Repository: Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

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Extent:: 9.6 linear feet (, 23 document boxes)
Abstract:: The parochial school system in Philadelphia officially began in 1852 under Philadelphia's fourth bishop, John Nepomucene Neumann. However, the first Catholic schools in Philadelphia can be traced to the mid- to late-18th century under the purview of local parishes, and early expansion occurred unsystematically until the 1850s. Since few parishes had the resources to provide a K-12 education, many Catholic households chose to send their children to Philadelphia's public schools. Due to several factors (including doubts about the suitability of a public education for Catholic children and growing anti-Catholic sentiment and the nativist riots of 1844), Bishop Francis Kenrick began pushing for separate parochial schools for Philadelphia's Catholic families. By 1850, nearly every parish had a free school. By 1852, Philadelphia had a parochial school system administered by a central school board. Consistent policies were established in 1890, when the central board voted to create an...(see more)

Held at: Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center [Contact Us]

Extent:: 7.5 linear feet (; 18 document boxes)
Abstract:: Louis Joseph Meyer (1897-1985) attended St. Charles Seminary in Overbrook, Pennsylvania starting in 1914, was ordained in the Roman Catholic Church in 1923, and served as a parish priest for the next 19 years. He served as an Army chaplain during World War II, and was stationed in the China-Burma-India Theater until 1946. Upon his discharge from the service, Meyer resumed his parish duties in Philadelphia. He was elevated to Monsignor in 1965, retired in 1972, and passed away in 1985. The Right Reverend Monsignor Louis Meyer papers document the writings, travels, and service of Monsignor Louis Joseph Meyer (1897-1985). This collection dates from 1910 to 2007 and consists of Meyer’s theater work, short stories and writings, speeches and sermons, academic materials relating to St. Charles Seminary and the University of Pennsylvania, travel documents and ephemera, correspondence, notes, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, and subject files containing clippings and other printed...(see more)

Held at: Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center [Contact Us]

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