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independent parish effective July 2013. It became a worship site of Holy Name of Jesus Church, also in
Fishtown, about 0.2 mile away. At the time, plans were to keep the building at St. Laurentius open as a worship site of the expanded Holy Name Parish; this status would allow the use of the church building for periodic Sunday Masses and special celebrations such as weddings and funerals
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During Father Karus's 25 years of service improvements were made to the church. In 1919, an elaborate pipe organ was installed. In 1923, when school attendance was steadily increasing, a new school building was erected. The three-story schoolhouse has enough space for 14 classrooms, and more than 350
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In the late 19th century, Catholic Polish people in the area desired a parish. Early religious services were held in the basement of St. Boniface Church on
Diamond and Hancock Streets, and later, at Norris and Sepviva Streets. Neighborhood children received catechism lessons at a nearby blacksmith
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On March 22, 2015, the
Archdiocese revealed that they would go forward with demolishing St. Laurentius due to an excess of $ 3.5 million in repairs and accelerated structural deterioration due to previous weather conditions. The cost of the demolition was estimated to be $ 1 million and will be
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In 2013, the
Archdiocese of Philadelphia, prompted by financial troubles both centrally and at many parishes, as well as a declining number of clergy to staff parishes, announced the closing of numerous parishes effective July 1. St. Laurentius was among those parishes; it was suppressed as an
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The church building was closed at the end of March 2014 due to structural issues, and all religious functions were relocated to Holy Name of Jesus Church, 2 blocks away. St. Laurentius
Catholic School, while merging with Holy Name of Jesus Parish School, remains open. Plans for demolition of the
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After Holy Name School, St. Anne's School and several other
Catholic schools closed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Saint Laurentius Parish and Fr. Frank Gwiazda welcomed all children to St. Laurentius School. It is being recognized for working with The University of Pennsylvania, for a well
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constructed a Gothic-style décor for the sanctuary, which is 114 feet long, 60 feet wide, with three naves. Master craftsmen from
Mannheim, Germany were called upon to build an ornate wooden altar, pulpit, statues and elaborate cut-glass windows. Later, in 1912, under the stewardship of Father
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As St. Laurentius School's attendance increased in the mid-1920s, Father Julian G. Zagorski, then assistant at the church, founded the
Catholic Young Men's Club. With a focus on athletics the club promoted good sportsmanship and fostered Catholic fellowship among neighborhood boys.
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31.50 in the treasury, the Polish people petitioned
Archbishop of Philadelphia James F. Wood for a church. In 1882 a house of worship was established. St. Laurentius Church was named (in Latin) after St. Lawrence, a deacon who was martyred under the reign of Roman Emperor Valerian.
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After the upper church was built, two small homes adjoining the church were purchased and demolished, and a rectory was built. In 1897, under Father
Gabriel Kraus, two more properties were purchased for extra classroom space and the construction of a Sisters’ Convent.
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In the mid-1990s the Archdiocese of Philadelphia began to lose parishioners as fewer Catholics attended Mass on a regular basis. Father Frank Gwiazda, appointed in 1986, was faced with raising declining enrollment at St. Laurentius School.
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On March 29, 2014, the St. Laurentius church building was closed indefinitely due to severe structural problems that left it "in immediate danger of collapse". Independent building inspectors, who had observed deterioration in the
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On July 10, 2015, the Philadelphia Historical Commission voted overwhelmingly to grant the 19th-century building historic status in an attempt to protect the church from demolition - at least temporarily.
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Under Father Garstka's leadership a Boy Scouts of America troop was founded in 1956, and the Catholic Ladies Guild was formed for fund-raising. A newspapers called The Parish Calendar was set up in 1957.
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Church services began in a modest basement facility at Berks and Memphis Streets. Children began attending school there in 1890, under the instruction of the Felician Sisters, a Polish order of nuns.
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church were solidified when the City of Philadelphia granted a permit for the demolition on September 30, 2021. Demolition begun by starting to take down the western steeple in August 2022.
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students. During this time, the school was officially listed on the register of Philadelphia parochial schools. Archbishop Dennis Cardinal Dougherty blessed the new building.
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borne by Holy Name Parish which took ownership of St. Laurentius when it became a worship site of Holy Name before its closure. The money will be raised by selling
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The building had Gothic spires and stained glass windows. Its origins date back to a time when pious, but poor, immigrants sought a house of worship.
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Improvements were made in the 1950s and 1960s, including new heating in the school and rectory. A new convent was erected for the Felician Sisters.
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Zoning for an 8-story residential building with 49 units was approved in January 2022. The facade must be retained or rebuilt after demolition.
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The first Polish-speaking priest at St. Laurentius Church, Father Adalbert Malusecki, led efforts to build the church's upper chapel. Architect
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In 1899 the school was officially dedicated in a celebration attended by members of Polish lodges from around the Delaware Valley, Bishop
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masonry in the fall of 2013, found in a follow-up visit at the end of March that this deterioration had greatly accelerated during the
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The Great Depression caused financial difficulty, but after fund-raising the church's financial debt was alleviated.
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Gabriel Kraus, the sanctuary was embellished with oil paintings portraying the life of Christ and his Saints.
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Enrollment at St. Laurentius School continued to increase. By 1938 nearly 800 children were enrolled.
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qualified staff and for the growth its student show both academically and emotionally.
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blessed the building, which was adorned with American and Polish flags.
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Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, Archbishop of Kraków, Poland, became
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Polish-American Roman Catholic parishes in the United States
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With fewer than fifty devoted family followers and only
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The Church's 100th year Jubilee was celebrated 1982.
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Roman Catholic parishes and churches in Pennsylvania
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262:Parafia św. Wawrzyńca
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66:39.976722; -75.129333
22:St. Laurentius Parish
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83:Philadelphia
52:75°07′45.6″W
49:39°58′36.2″N
377:John Paul I
205:Archdiocese
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655:Categories
590:2022-01-06
565:2016-05-25
535:Philly.com
448:2020-07-24
425:References
400:brownstone
239:Father Joe
222:Archbishop
155:Dedication
144:Founder(s)
235:Priest(s)
226:Cardinal
627:Archived
540:22 March
515:29 March
490:Archived
264:) was a
193:Province
77:Location
309:History
134: (
129:Founded
113:History
93:Country
404:winter
317:shop.
295:Church
289:Polish
258:Polish
216:Clergy
179:Closed
118:Status
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322:US$
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