Philadelphia and the Countryside - Press Room

In 2012, two big exhibits bring even more religious insight to Greater Philadelphia—a leader in providing spiritual freedom back when it was a novel idea. The largest and most comprehensive display of the biblical Dead Sea Scrolls ever displayed in the United States comes to The Franklin Institute, May 12-October 14. The 20-scroll Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times contains the books of Genesis, Leviticus, Exodus and other books and non-biblical writings. Just 45 minutes away, the James A. Michener Art Museum welcomes Offering of the Angels: Treasures from the Uffizi Gallery, April 21-August 10. Incomparable works from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy—from such masters as Botticelli, Titian, Tintoretto, Parmigianino and Cristofano—will travel to Bucks County for this major installation.

These exhibits join a long list of sacred places that, thanks to their history, architecture or emotional resonance, help make Philadelphia and The Countryside® an awe-inspiring place to visit. Around the region, new sites rise next to centuries-old houses of worship. Together, they provide physical testaments to the indomitable spirit of people who made great sacrifices for the liberty to worship as they please. Here’s a look at some of the region’s old and new sacred sites:

Shrines:

• Hundreds of thousands of visitors travel each year to pay their respects at The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa. Guests are invited to pray in the Lower Church, designed to replicate Our Lady’s Chapel from the Jasna Gora Monastery in Poland. An outdoor Station of the Cross and additional chapels provide a multitude of places for prayer, while a visitor center, cafeteria, exhibition gallery and gift shop round out the offerings. Open daily 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. 654 Ferry Road, Doylestown, (215) 345-0600, czestochowa.us
• Along the busy Girard Avenue corridor sits the St. John Neumann Shrine, a functioning urban parish that houses the remains of the bishop who’s credited with establishing the diocesan Catholic school system in America. In the basement of the baroque church, a glass altar allows for viewing of St. John Neumann’s (1811-1860) body, set off by a fiberglass likeness of his face. Masses and confessions held several times daily. 1019 N. 5^th Street, (215) 627-3080, stjohnneumann.org
• Known for her work with African and Native Americans, St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955) lays at rest in the St. Katharine Drexel Shrine at the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Visitors to the shrine, Mission Center and St. Elizabeth’s Chapel are encouraged to take part in programs on social justice; view artifacts from black and native cultures; and reflect on the nun’s accomplishments by perusing her belongings and watching a short video about her life. Pilgrims can ease their minds by placing written requests into an Apache Burden Basket. Open daily 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. 1663 Bristol Pike, Bensalem, (215) 244-9900, katharinedrexel.org

Historic Churches:

• In 1693, William Penn gave the land for the Arch Street Friends Meeting House to the Religious Society of Friends as a burial ground. In 1804, the meeting house was constructed and remains the largest building of its kind in the world. Today, dioramas about William Penn’s life and a piece of “treaty elm” believed to be from Penn’s 1682 treaty with the Indians help chronicle the experience of the people upon whose principles Pennsylvania was founded. Open 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 320 Arch Street, (215) 627-2667, archstreetfriends.org
• When The Baptist Temple opened in 1891, it was the largest Protestant church in the U.S. Now, more than 120 years later, a $29 million renovation has restored the building’s Romanesque grandeur and re-established its role as a landmark where dignitaries such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Helen Keller, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and General Dwight Eisenhower have delivered speeches. Owned by Temple University, the structure is now used as a multipurpose event and performance center. 1837 N. Broad Street, (215) 204-9860, thebaptisttemple.org
• Since 1864, the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter & Paul has served as the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The domed Roman-Corinthian cathedral contains numerous mosaics, medallions, Italian marble columns and a crypt holding the remains of most of Philadelphia’s bishops and some of its prominent clergymen. 18^th Street & the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (215) 561-1313, sspeterpaulcathedral.catholicweb.com
• Perhaps Philadelphia’s most recognized place of worship is the Christ Church & Burial Ground, a chapel where Benjamin Franklin is buried and many of the Founding Fathers, including George Washington and Robert Morris, worshiped. Absalom Jones, the nation’s first black priest, was ordained here. Tours of the National Park Service-affiliated church—a National Historic Landmark—are given throughout the day, and guided tours of the burial ground take place at the top of the hour from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Church, 2^nd Street between Market & Arch Streets; Burial Ground, Arch Street between 4^th & 5^th Streets, (215) 922-1695, christchurchphila.org
• In use since 1700, the building that houses Gloria Dei ‘Old Swedes’ Episcopal Church holds the designation of the oldest church building in Pennsylvania and the second-oldest in the United States. It also boasts one of the country’s oldest baptismal fonts—a massive Swedish-style font crafted in 1731—and models of the two ships that brought the first Swedish colonists to the region hang from the ceiling. Open Tuesday-Sunday 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Columbus Boulevard & Christian Street, (215) 389-1513, old-swedes.org
• Walk on hallowed ground during a visit to Mother Bethel AME Church, the Mother Church of the nation’s first black denomination. Founded in 1794, the church rests upon the oldest parcel of land continuously owned by African-Americans. The church memorializes Bishop Richard Allen, its founding pastor and first bishop. A basement crypt houses Allen’s tomb and other artifacts. Open Tuesday-Saturday and after Sunday services. 419 S. 6^th Street, (215) 925-0616, motherbethel.org
• Soon after the Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church’s founding in 1768, one of its first pastors, George Duffield, defied British arrest by serving as chaplain to the First Continental Congress and joining Washington at Valley Forge. Thanks to Duffield’s loyalty and parishioners such as John Adams, Old Pine soon became known as the “Church of the Patriots.” Today, it remains the only Presbyterian structure in Philadelphia dating back to colonial and Revolutionary times. Call for hours. 412 Pine Street, (215) 925-8051, oldpine.org
• Old St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church is Philadelphia’s oldest Catholic community. Founded and still staffed by Jesuits, the community has been in continuous existence since 1733. Open to the public for self-guided tours every day; call for hours. 321 Willings Alley, (215) 923-1733, oldstjoseph.org
• In its first incarnation, the Seamen’s Church Institute of Philadelphia & South Jersey was a 75-foot-high, 600-seat church that floated on the Delaware River. This floating chapel served as a destination for worship for merchant seafarers from 1849 to 1859. After many relocations, the non-profit ecumenical, non-denominational facility now provides recreation facilities, a television lounge, a computerized communication center, a clothing bank for visiting mariners and the new Chapel of the Redeemer, open to the public since spring 2009. 475 N. 5^th Street, (215) 940-9900, sciphiladelphia.org
• Historic St. George’s United Methodist Church is the cradle of American Methodism and the denomination’s oldest church building in continuous service. St. George’s licensed Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, the first African-American Lay Preachers of Methodism, before racial tensions led them to split from the church and establish their own churches. Francis Asbury preached his first sermon in America in this sanctuary before being appointed first Bishop of the newly formed denomination. A museum and library houses documents dating to the 1700s, and docents offer public tours of the museum and sanctuary by appointment. 235 N. 4^th Street, (215) 925-7788, historicstgeorges.org
• The first service at St. Peter’s Church was held in 1761, and the church has been in continuous use ever since. St. Peter’s was founded by members of Christ Church and included occasional worshipers George and Martha Washington and slaves like Absalom Jones. William White, Rector of both churches, was chaplain to the U.S. Congress during the Revolution and founder of the Episcopal Church. Free cell phone audio tours, available at (215) 554-6161, guide visitors through the church and its burial yard daily except for during Sunday services. 3^rd & Pine Streets, (215) 925-5968, stpetersphila.org

Jewish Sites:

• Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1954 and completed in 1959, Beth Sholom Synagogue is one of only four synagogues nationwide to be designated a National Historic Landmark. The building, which incorporates the rich symbols of Judaism, is the only temple designed by Wright and the last project he completed before his death. Open Sunday 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. and Wednesday-Thursday 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.; group tours by appointment. 8231 Old York Road, Elkins Park, (215) 887-1342, bethsholompreservation.org
• Mikveh Israel traces its beginning to 1740, when Thomas Penn granted land to Nathan Levy for a burial ground. In 1782, the temple’s first house of worship was completed with financial assistance from Benjamin Franklin and others. The nearby cemetery contains the grave of Rebecca Gratz, the first female Jewish college student in the U.S. and reportedly the inspiration for the character Rebecca in Ivanhoe. Open Sunday-Friday. Cemetery tours by appointment. 44 N. 4^th Street, (215) 922-5446, mikvehisrael.org
• Opened on Independence Mall in 2010, the 100,000-square-foot National Museum of American Jewish History is the only museum in the world devoted exclusively to telling the story of Jews in America. The five-story museum—whose glass façade represents the openness of America—includes hands-on exhibits and more than 25,000 historical items in its collection, all of which help to illustrate the trials and triumphs of American Jews. 101 S. Independence Mall East, (215) 923-3811, nmajh.org
• The Society Hill Synagogue began its life as a Baptist church designed by one of early America’s foremost architects. Almost 200 years after the building’s construction, visitors still marvel at the National Historic Landmark, designed by Thomas U. Walter, who also drew the plans for the dome and House and Senate wings of the U.S. Capitol. 418 Spruce Street, (215) 922-6590, societyhillsynagogue.org

Places for Rest & Reflection:

• At The President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation, visitors see structural fragments of the home where Presidents Washington and Adams lived during their terms and where nine enslaved people served the first president. At the open-air Independence National Historical Park site, located just steps from the Liberty Bell Center, visitors learn about the events that transpired through illustrated glass panels, timelines and video re-enactments, and they can partake in silent reflection. 6th & Market Streets, (800) 537-7676, nps.gov/inde
• One of the few cemeteries in the nation to be designated a National Historic Landmark, Laurel Hill Cemetery is home to the bodies of six Titanic passengers, 40 Civil War generals and myriad local icons. The bucolic setting, ornate gravestones, dog-walking paths and fun-spirited annual events like the Gravedigger’s Ball make this setting just as popular with locals as with tourists. Admission is free seven days a week for self-guided walking, driving and cell-phone audio tours, as are children’s activity packs, but a highlights map costs a few dollars. 3822 Ridge Avenue, (215) 228-8200, thelaurelhillcemetery.org

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality.

For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit visitphilly.com or uwishunu.com, where you can build itineraries; search event calendars; see photos and videos; view interactive maps; sign up for newsletters; listen to Hear Philly, an online radio station about what to see and do in the region; book hotel reservations and more. Or, call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Historic Philadelphia, at (800) 537-7676.

Contact(s):

• Cara Schneider, (215) 599-0789
• Donna Schorr, (215) 599-0782