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 […]
Several times in this bulletin I have informed you of a critical capital project that must be done for the survival of Saint John Church. Overall, we have maintained our churches (upper and lower) well. We have responded quickly to […]
Throughout the world Catholics are invited to support Pope Francis by making a donation to the Peter’s Pence Collection this weekend, June 15 and 16. The money collected supports the Pope’s ministry of serving the church and assisting the poor. […]
Recently (published May 20, 2024) the “Catholic Preaching Institute” at Saint Charles Seminary conducted a survey of the attitudes of Philadelphia Catholics on the preaching that they hear in their parishes. Here are some results: 5970 people participated from 204 […]
Recently I spoke to a mother who was asking to baptize her baby. Of course, I scheduled the baptism, but I also encouraged the young mother to attend Mass with her husband. Though I have not been a parent, I […]
All of us Capuchin friars will be in Cleveland from May 28-31 for an Assembly, a several day gathering and meeting. We will discuss relevant topics, but the most important thing is that all friars of our Province will be […]
I’ve got good news and bad news (but mostly bad news) about the future of religion in the United States based on a recent Gallup poll on religious practice. First the good news: 30% of all US adults and 33 […]
The following was prepared by our parishioner, Nadine Boulware, who is providing us occasional articles on US Catholic Black history. Although the family origins of Elizabeth Clarissa Lange are unclear, it is likely that she was born about 1789 in […]