When the Bells Fell Silent: The Closing of Our Mother of Sorrows
In 1849, Bishop Francis Kenrick purchased a 43-acre farm in eastern Pennsylvania to serve as a burial ground for local Irish Catholics. A small worship space soon developed there when Reverend James McGinnis, chaplain to the nearby St. John’s Orphanage, began celebrating Mass for cemetery workers in a shed. This humble beginning led to the formation of Our Mother of Sorrows Parish in 1852.
Under Reverend Francis A. Sharkey, the congregation flourished. Architect Edwin F. Durang designed a Romanesque Revival church in 1867, and by 1873 the completed structure, built by James Doyle at a cost of $80,000, was officially dedicated. Over the following decades, the parish expanded to include a rectory, a school, and a parish house, all designed by leading Philadelphia architects. In 1892, Durang returned to add imposing spires, and by 1900, Martin Callanan’s stained glass adorned the sanctuary. Extensive renovations in 1901 prepared the church for its Golden Jubilee the next year.
Throughout the early twentieth century, Our Mother of Sorrows served as a thriving territorial parish. A grotto chapel by Henry Dagit was added in 1911, and by the 1930s, its school enrolled over a thousand students. Demographic shifts in the mid-twentieth century brought new African American parishioners as earlier immigrant families moved outward. Following Vatican II, interior renovations in the 1970s introduced simplified décor and African iconography.
Declining attendance led to a 2013 merger with Saint Ignatius of Loyola Parish. Maintenance costs exceeded $100,000 annually, and by 2016, only one monthly Mass remained. The final service was held in early 2017, and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput formally closed the church that October. Though its doors are now sealed, Our Mother of Sorrows remains a landmark of Philadelphia’s Catholic and architectural heritage.
Matthew Christopher PA Philadelphia Oct 23, 2025 Abandoned Places History Religious Sites
Oct 23, 2025
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