St. Anne Parish School Update

Project reader Tom Lochhead provides a welcome update on the status of St. Anne's school, first discussed in a post last month.

Hi Project,

Sorry for the delay in forwarding this to you. I was out of town.

As a follow up to your November 5 entry, St. Anne alumni and friends were charged with raising $100,000 by December 31 in order to keep the parish school open for another year. As you've stated previously, a familiar MO, out of the blue, plenty of money needed, and a short deadline during a recession and the Christmas season. As you can see in the attached memo, the parish has raised $40,000 so far and continues to solicit donations as the deadline nears.

While I hope for the best, I realize that even if the goal is met, the amount of funds needed to keep it open the following year and each succeeding year.

By going to the alumni web site www.stannealumni.org ,you can watch the countdown. Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year!

Tom is absolutely right, of course. Even if the St. Anne alumni manage to somehow miraculously come up with an additional US$60,000 in 11 days (unlikely), the model isn't working. The parish is going to face an increasing deficit every year. I applaud their efforts, but the school is toast.

You could argue that given the importance of Catholic education, the Archdiocese should step in and do something. But that's a dead horse I don't particularly feel like beating at the moment.

At the very least, the St. Anne kids won't be left in a lurch when the school closes--unlike attendees of two specific high schools that will remain unnamed. As noted previously, there are plenty of other nearby options. It won't be their own parish, and something special will undoubtedly be lost, but at least it's something. That's the most important thing.

Transfiguration Update

Thought it couldn't get worse? Think again.

See below for another photo update from Joe Kearney. There's not much more I can say at this point, although I feel compelled to point out that some disgusting tagger felt the need to deface what's left of the sanctuary.

Think you're some cool artist, eh? Guess again, moron. If you studied Transy's scraps instead of defacing them you might actually learn what real art is. Instead, you're an ignorant disgrace. Congratulations.

Even in death this poor building can't catch a break.

Schools, Not Parishes. Get it Right.

No case of the "the Mondays" for the Project! Let's delve into the mailbag:

Dear phillychurch , While touting St Al's over St Laurentius you forgot to mention that at Least St Laurentius is Still it's own Parish !!!! as opposed to St AL"S/ Our Lady Help ?and Natitvity .And where did "THEY " come up with "Our Lady Of Port Richmond , Most people Call it Our Lady of the Port !!! THe Blessed Trinity Would Have been more reverent Thanks to the Money shipping overseas Archdiocese of Phila . I am still irate over closing my school Our Lady help of Christians . Charity begins at HOME !!!!! James Hojnowski

Whoa, whoa, slow down there, big fella. First, it's the Philly (or Philadelphia) Church Project. Rule #1: If you're going to try to correct us on something, at least have the courtesy to get our name right.

And Rule #2: Make sure you're actually correct. Yes, the schools consolidated, but don't get ahead of yourself. For the record, St. Adalbert is still very much its own parish. The recent Twinning was between Our Lady Help of Christians (OLHC) and Nativity BVM, not St. Adalbert. That Polish beast is still its own entity (school notwithstanding), and looks to stay that way for a long time.

As for the consolidated "Our Lady of Port Richmond" moniker, the Project kind of digs it. I was in the audience at OLHC when Father Fedak announced the name, and he spoke proudly that the new name would represent their community perfectly--that is, the name would be instantly recognizable and people would immediately know who they (the school) are and what they stand for.

I have to say I agree. It's a cool name, and the Project would take a distinctive name over a generic (though more reverent) name any day of the week, and twice on Sundays. Of course, that's just us. Given the strong emotions that involve these sorts of situations, the difference of opinion is eminently understandable.

False Prophets

Contrary to what you might think, I don't go out of my way to attack the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It's just that they make it so easy on me, whether it's their liberal policy of closing churches, stripping and selling the artifacts of said churches, or bankrolling improvements to an already pristine Basilica while other parishes can't keep a roof over their heads.

This time, though, they might have gone too far.

A while back the Project commented on the sad closing of Northeast Catholic and Cardinal Dougherty high schools. At the time, I wrote that "Alumni of both schools are mobilizing frantically to try to mount preservation campaigns." Northeast Catholic has bandied about a number of options, none of which has come to fruition. But Dougherty, which at one point was the largest Catholic high school in the world, has actually put its money where its mouth is.

The We Are CD Foundation, spearheaded by 1985 CD alum Steve Schmidt, has actually come up with the $20 million dollars (yes, you read that correctly) the Archdiocese said would be needed to buy the building and the land. Present the money, they said, and it's yours.

Thus, last Friday Schmidt, a throng of people and some conveniently tipped-off media descended upon the Archdiocese with a letter of intent to buy the building and turn it into an independent Catholic school. All's well that ends well, right?

Never, when the Archdiocese is concerned.

A source close to the Project has revealed some of the context of the increasingly contentious e-mail conversations between Schmidt and Bishop McFadden, and it's clear the Archdiocese is pissed that someone, or some group, actually called them on their bull. They don't like the group, don't like their methods, and are now fully preparing to go back on their word.

It's tough to say if they're just shellshocked because of the "ambush" approach the group took, or because their ego is bruised that someone else thinks they can succeed where the Archdiocese failed. Whatever the cause, it's clear that, for supposed men of God, their dishonesty, vanity and arrogance know no bounds. See their letter here for a good example of their contemptible attitude.

Closing parishes is one thing; adults can take care of themselves. But these are kids, and messing with them, and their future, is another thing entirely. Why not give them every opportunity? Why try to doom them to a substandard public school education, or force them to travel an incredible distance to the next closest Catholic school? And why jeopardize a resurgent East Oak Lane and Olney by dumping a huge abandoned property in its lap?

Have you no shame? Does your stubborness know no bounds? Remember that pride goeth before the fall, and right now you seem to be heading for a big one.

The Archdiocese has almost no credibility left, and if they do end up going back on this deal, they're going to lose whatever shreds remain. And that's before Schmidt's well-tipped news media gets in on the act, which is sure to kick this thing into the stratosphere.

If it was ever in doubt before, it's now very much apparent the Archdiocese is but a sham and a joke. They say they care about educating children, but the fact that they would willingly pass up a promising opportunity to keep Doughtery open speaks volumes. Whatever respect the Project had left for them has officially died. Good riddance to bad garbage, I say. You guys are an embarrassment.

I could say that they're welcome to prove me wrong, but I know from experience that won't be the case. Good luck, Steve & Co.--you'll need it.

From the Archdiocese PR Department

Know what we haven't had in a while? That's right! A visit from our very good friends at the Catholic Standard & Times.

Take this little self-serving number about one of our favorite causes, Logan's Our Lady of Hope:

Our Lady of Hope celebrates 100 years

Oh boy, where do I start?

First, the title itself is inaccurate. It's not really fair to assert that since the parishes you absorbed would have been 100 years old, the consolidated parish is, too. Holy Child would have been 100 years old. Our Lady of the Holy Souls would have been 100 years old. OLH is not. Come on, stay away from the fuzzy math.

Amid all of the back-patting is a fairly decent history of Holy Child and OLHS, but they give short shrift to the third member of the consolidated parish, the former St. Stephen. It warrants only two brief mentions:

First there was St. Stephen Parish founded in 1843, then there was Holy Child and Our Lady of the Holy Souls parishes, both founded in 1909. Because most Catholics moved away, the three closed in 1993 when Our Lady of Hope was founded with the former Holy Child as the church site and what was Holy Souls as an additional worship site; St. Stephen’s quietly passed out of existence.

Really? That's all you can muster for the oldest parish in the area? St. Stephen would have turned 166 years old. 166! And you can't have the decency to include them? Shame.

Oh, and St. Stephen didn't really pass quietly out of existence, as much as you'd like to think so. You closed the parish and sold the building, but St. Stephen is still there. Despite a terrible Pimp My Church interior renovation by the new owners, the regal brownstones and delicate ice-cream cone spires still stand proudly at Broad & Butler. So too do the large and ornate Gothic window frames, although the quality stained glass has long been stripped away.

It's easier to erase a church when it's been demolished. Not when it's still standing, whether it has new owners or it lies empty. People still drive by it, still admire the expert craftsmanship, and in those brief moments St. Stephen still lives, even if said people are ignorant of its history. But I don't suppose you spend much time around those parts, do you?

One final note, courtesy Father Efren Esmilla:

Our Lady of Hope is well-named, according to its pastor. “It is giving hope to the people, and the people love the parish,” he said.

It might give more hope if you actually did something about the $7 million + price tag for renovation. You won't, though, will you? It's easier, after all, to pay lip service to the struggling parish than actually doing anything substantive.

Look on the bright side, though. At least it'll save you from having to venture back up there for the 200th anniversary.

Oh, the Pain

Did you enjoy our lighter-hearted last couple of posts? Nice change of pace, right? Good, because it's time to get weepy again.

The Project works off its post-Thanksgiving coma with a wonderful series of photo galleries by abandonedamerica.org, who recently traveled to West Philly to chronicle Transfiguration of Our Lord--coincidentally, right before the demolition started.

You might remember the Michigan photographer who did something similar. I bring this one up because the more photographic coverage of a church, the better. And, because, with all due respect, he makes Mr. Forgotten Michigan look like a finger-painting toddler.

These are pictures are good. Damn good, actually. They perfectly capture, better than anything I've seen before, the agony of a building that's outlived its usefulness. And they're buoyed by haunting text and titles that seem to add just the right perspective to the whole affair. It's even more drastic when compared to the historical images he (she?) includes. Some you've seen before, some you haven't, but all leave an impression.

The Project salutes you heartily. Well, well done. And if you're interested in doing more church photography, let us know. We have some abandoned specimens you simply must see.

Look for more Transy coverage in the coming days, including my final thoughts on the place.

Mailbag 12

More from the mailbag:

Yo...how you doing?

Thank you so much for the great site! I'm born and raised Philadelphian and catholic. I love old churches and I'm so glad that I found your site. I have always said that the city (or someone else?) should have tours that take you to the churches of North Philly, West Philly, etc. because they contain some of the most beautiful architecture in Philadelphia and the area. You have done the next best thing. Bravo!

I must tell you that some people might take umbrage (if you haven't heard it already) that you stated that St. Martin de Porres/St. Columba parish is located in Strawberry Mansion. According to my mother who attended St. Columba's and then Hallahan, she would tell you that she grew up in Swampoodle, not Mansion. The parish that was in Strawberry Mansion was Corpus Christi. By any chance, do you have St. Mary the Eternal on your list of churches? That was the Italian parish of the neighborhood and it was located somewhere around 22nd and Clearfield.

I thank you very much for the wonderful photos of St. Martin/St. Columba church. I have heard about that church and the neighborhood all my life. When my grandmother would cross Judson St, she would look down the street at the church, bless herself, then continue to cross the street. She did it for years- lol.

Keep up the good work and I look forward to your next installment. It is wonderful.

Take care, Melissa Nevin

Who else but a Philadelphian would greet the Project with a "Yo!"? Thank you for the kind words. You've summed up why the Project does what it does--church architecture is usually the best around, because nothing used to inspire artistic achievement like the great glory of God. That is, before costs rose, tastes changed and spiritual builders pretty much stuck their heads up their you-know-what.

Rest assured, Melissa, the Swampoodle debate is something that the Project hears over and over. I initially addressed it here, but let me be more concrete this time around.

Other people can take umbrage all they like, but the fact is that the name Swampoodle died out along with the neighborhood's reputation, and the area is now considered Strawberry Mansion. If anybody doesn't like it, take it out on the Planning Commission, not me. Of course, the people most likely to be offended by this are older folks, and let's face it, they're going to be crotchety about something, regardless of what I do.

(Corpus Christi, for its part, is now considered part of Allegheny West. But let's not go there--that's another geographical landmine that people love to argue about.)

As for St. Mary of the Eternal, the parish closed in 1976, making it one of the first victims of the North Philadelphia Swath of Destruction. If you die out 17 years before the Year of Hell, you know it's bad. A map survey of the area reveals nothing that looks remotely like a church, so it was probably demolished sometime over the past 30 years. Interestingly, though, the school building is still standing. And, judging from the last time I was over in the neighborhood, it's still in use.