PhilaPlace

St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church

St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church. Image provided by Historical Society of Pennsylvania

10th & Christian Streets

St. Paul's was originally founded in 1843 to meet the spiritual needs of the growing Irish Catholic community. But since the turn of the century, St. Paul's has served an increasingly Italian American congregation and is known today as the "parish of the Italian market." In the past 20 years, the congregation has grown to include some Polish, Mexican and African American parishioners. St. Paul's absorbed St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi in 2000, operating with the motto "two beautiful churches, one great parish."