Status: Active, Catholic

Founded: 1842
Construction: 1843

5th Street & Girard Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19123

http://www.archdiocese-phl.org/parishes/8345.htm

http://www.stjohnneumann.org/

This week the Project stays in North Philadelphia. No, we’re not trying to get a second straight week of love. We’re actually here because we have a golden opportunity to visit one of Philadelphia's oldest and most historic churches, St. Peter the Apostle.

But Project, you ask, why this week?

I’m glad you asked. It’s time to cue up one of our old favorites….

Upper v. Lower Church: I’ve actually had St. Peter on my list for some time, but I was bedeviled by their practice of holding most masses in the lower church. The only thing the Project hates more than lower churches are parishes that use them for everything. After a couple of disastrous early occurrences, I swore off attending lower church masses, no matter the cost. That’s why I still have not visited Ascension of Our Lord or Nativity B.V.M. (Hint, hint.) I refuse to be a party to any parish that dooms its congregations (and visitors, wink wink) to eternal basement church drudgery.

It’s not as if St. Peter doesn’t have a reason, besides the usual, “we’re poor, blah blah blah.” Their explanation is far more saintly. St. Peter, you see, is also home to the shrine of Philadelphia’s own St. John Neumann. The good saint is literally entombed in the lower church shrine, so the parish just feels content to hold the majority of their masses down there.

It’s not a bad argument. After all, why not use a dead saint as your altar? The problem is that he’s in the lower church. The Project doesn’t care if Jesus himself is buried downstairs—HOLD MASS UPSTAIRS!!!!

Don’t worry, I’m going somewhere with this. As it so happens, this parish had a moment of clarity when they announced that on January 6, in celebration of Neumann’s feast day, they would hold mass upstairs. Hurrah!

It’s a good thing, too, because this is one fine church. It’s heavily ornamented, Baroque-style, with grey, red and gold trim, beautiful mural work, a ceramic-painted organ, a stained glass skylight in the apse, a hand-carved wood pulpit and an incredible marble altar that, while not as intricate as others we’ve seen, is nonetheless magnificent, and has a sense of grandeur that most others lack. The exterior is also quite nice, imposing gray and black with an impressive, centrally-placed steeple.

St. Peter loses points for having some of the ugliest stained glass windows the Project has seen yet. Also, despite a pretty good size, it holds a surprisingly small number of people.

This church still has a lot going for it, and the angular construction and paintwork really reminds me of the now-defunct Most Blessed Sacrament. Of course, MBS was larger and had amazing stained glass, so they win that battle. Even so, it’s hard to find things to dislike here.

Memo to St. Peter: Hold mass upstairs more often.

Size Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Ornamentation Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Overall Design Rating: 8.5 out of 10 crosses

Northern Liberties is easy to find, and the church’s central location makes it even easier to pinpoint. Parking is a bit haphazard, especially during busy times of day, so be ready to circle a couple of times if need be.

As noted before, this area is pretty good.

Safety Rating: 8.5 out of 10 tire irons

As I mentioned above, the church has a gray stone and black trim façade. The interesting thing is that it was originally constructed using red brick and, in the late 19th century, was refaced with the granite we see today.

Also, the shrine, like the one to St. Rita, is thoroughly modern. Older pictures found in the side areas show that it once was done in a much older, more classic style.