The Church of the Gesú is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

and former

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

located in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Founded in 1868 by Burchard Villiger, the church was the center of several Jesuit educational institutions, including St. Joseph's Preparatory School, St. Joseph's University, and the Gesú School. The Baroque revival church was named after and loosely modeled after the Church of the Gesú in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The parish closed in 1993, and the building became the chapel of St. Joseph's Prep. The church is part of the Girard Avenue Historic District.

History

On December 6, 1868, the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest Burchard Villiger founded New St. Joseph's Church, being the second Jesuit Catholic church in

after Old St. Joseph's Church in Old City. This was soon renamed the Church of the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...

, intending it to be the center of a complex of Jesuit institutions, including St. Joseph's Preparatory School, St. Joseph's University, and the Gesú School. A chapel,

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

, and

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

were built following the relocation of the preparatory school and university from Old St. Joseph's Church in 1868. The Church of the Holy Family was renamed the Church of the Gesú in 1878, after the

Church of the Gesù The Church of the Gesù (, ), officially named (), is a church located at Piazza del Gesù in the Pigna (rione of Rome), Pigna ''Rioni of Rome, rione'' of Rome, Italy. It is the mother church of the Society of Jesus (best known as Jesuits). Wi ...

, which is the universal

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...

of the Society of Jesus. The cornerstone of a new, grander church was laid on March 10, 1879, and the

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

edifice was completed in 1888. A dedication ceremony was held on December 12, 1888. The Baroque revival church was designed by local architect Edwin F. Durang, and was modeled on its Roman counterpart. The interior, including the

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s, was decorated by the Italian artist

Nicola D'Ascenzo Nicola D'Ascenzo (September 25, 1871, Torricella Peligna, Italy – April 13, 1954, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an Italian-born American stained glass designer, painter and instructor. D'Ascenzo Studios created stained glass windows for ...

. The dimensions of the new church were: high, a central nave long and wide, and a main altar that is high. The two towers of the facade, on either side of the Doric, Ionic, and Tuscan columns are each tall. The church was also outfitted by Villiger with a number of paintings, which included eighteen portraits by the Mexican painter Miguel Cabrera of the Jesuit Superiors General from Saint Ignatius through Lorenzo Ricci, as well as several

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

s. However, by 1903, these paintings were no longer in the church. By 1891, the church held over 370

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

for veneration by the faithful. Many of them were around 120 years old at the time they were obtained from Rome. The church served as a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from its opening until its closure in 1993 and merger with Saint Malachy's Church. The building was repurposed by St. Joseph's Prep as its school chapel. In 1985, the building was named as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

of the Girard Avenue Historic District.

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

* * {{Authority control Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia Historic district contributing properties in Philadelphia Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Pennsylvania Roman Catholic chapels in the United States 1868 establishments in Pennsylvania Religious organizations established in 1868 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1888 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia Baroque Revival architecture in the United States Society of Jesus in Pennsylvania 1888 establishments in Pennsylvania Former churches in Philadelphia