What a difference a couple of miles makes. There really is an enormous dichotomy between North Broad and South Broad. It’s akin to…err, heaven and hell. I’m not suggesting South Philly is anything close to heaven, mind you, but it’s a heck of a lot closer than anything you’ll find in North Philly.

The Project is really taking the love of South Philly seriously. For the first time, we visit it in two consecutive weeks. This week it’s St. Rita of Cascia, which is the second shrine we’ve seen. (The first being this one.) But St. Rita has the unique distinction of functioning as both a shrine and as an Archdiocesan parish. Way to be on the ball, guys!

St. Rita of Cascia was an Italian nun who, among other things, was noteworthy for having her forehead pierced by a thorn from the crown of thorns from Jesus’ crucifixion. She considered this wound a great gift from God, and gladly bore it for the last fifteen years of her life. To that end, St. Rita is a very feminine church, all done up in pretty pink hues, with stained glass windows featuring nuns in various dramatic poses. The color scheme reminds me a great deal of St. Veronica, albeit on a much grander scale. It also features a fantastic marble altar and angel-topped baldachin.

Church Project Theorem #12: The St. Athanasius Effect: So named for any church that, physically, is more impressive inside than outside. Here, the interior is fantastic, but the exterior…eh, not so much. It looks like they took a normal church façade and stuck it on the front of a warehouse. If you look at it dead-on, everything is fine. But from a diagonal view, St. Rita is pretty funky.

Also, The Vincent de Paul Effect: Because, you know, warehouses aren't usually associated with church architecture.

I should also mention the basement shrine. Unlike the church, the shrine is done in a completely modern décor. Since the church was built in 1907, it leads me to believe that the original shrine was either damaged and rebuilt, or completely renovated at some point, because they certainly didn’t built them like that back in the early 1900s. Everyone had gone home by the time I made it to the shrine, so I couldn’t confirm these theories with anyone.

Overall, quite good.

Size Rating: 8 out of 10

Ornamentation Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Overall Design Rating: 8.5 out of 10 crosses

South Broad is generally inoffensive, so you shouldn’t be overly concerned about your safety. Getting there is the tough part. As I’ve noted before, all roads leading to South Philly suck cannoli.

Safety Rating: 8 out of 10 tire irons

Their pews, at least on the right-hand side, have a pipe that runs along the ground through the center of them. I’ve seen older-style pews that are divided in the middle, but never any that feature visible pipework—especially where said pipework is dangerous. If you don’t see the pipe coming, you could trip and hurt yourself. Luckily, I have catlike reflexes.