First Catholic Church in Philadelphia.
Founded in 1733 by a Jesuit priest, the church is unassuming from the outside–legend says that Benjamin Franklin himself advised the founder Father Greaton to keep the Church protected due to religious bigotry. The Marquis de Lafayette attended services here. The current 1839 structure houses a beautiful ceiling mural, The Angelic Exaltation of St. Joseph into Heaven (1886) by Filippo Constaggini.
Discover Philadelphia’s hidden history and how faith has guided liberty toward justice with our curated ecosystem of trails that explore the city’s must-see sites!