Sept., 1865          Sept., 1865                 The former St. Andrew’s P.E. Church at 36^th and Fairmonut Aves. in Mantua Village is

                                                               purchased for the new parish of St. Agatha.      

Oct. 10, 1865              Rev. John E. FitzMaurice is appointed the first pastor.

Oct. 22, 1865              Official date for the founding of the parish.

Nov. 12, 1865             St. Agatha Church is dedicated by Bishop James Frederic Wood.

1870                            Rectory is changed from 36^th and Grape Sts. to 616 N. 36^th St.

1873                             Present site purchased for new church.

Oct. 18, 1874              Cornerstone of the new church at 38^th and Spring Garden is laid by Archbishop Wood;      

                                    proposed capacity is 750 in the Upper Church and 650 in the Lower Church.

Oct. 20, 1878              Dedication of the new church by Archbishop Wood; improvements continue for the

                                    next 7 years.  

1880                            Rectory residence is now at 3813 Spring Garden.

1886                            Rev. Daniel O’Connor appointed as pastor.

July 8, 1888                 Cornerstone for school is laid by pastor at 3815 Spring Garden.

1891                            Grade school is completed; Society of the Holy Child Jesus and the Brothers of the Christian

                                    Schools are the new teachers for the young students.       

Winter, 1893                 New rectory is completed on present site.

 1902                           Improvements made to the church include new marble altars.

1909                            Weakened church spire is removed.

July 2, 1912                 Rev. Michael C. Donovan is appointed pastor for deceased O’Connor.

Aug., 1912                   Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary {I.H.M.} become the new teachers for the   

                              grade school of 897 children; the Sisters eventually live in two houses at the end of the street

                              [Kelly Estate].

Oct. 14, 1915              Golden Jubilee Mass celebrated by Most Rev. John FitzMaurice,

                                     first pastor and current  Bishop of Erie, PA. 

Spring, 1917                 Convent for the IHM Sisters is completed; Bishop McCort blesses the building on                

                                     Saturday, May 19 and then celebrates Mass in the chapel.  The address of the new

                                     structure is 3837 Spring Garden Street.

Fall, 1918                     Religious sisters and priests from the community volunteer to fight the Influenza Epidemic.

Jan., 1919                    New school building is erected at 3823 Spring Garden Street; classes for the girls are

                                    conducted here and the boys use the original building at 3815 Spring Garden.  Total

                                    enrollment is 1500 students.

1924-1926                               Extensive renovations to upper and lower churches are completed, including new stained

                                    glass windows and stations of the cross.

Oct. 12, 1927              Msgr. John F. Mellon succeeds the deceased Msgr. Donovan.

 1935                           Interior and exterior renovations to the church, including new

                              heating system.

Oct., 1940                   75^th Anniversary Mass is celebrated on the third Sunday.

Sept., 1945                  957 parishioners serve during WWII; 24 die in combat.

1950                            Migration of parishioners to the suburbs begins; school annex is eventually used by

                                    West Catholic Girls High School.

Feb., 1953                   Rev. William J. Walsh succeeds the deceased Msgr. Melon.

1955                            Renovations to convent, school and parish auditorium; blessed by

                                    Card. O’Hara in the Fall.

1955                             Repointing and painting of upper and lower churches completed.

March 13, 1966           Centennial Mass is celebrated by Card. Krol.

April, 1966                   Lower Church becomes the central worship place due to lack of adequate parishioners.

Sept. 23, 1966             Five-alarm fire engulfs the church for nearly 2 hours, the apparent consequences of a short

                                    circuit in the organ. Sixty youths arrive the next day to bail out all of the water. 

                                     Mass is held in Grace

                                     Lutheran Church and St. Andrew’s and St. Monica’s Episcopal Church for the next 2 weeks.

Oct. 9, 1966                Mass is celebrated in the Hall Two Chapel of the auditorium; it becomes the site for all

                                    weekend liturgical functions of the parish.  Daily Mass for the parish is celebrated in the

                                    convent’s chapel.

Feb. 4, 1968                Lower Church reopens and Upper Church remains permanently sealed.  Bishop Gerald

                                     McDevitt celebrates the occasion with a Solemn Pontifical Mass.

1971                            Rev. Edward M. Flannery replaces the deceased Fr. Walsh.

1973                            Rev. Anthony McAndrew becomes the last pastor.

Aug. 12, 1976              With only 65 families, Card. Krol decrees that St. Agatha will consolidate with St. James     

                                    St. Agatha’s parishioners are given the choice of joining either St. Ignatius or St. James.

Sept. 25, 1976              St. Agatha parish unites with St. James parish; St. Agatha-St. James School remains open

                                    it its present location and retains the IHM Sisters and lay teachers.

Nov. 1, 1977               Extensive fire to the parish grade school at 3815 Spring Garden St.; furniture and books

                                    are moved to the old school building of St. James and classes resume on Nov. 7.

                                    Unfortunately, George Cole, the resident janitor, dies in the boiler room fire.

Sept., 1978                  St. Agatha-St. James School continues to conduct its classes in the former St. James

                                    School at 111 S. 38^th Street. The IHM Sisters, because of convenience and safety,

                                    decide to leave their convent at St. Agatha to live at St. Francis de Sales.

Fall, 1978                     Original school building at 3815 Spring Garden is razed because of the serious fire in the

                                    boiler room on Nov.1, 1977.

1978-1987                   Rectory leased to Some Other Place, group home for juvenile delinquents.

 Fall, 1980                    Convent at 3837 Spring Garden, vacant for two years, is razed due to extensive vandalism

                                    during the summer.                                             

1973-1985                    School building, 3823 Spring Garden, is leased to Early Learning Center and later to

                                     Genesis II, a continuation of ELC.

 Nov., 1987                 Settlement reached for sale of St. Agatha parish site to a developer.     

                                     Later, some stained glass windows are removed and refitted into St. Anne's Chapel in Phoenixville and Our Lady of Fatima in

                                    Bensalem. (Dates unknown)

 April, 1988                  The remains of Msgr. Donovan are disinterred from his burial plot on the front lawn of the

                                     rectory and moved to a Catholic cemetery.  This is the final act of withdrawal for the Church.

1990                              “The Cloisters” opens as a secure garden community by converting the church, rectory and

                               school into 116 units; the site also includes a health center, gardens and parking lots.  It is a

                               highly regarded, affordable housing complex.

                   PARISH BOUNDARY LINES {April, 1927- Aug., 1976}

        Schuylkill River from Girard Ave. to Race St., to Lancaster Ave,. to Powelton Ave.; to 42^nd St. to Lancaster

        Ave. to 41st St. to Parkside Avel; to Girard Ave. to Schuylkill River.