St. John's 185th Jubilee Celebration - Sunday April 24 at Pretzel Park

Plan to celebrate the 185th Jubilee of Saint John the Baptist Parish on Sunday, April 24, 2016! Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM by Archbishop Charles Chaput, followed by a Dedication of the Bell Tower and Block Party Reception at Pretzel Park and outside of church at 119 Rector Street, Manayunk, from 12 - 3 PM. Day-of admission to the Block Party is $15 per adult outside of Church (children under 10 free). Enjoy Philly-style food, fun, family games, moon bounces and music, featuring The Mummers! All are welcome to attend.

The tenth oldest parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, St. John the Baptist Parish’s humble beginnings started in the home of Jerome and Eulalia Keating in the small milltown of Manayunk. In the winter of 1829-30 it is believed that the first Catholic Mass in our area was celebrated in the Keatings’ home. Mrs. Eulalia Keating was said to have held a weekly Sunday school for a dozen or so neighboring children. The Keatings’ residence was the former convent, still located on Cresson Street.

Eventually when about 20 families (about 100 people) were attending masses at their home, Jerome Keating, a cotton mill owner, proposed the start of a parish, and made a gift of the ground for a church and cemetery. The original church was dedicated on April 4, 1831, and stood adjacent to the cemetery, where (the former) Upper School stands. It was the first Catholic Parish established outside of Center City.

As the Growth of the Catholic Community continued in the area, St. John’s became the “mother church” to St. Patrick in Norristown (1835), St. Mary of the Assumption (1848), Holy Family, (1885), St. Josaphat (1898), and St. Lucy (1907). Eventually the rapid growth of the church and beginnings of a school at St. John the Baptist became too small for the manufacturing town, calling for the building of a new cathedral-like church, which stands today as an anchor of the community at Rector and Cresson Streets in Manayunk.

In April 2012, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary of the Assumption, and St. Jospahat, three Catholic parish communities serving Philadelphia’s Manayunk, Roxborough and Wissahickon neighborhoods, were merged into a single parish community as part of a Pastoral Planning Initiative of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Now this is one parish blessed and strengthened by the legacy of three — praying and working together for healing and unity, necessary to grow in the faith and love of Jesus Christ. So many in the Manayunk, Wissahickon, and Roxborough community have shared in the life of faith of one of these former parishes, and have become a part of this common history of faith.

Come to the block party and enjoy Philly-style food, fun, family games and music, featuring The Mummers! All are welcome to attend, purchase admission on Sunday, April 24, day of the event for $15 per adult. Call 215.482.4600 or visit www.stjohnmanayunk.org for more information.