Holy Trinity Church, Philadelphia, PA

Holy Trinity Church, Philadelphia, PA

Holy Trinity Church, Philadelphia, PA

Holy Trinity parish was formed in 1788 at the initiative of German-speaking Catholics who wanted a separate place for worship. Once established, it was the first ethnic parish in the United States. The movement for a separate congregation began when the Germans bought a purchased their own burial ground in 1768. They would also begin keeping separate registers in 1784. The German Catholic Society was organized in 1787 to acquire land for a church as well as for the maintaining of a school. Construction started on the church in in 1788 and the first Mass was held in 1789. The exterior of the church has remained largely unchanged, while the interior was twice destroyed by fire, the first in 1860 and again in 1890.

Similar to Old St. Mary’s, Holy Trinity was incorporated with trustees, which led to a conflict with the bishops over the appointing of priests. This conflict would be resolved in 1859, when the original charter was replaced with a new one giving the Bishop more control. In 1797, the parish established America’s first Catholic orphanage for children left homeless by the yellow fever epidemics. The parish closed and combined with Old St. Mary’s in 2009.