Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church (Northern Liberties), Philadelphia

Founding and History through End of 20th Century

At the time of its founding, the area surrounding the church was largely composed of row houses which were home to Irish immigrants (although the ground for the church complex itself had earlier housed a spoke factory at Front and Canal (now Allen) Streets). Later the area became industrialized through the early part of the twentieth century.

In the early 1970s, much of it was gutted by the construction of Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania which emptied five blocks in the parish of houses and caused the demolition of houses on many other blocks in the way of the road. In the early part of the 21st century the area began to undergo a continuing process of gentrification with thousands of newly constructed and rehabilitated housing units as well as an increased workforce with the arrival, about three blocks from the church, of the SugarHouse Casino which anticipates an ultimate workforce of 1,500 full and part time positions and is planning an onsite hotel. (As for housing, the local Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association estimates an increase of close to 10,000 new residents in the area since 2000.)

Twinning of Parish with St. Michael

In the spring of 2000, Immaculate Conception was twinned with St. Michael's parish (two of the 22 parishes twinned at the time) and a single pastor was appointed for both churches. In 2010, a former parochial vicar at the parish, the then-Msgr. Michael J. Fitzgerald, was ordained an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Suppression of Parish: Continuation of Church as Worship Site

In February 2011, it was announced by the then-parochial administrator, Reverend Eugene C. Wilson, and the Vicar for the Philadelphia-South portion of the Archdiocese, Monsignor Kevin Lawrence, that the status of the church would be changed from that of a twinned parish to that of a worship site of St. Michael's; this means that, while the church would be used for Sunday Masses, and occasional sacramental celebrations, such as weddings, funerals and baptisms, it would no longer be an independent parish. This change was completed as of July 1, 2011. The last administrator of the parish was Msgr. John J. Miller, who filled the same position at St. Michael's Parish. In June 2014, a new parochial administrator for St. Michael's, Father Arturo Chagala, who was ordained in the Diocese of Denver, Colorado in 2013, was appointed and he took up residence in St. Michael's Rectory at the end of that month. Msgr. Miller, the former administrator, had retired in August 2012 but continued to serve in the interim while a new administrator was sought.

There was no immediate change in the Mass schedule because of the change from parish to worship site: Mass at Immaculate Conception continued to be said once each week, at 10 a.m. on Sundays in the church; on holydays from Monday through Friday, there was a noon Mass in the church. The daily Mass chapel in the rectory had been unavailable for some time, prior to the suppression, because Auxiliary Bishop John McIntyre of Philadelphia had begun to reside in the former parish rectory.

Immediately prior to its suppression, the parish boundaries encompassed the area from Delaware River at Susquehanna Ave. south to Green St. then west to 3rd St., north to Girard Ave. and east to Susquehanna Ave. to Delaware River. Any Catholic living in this area would normally have been a member of the parish. In addition to the portion of the parish in Northern Liberties, much of it was in Fishtown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following the suppression of Immaculate Conception Parish, this territory was added to that in which residents were already considered parishioners of St. Michael Parish.