On February 16, 1899 at approximately 9 PM, a fire began on the south side of Market Street in the Emerson Shoe Company between 12th and 13th Streets. Soon a six story building was ablaze and several businesses were being […]
Lent begins this week on Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the biggest day of the year at Saint John’s; attendance surpasses Christmas and Easter. Saint John’s is a unique church with a robust weekday ministry because of the many workers […]
Saint Francis of Assisi died on October 3, 1226. This is the 800th anniversary of his death. In January, 2026, the Catholic Church just concluded its Great Jubilee year, a time of hope and renewal where pilgrimages where encouraged and […]
At the Last Supper on the night before He died, Jesus established the Holy Eucharist as a perpetual memorial of His suffering and death and as the means to continue His abiding presence in the Church and in each individual […]
Recently I was in a Center City restaurant having lunch with a Saint John’s parishioner. We were talking about Saint John’s church business and activities. I overheard people at the table next to ours also talking about their own church […]
In 1963, the Capuchin friars of Saint John Church saw the plight of many homeless men in our neighborhood and decided to do something about it. They opened a hospice in a small building on a nearby street. That small […]
The Baptism of Jesus is the final day of the Christmas season. The next day, Monday, January 12, begins Ordinary Time, which continues until Ash Wednesday and Lent. The baptism of Jesus should prompt us to think about our own […]
Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. We remember the magi, the wise men from the East, who followed a star and found the infant Jesus with Mary his mother. They did not come empty-handed; they brought gifts of […]
In a few days it will be 2026. I was with my best childhood friend when 1979 turned to 1980. I remember him saying that it was hard to believe that it was already 1980. Now 1980 is history, the […]
On Christmas eve and Christmas morning, the Church proclaims the Gospel of Luke. We hear how Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger because there was no room at the inn. When God became human, he […]