February 26: A Place for Worship

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is February 26th, and our story is A Place for Worship. February 26th, 1734, was a day long awaited by Catholics in the American colonies. More than 30 years prior, in the wake of the Protestant Revolution of 1689, public masses had been banned in Maryland. Private celebrations of the mass remained licit, but even that permission had been granted by the colonial government reluctantly. Prohibited from practicing their faith and exercising the rights of citizens in Maryland, many Catholics and Jesuit priests eventually moved to Pennsylvania, with several families settling in Philadelphia.

There, Joseph Penn's famous charter granted religious liberty to all, including Catholics. In 1729, Father Joseph Grayton, S.J., was sent by his order to serve as a permanent pastor in the city, and four years later, he began constructing a chapel in which Catholics could worship.

The chapel, Old St. Joseph's, was completed early the following year, and on February 26, 1734, for the first time in decades, a Catholic priest publicly celebrated the Mass in the American colonies. Not surprisingly, not everyone thought Penn's promise of religious liberty should apply to Catholics, and later that summer, a case was brought before the Provincial Council protesting that a house lately built in Walnut Street was set apart for the exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, and it is commonly called the Romish Chapel, where Mass is openly celebrated by a Popish priest, contrary to the laws of England.

After deliberating the matter, the Provincial Council determined that Penn's Charter superseded England's laws and allowed the public masses to continue. That meant for the next four decades, until the American Revolution, Old St. Joseph's was the only place in the English-speaking world where priests could offer the Mass both publicly and legally.

Catholics who endured decades of persecution in Maryland finally had a place to worship openly, thanks to courage, persistence, and wise leadership. Their story reminds us that freedom to practice our faith is never guaranteed. It must be defended and cherished.

Visit or learn about a historic site of religious freedom in your area. Take time to pray for those who still face persecution for their faith. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, February 27th, for another story of faith and courage in America.