The mission of Saint John’s has never changed, of course, but it has shifted through the years. From my reading of history, Saint John’s was a neighborhood church when it was founded in 1830. As demographics shifted and Center City […]

Center City, Philadelphia’s business and cultural center, is also a vibrant residential community. According to the Center City District’s 2024 report, Center City has 280,000 jobs and more than 200,000 residents. The Pennsylvania Convention Center received more than 860,000 visitors […]

While at prayer in the crumbling chapel of San Damiano, Saint Francis of Assisi heard the voice of Jesus tell him to rebuild the church which was falling into ruin. He took the message literally and began to repair neglected […]

When Catholics go to Jerusalem on pilgrimage and visit the Church of the Tomb of Mary, they are confused. Why is there a tomb of Mary when Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven? There should be no tomb! […]

The Catholic Church offers a three year cycle of Scripture readings for Sundays. In year A, during Ordinary Time, we read the Gospel of Matthew; in year B, Mark in year C, Luke. We read the Gospel of John during […]

Saint John’s Sunday bulletin always includes information on Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church and School. Some may wonder why Holy Redeemer’s information is part of our bulletin. Holy Redeemer was founded from Saint John the Evangelist Church and still canonically […]

Many people pray hopefully before the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the upper church. There is a photo of the statue’s amazing survival of the fire of 1899 aside the statue. We often tell visitors bits and pieces […]

Light the City Mark your calendar. On Saturday, August 10, our young adults will be on the street in the evening, inviting passersby to come into the church to light a candle and to pray. We need street evangelizers, but […]

The Center City District has published its annual “State of Center City” report. The entire report is located at centercityphila.org. The Center City District is funded by a tax on all Center City residents and businesses and is re- sponsible […]

This week we celebrate Independence Day. On June 19th, we celebrated Juneteenth Day. I had not heard of Juneteenth a few years ago; it’s only when it became a national holiday that this commemoration came to my notice. The juxtaposition […]