Greetings, Project fans!
The end of a year is always a time of reflection of life, love and loss. And as 2009 draws to a close, let's finish it by giving a shout-out to West Philly's defunct Our Lady of Victory. Formerly located at 54th & Vine Streets, and still standing as a Caveat Emptor'd Protestant church, the large and impressive Victory was consolidated in 2006 with Our Lady of the Rosary into the new Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament parish.
The new parish occupies Rosary's former building at 63rd & Callowhill, and it easily ranks as one of the Project's best visits. Still, let's give Victory its due. I'd only ever seen exterior shots, like the 1931 image above, until Project reader Joe Kearney, who has heroically kept us updated on the slow death of neighboring Transfiguration of Our Lord, sent us the following interior shots taken shortly before Victory closed:
Interesting, no doubt, although I think this is one decision the Archdiocese actually got right. Ornamentation always trumps size, and if they had to close one, they made the right call by saving the nearly pristine, if smaller, Our Lady of the Rosary. The Romanesque Victory is big and grand, but it also looked really grungy and very much has the feel of a troubled Tabula Rasa building.
Of course, in a perfect world the Project would have saved and restored it, since there was still a lot of interesting stuff there. Especially those windows--yowza!
Perhaps one of these days the Project will take a trip and see what was left behind. In the meantime, enjoy. Oh, and make sure you finish out 2009 with a bang--we certainly will :)
Merry Christmas to all Project fans, admirers, well-wishes, enemies and malcontents!
The Archdiocese dropped a very large lump of coal in the Project's stocking, but that didn't stop us from having a tremendous and informative Christmas.
Case in point: we attended the Christmas Eve vigil at Our Lady of Hope in Logan. We've actually revisited Our Lady of Hope several times since our initial, Project-spawning trip, but for some reason we were compelled to spend the holiday here.
First, the bad news. The building is still ridiculously damaged. The water scarring seems worse than ever, particularly in the two transepts, where the stained glass windows are the largest. Since this wasn't official Project business I didn't bring the camera, but believe me: it's bad, with a capital "B."
The good news is that the church was packed. Christmas masses, like Easter ones, tend to be misleading indicators of a parish's attendance, but even so, this has to be considered good news. It was diverse, too, along ethnic and age lines. Black, White, Hispanic, Filipino. Young and old, families and children. It was an amazing sight for a parish that's suffered more than its share of indignities in the past two decades.
Now, here's where things get interesting. It turns out that one of the Project's favorite priests, the indomitable Rayford Emmons, is now stationed at Our Lady of Hope as a parochial vicar. The intensely charasmatic Father Emmons seems to have this section of North Philadelphia cornered, as he's a veteran of both neighboring St. Helena--the Project's childhood parish--and Incarnation of Our Lord.
We spent some time talking to Father Emmons after mass, and a few interesting tidbits emerged:
Our Lady of Hope is not laying down. According to him, the parish does indeed have a plan in place for the repair and restoration of the building. Some work as already been done, as the large Romanesque arch in the sanctuary sports all new stone tiles. The copious damage means there's a lot more to be done, but Father Emmons was vehement that they have a plan and they're working to address it as best they can, with whatever finances they can muster.
Cardinal Dougherty may not be dead. The Official Mother of the Philadelphia Church Project, along for the ride, discussed the announced closing of nearby Cardinal Dougherty. An alumna, she's naturally devastated about the news, and she told Father Emmons point black that they (presumably the Archdiocese) can't let it happen.
Father Emmons, for his part, shocked the Project by admitting, point-blank, that "the bishops have lost sight of the importance of Catholic education in the city of Philadelphia," and that "we are working to correct that." Whether that means the Archdiocese (AD) comes to its senses and reverses the decision, or they allow the WeAreCDFoundation or some other entity like Cristo Rey to take over, is unclear.
But the very fact that the straight-shooting Emmons would openly say such a thing means that not all of the AD's minions are towing the company line. That's very encouraging indeed.
Catholic Education is still within our reach. Emmons than turned to the broader focus of Catholic education, which, as Project readers now, is a troubled thing indeed. He asserted that the model is not obsolete and unworkable; according to him, if every family in every parish donated 4% of their income, there would be more than enough to cover schooling for everybody. The Project doesn't know where that math comes from, but we'll trust him at his word.
Since tithing technically requires 10% of income, 4% doesn't seem so bad. The real problem, as others have pointed out, is that people just don't trust the Archdiocese. Since no one has ever conducted an official audit of the organization's finances, people simply don't know where their money goes. It's clear that parishioners want to support their parishes, and would, if only they could be sure the money was going to the school, instead of a shiny new marble altar in an already-pristine Basilica.
All in all, an incredibly enlightning couple of minutes. The school discussions are provocative in and of themselves, but the Project is most heartened to hear that the parish is making a real attempt to fix the building. Given the exorbitant price tag, though, they're going to need better publicity if they're going to succeed. Hrm, just the thing that's tailor-made for the Project. Don't be surprised to see us more involved in this as it goes on.
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.
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.
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.
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.
