St.
John the Baptist: Manayunk’s cathedral celebrates 175 years
By Lou Baldwin
Special to the CS&T
You don’t have to live in Philadelphia’s Manayunk section
to be familiar with St. John the Baptist Church.
Driving along the Schuykill Expressway, glance across the river and you
will see the cathedral-like gothic edifice that rises 200 feet, dominating
the hills and valleys of Manayunk today just as it has done for more than
a century.
The parish actually goes back a good deal further. The church occupies
the ground where, in 1829, mill-owner Jerome Keating, and his wife, Eulalia,
hosted Catholic worship and Sunday School in their house. The celebrant
there was generally Father John Hughes, who was later named Archbishop
of New York.
When the little congregation outgrew the Keatings’ house, worship
was held at the Old Dutch Reformed Church, Then, finally, in 1831 —
again thanks to the Keatings’ generosity, land was obtained and
a small church was built and dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
With the assignment of Father Thomas Gagan as resident pastor, the parish
formally came into being. He was the first of a series of pastors, who
all served briefly until 1837.
That was the year Father David Mulholland arrived. He ministered for 24
years, and opened a first parish school in the church basement. Just as
he served the parish in life, he continues to support it through eternity
— most of the grounds were purchased with money he bequeathed to
St. John Parish
In its early years, Francis Drexel, the father of the future St. Katharine
Drexel — he was then just a teenager — served at St. John
as organist. The future millionaire walked eight miles up from Old City
every Sunday to play, for which he was paid the respectable sum of $150
a year.
St. John’s first church was very modest by all accounts; it was
supplanted by the beautiful church where Cardinal Justin Rigali celebrated
the 175th anniversary Mass at 11:30 a.m. April 30.
The new church was made possible through a generous bequest from the wealthy
parishioners, Bernard and Cecilia McCane. Their memory remains green through
two figures on the high altar, representing Sts. Bernard and Cecilia.
Begun in 1868, the church was dedicated April 1, 1894 by Archbishop Patrick
J. Ryan, with Mass celebrated by Archbishop Francesco Satolli, the Apostolic
Delegate to the United States. Including its galleries (which are no longer
used) the church had an original capacity of 2,500.
In 1863, pioneering Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
arrived to take charge of an expanded school, which was the nucleus for
an ambitious educational program. In its heyday, it included both girls’
and boys’ high schools; the boys’ high school, on a separate
campus, was taught by the Brothers of Mary.
At the turn of the 20th century, at a time when parishes were the center
of the spiritual, educational and social life of U.S. Catholics, St. John’s
built a huge social hall. The parish building had space for theatrics,
minstrel shows, billiards, bowling, dances, youth bands, football squads
and baseball and basketball games, and featured reading rooms and game
rooms — all helping to foster parish spirit.
Community was fostered in another way in 1912, when the St. John Building
and Loan association was founded to encourage home ownership. The association
later evolved into the Roxborough-Manayunk Saving and Loan Association.
The grand old parish’s buildings weathered several fires, the hardship
of the Great Depression and wars.
The Depression saw the closing of many of the mills that had been the
lifeblood of Manayunk, and Msgr. Eugene Murphy, St. John’s pastor
at the time, worked diligently to ease the hardship of many parish families.
With World War I, and the institution of the draft, a parish banquet was
held to see off the first of St, John’s 500 soldiers and sailors
who went to war. Seventeen of the young men never returned.
World War II saw 800 young men from St. John answer the call, with 25
making the supreme sacrifice of their lives. They were laid to rest near
the dead of other wars: The little, hillside parish cemetery is the final
resting place of other patriots, including U.S. Army Lt. Peter McAdams,
holder of the Civil War Medal of Honor.
Mary (McMenamin) Murphy was born in the parish 80 years ago, as was her
mother before her.
“My mother worked in the mills,” she said. “Msgr. Murphy
founded the high schools so that the children — especially the girls
— would have a better chance.”
When Mary Murphy started school at St. John, there were 100 children in
the first grade, and it was still the same when the oldest of her five
children started school. She graduated from the high school in 1943, with
an academic education that included Latin and French, and commercial courses
that prepared her for future employment in a bank.
Outstanding teachers she recalls include the long-time principal, Mother
Vincenza, and Sister Thomas Michael, who was famous for her theatrical
productions. Also well remembered are Sisters Amata, Martina and Celeste.
The latter two Sisters posted more that 50 years each at St. John.
Other parish activities include the Shrove Tuesday Suppers, the annual
fair at the boys’ high school, and that Catholic staple, weekly
bingo.
The has parish continued through the dramatic changes of Vatican II, and
into the 21st century, which has seen the gentrification of Manayunk.
Perhaps fueled by the cachet of being the anchor — and most challenging
leg — of Philadelphia‘s annual bicycle race, the hilly little
community bordering the Schuykill has become a “place to be.”
Many working families have been replaced by upwardly mobile residents,
and family-oriented establishments have been replaced by trendier restaurants,
boutiques and clubs.
All of that has meant fewer children in the parish, and this year St.
John the Baptist School will close out its distinguished history of educating
many thousands of young Catholics, and send its children to neighboring
parish schools.
But even with change there is continuity.
“It amazes me how many young singles come in for our 5 p.m. Saturday
Mass, or the 11:30 a.m. Sunday Mass,” said Cheryl Dore, a member
of the parish anniversary committee.
For Dore, the main attraction of St. John is its overwhelming sense of
community — the meeting of neighbors and friends at whatever Mass
one might attend.
St. John has 1,900 families, according to its parish administrator, Father
Joseph M. McDermott.
“We have good attendance at our daily Mass, and celebrating our
175th anniversary is bringing them together,” he said.
Ministries that Father McDermott considers significant include a large
food bank, staffed mostly by C.Y.O. teens and their adult leaders; a Eucharistic
Ministry team, home visitation, a weekend ministry at Roxborough Memorial
Hospital, and a large senior citizens group.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.