2008 Woodie Awards
Students treated to Mass at Old St. Joe's
Cara Donaldson '08
Issue date: 5/10/08 Section: Features
The Class of 2008 celebrated its Senior Farewell Mass May 4 at Old Saint Joseph's Church in downtown Philadelphia.
For the second consecutive year, Saint Joseph's seniors came together for a mass that kicked off Senior Week in the old church that is the original site of Saint Joseph's University.
Phil Florio, S.J., special assistant to the vice president of Student Life, launched the tradition last year.
"It is important to know your roots,
especially as you are leaving them,"said Florio. "It is always good to go back to the source."
Florio's words seem especially significant this year.
This summer, Saint Joseph's will be moving forward with its acquisition of Episcopal Academy, starting renovations and other projects on what will be known as the Maguire campus.
Founded in 1773 by Joseph Greaton, S.J., Old Saint Joseph's Church is the oldest Catholic parish in the city of Philadelphia. What began as a one-story chapel attached to a residence on Fourth Street, near Walnut Street, served as the home for the first permanent Jesuit mission in Pennsylvania.
In 1757, Robert Harding, S.J., expanded the chapel, allowing for the first parish school to be opened on the site in 1782.
Then in 1839, Felix J. Barbelin, S.J., organized the construction of what we know today as Old Saint Joseph's. The word "Old" was added to distinguish the original church from the "New" Saint Joseph's Church built in 1868 on Stiles and 17th streets near Girard Avenue. That church is now called the Church of the Gesu, and today it is flanked by an elementary school of the same name and Saint Joseph's Preparatory School, a private feeder high school for the university.
In 1851, Barbelin founded Saint Joseph's College. It was located in an extension of the Jesuit residence of Saint Joseph's Church on cobble-stoned Willing's Alley in downtown Philadelphia.
In 1856, the college moved to a renovated building at the corner of Juniper and Filbert streets, but was forced to move back to Willing's Alley four years later due to debt and low enrollment.
For the second consecutive year, Saint Joseph's seniors came together for a mass that kicked off Senior Week in the old church that is the original site of Saint Joseph's University.
Phil Florio, S.J., special assistant to the vice president of Student Life, launched the tradition last year.
"It is important to know your roots,
especially as you are leaving them,"said Florio. "It is always good to go back to the source."
Florio's words seem especially significant this year.
This summer, Saint Joseph's will be moving forward with its acquisition of Episcopal Academy, starting renovations and other projects on what will be known as the Maguire campus.
Founded in 1773 by Joseph Greaton, S.J., Old Saint Joseph's Church is the oldest Catholic parish in the city of Philadelphia. What began as a one-story chapel attached to a residence on Fourth Street, near Walnut Street, served as the home for the first permanent Jesuit mission in Pennsylvania.
In 1757, Robert Harding, S.J., expanded the chapel, allowing for the first parish school to be opened on the site in 1782.
Then in 1839, Felix J. Barbelin, S.J., organized the construction of what we know today as Old Saint Joseph's. The word "Old" was added to distinguish the original church from the "New" Saint Joseph's Church built in 1868 on Stiles and 17th streets near Girard Avenue. That church is now called the Church of the Gesu, and today it is flanked by an elementary school of the same name and Saint Joseph's Preparatory School, a private feeder high school for the university.
In 1851, Barbelin founded Saint Joseph's College. It was located in an extension of the Jesuit residence of Saint Joseph's Church on cobble-stoned Willing's Alley in downtown Philadelphia.
In 1856, the college moved to a renovated building at the corner of Juniper and Filbert streets, but was forced to move back to Willing's Alley four years later due to debt and low enrollment.
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