our church and our Sunday Mass music. Occasionally they tell me that they like our homilies also!
Saint John's is a haven of prayer and silence in the midst of our busy Center City. As I have said often in this column, these days visitors are more than 50% of our Sunday Mass congregation. And visitors often join us for weekday Masses also. The Convention Center visitors are often present at Saint John's.
While visitors, tourists and conventioneers are important for Saint John's, Saint John's is important for Market East as well. Many years ago, in the early 1990s, as the Convention Center was being built, I was speaking casually with Mayor Edward Rendell. Mayor Rendell is remembered for inaugurating a positive renewal of Philadelphia, particularly Center City. I told him that I hoped that the Convention Center would bring worshipers to Saint John's. The Mayor told me that Saint John's would be important to the revival of Center City. He said that people coming for conventions would want nice restaurants and places to shop and that some of them would want a Catholic Church to go to Mass. As time passes, I understand and heartily agree with what Mayor Rendell told me over 30 years ago.
Post Covid, Market East has fallen on hard times. There are lots of empty storefronts along Market and Chestnut Streets. Homelessness is very evident.
Yet Saint John's is still here. We manage to keep our church open all day, though we have challenges and occasional problems. Saint John's is not a wealthy parish and we struggle to pay our bills and our staff.
Our mission is spiritual and sacramental, but we are also an important anchor in Center City's Market East neighborhood. Our open and vibrant church assists people to encounter Christ, but we are also an important asset which keeps our neighborhood safe and alive.
