St. William's Parish
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St William Parish - LawnCrest - Philadelphia, Pa.
The Beginning of a Parish
In the early part of the 1900’s, the area currently comprising St William Parish, known as Lawndale, was part of Presentation BVM in nearby Cheltenham, Pa., which was under the leadership of Rev. William A Motley. When the Diocese began planning for a new parish in the Lower Northeast, Archbishop Dennis Dougherty asked Rev. Motley if he wished to remain at Presentation or would he like to lead a new parish…his answer was clear.
On January 20,1920 St. William Parish was founded under Motley’s Leadership. Immediately, a worship location was secured at the Germania Maennerchor Hall at 514 Devereaux Ave with the first mass being held on Jan 23. The new Parish comprised of 70 families, spread out within the boundaries of; Cottman Ave to the North, Tookany Creek to the West and Roosevelt Boulevard to the South and East. A Rectory was established at 415 Levick Street that included a small chapel. In 1922, a move to 909 Levick street would be prompted by need for additional space.
In 1921, gound was broken for the combination Church/School at Rising Sun Avenue and Robbins Street. The first mass was said on December 8, 1921. In 1923, the parishes of St. Ambrose and St. Martin of Tours were established which ate up a large portion of St. William’s Southern and Eastern parts. New (and current) boundaries were Magee Ave to the North, Phila/Mont.Co Township Line to the West. Pennway Street/Air line through the Navy Depot to the East and Allengrove Street To the South. In 1924, St William School opened with 102 students under the direction of the Sisters Of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Two sisters commuted back and forth from St Joachim’s Parish in Frankford to teach. As far back as 1925, fundraising was begun to build additions to the school, and by 1929 two additional floors were built to the existing building to give a total of 12 classrooms for the now 450 students enrolled in the School.
A new “basement church” was constructed closer to Devereaux, completed in the 1930’s with a traditional gothic look on the interior, along with a new rectory. In 1948, construction was begun on a new convent building. Up to this time the Sisters had been housed in a group of row homes behind the Lower School on Robbins Street where the current Memorial Hall now stands.
Times of Change
The 1950’s and 60’s saw many changes come to the physical plant of the Parish. The Middle School buidling was built and later an additional floor was added. When consideration was had for the completion of the Upper Church, it was found that the basement church was not structurally sufficient to support additional construction. In 1955, the old church was demolished to make way for the current building. The First mass was said in the new church on December 25, 1956. This Church, now the parishes 3rd, seated 800. All of the stained glass windows and some appointments were used from the 2nd church. While structually complete the parish was still without a "Main Church" as construction debts prohibited completion of the interior of the Upper Church until June of 1963. The Upper Church seats 1100. In 1965 with school enrollment now at over 1500, plans were drawn up for a new school building with 12 classrooms to be built behind the Lower School on Robbins, again where Memorial Hall now stands. A fire in early 1966 that destroyed the Rectory shelved those plans and the building was never built. A temporary Rectory was established at 6145 Argyle Street. The current Rectory was completed in 1967.
The 1970’s were relatively quiet construction years for the parish but that's not to say they were not busy ones. The most notable "beginning" during this time was the Parish Carnival, started by Msgr. Kimble in 1974. As a source of funds for expansion and maintenance of the Parish facilities, the Carnival would last for well over a decade, with it's largest year being being in 1986, when over $50,000 was netted from this week long event. The Carnival had had its' last hurra when the decision was made to construct a much needed hall in 1988 which took up half the grounds used for the event.
New Leadership
In 1980, St William’s 6th Pastor, Monsignor James E. Mortimer took the helm, a post he would hold for 22 years. In 1981, under his leadership, school tuition was established with minimum weekly payments required by parents. The School Hall was renovated to provide additional classroom space over the summer, but this work was quickly undone by a devastating fire that gutted the hall in the fall of the same year. By February of 1982, the hall had once again been renovated. Both Churches saw renovations, with new carpeting, sanctuary appointments, pew refurbishment and painting completed in 1982.
In 1986, the Kindergarten Building was completed. It was designed and built by parishioners. Also that year, the “St. William Creche” was dedicated. The 6 x 26 foot case was built in the narthx of the Upper Church to house the 2 foot tall statues which were hand carved by Gregor Betz, a parishioner, who was schooled in Germany as a woodcarver. Rotated throughout the year, the display incorporates each major event of the liturgical year with the nativity being the largest and most impressive. Mr. Betz also carved the rendition of the Last Supper that adorns the main altar of the Lower Church.
In 1988, Memorial Hall at Robbins and Argyle was completed at a cost of $1.25 Million and dedicated by Archbishop Bevilacqua.
In 1989, The Adoration Chapel (Blessed Sacrament) was opened on Ash Wednesday. Dedicated to Mother Katherine Drexel, the Chapel is located behind the Lower Church Altar with the entrance off of Argyle Street.
In 1991, the Lower Church was renovated once again to meet with Liturgical Norms under Vatican II with the main Altar moved closer to the congregation, side pews turned to face the altar and new locations for the shrines established. New statues of the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, Sacred Heart, and Katherine Drexel were brought over from Italy. Seating capacity was reduced to 700 with these renovations. All work was done by Parishioners.
To alleviate overcrowding, the Lawndale Hospital Annex was purchased and renovated into 14 additional classrooms, completed in 1993 it was known as the Primary School. School enrollment at this time was over 1,300.
During his 22 years, Msgr. Mortimer made his mark on the Parish. Most notably was his flair for decoration and stage design. Both Churches saw quite elaborate decorations for the various holidays over the years. He kept the parish women busy sewing and hemming various draperies and decorations. The most visible aspect of his touch was the Christmas light display which saw every parish building and tree lit up over the holiday. A large painting of the Nativity was created by Jim Gallagher and has been hung on the outside of the church every year since.
Parish Hits Its Peak
The early 1990’s saw the “Peak” of the Parish. With over 9,600 parishioners on the register, weekend attendance at the fourteen masses was well over 40% or close to 4,000 people. In 1995, St William celebrated its 75th anniversary with a gala celebration of events that stretched over an entire year. What seemed to be the top of the world for the parish was short lived.
Starting in the mid 90’s, white flight began to take hold on the Lower Northeast. People began fleeing to the suburbs in droves. The strong German, Irish, Polish and Italian make up of the parish was being augmented by Hispanic, Asian and African Americans who were moving into the community. St William Parish welcomed the newcomers. Still, registration dropped from 8,900 in 1997 to just over 7,000 by 2002 with the school enrollment dropping from 1,100 in 1997 to just over 700 in 2002.
Change of the Guard
In 2002, Msgr. Mortimer retired and Msgr. Nelson Perez was installed as the 7th Pastor of St William. While Msgr. Perez came into a parish full of life and vigor, he also came into a parish burdened with major debt and a physical plant neglected. Since his arrival, over $360,000 in repairs have been made to the various buildings, including repair of the heating systems for both churches, repainting the Lower Church, plaster & paint repairs to the Upper Church, replacement of the Convent heating system, repair and reconstruction of an entire corner of the Lower School building, replacement of roofs on both school buildings. Through the generosity of a local company, an alarm system was installed in the church, new carpeting was installed in the Lower Church, along with new seats for the Chapel. The Primary School was closed and the building leased out to the Sisters of the IHM for a ministry training center. The debt that welcomed him at the door has been reduced significantly with all bills current. This could not have been accomplished without the dedication of the Parishioners of St William. Their generosity is unmatched.
Today
With 8 Sunday masses, attendance is still stong at around 1,800 people or 35% of the current registration of 5,100 people. Masses are said in 3 languages - English, Spanish and Urdu (Pakistani) with the latter being an outcome of the assignment of the Pakistani Community to St William Parish. Daily masses (3 each day) see an additional 1,500 people attending each week, many from the surrounding business community and the Navy Depot.
St William Parish continues to be a strong, central part of the LawnCrest Community. Now in it’s 88th year, the future of the parish remains vibrant. Most parishes in the Lower Northeast have seen similar reduction in numbers all around, as has the Catholic Church as a whole. St William remains dedicated to serving the LawnCrest Community for years to come. The School, still under the direction of the Sisters of the IHM, has held its enrollment to just over 400 for the last few years.
Pastors of the Parish
1920-1928 Rev. William A. Motley, 1928-1935 Rev. Austin C. Grady, 1935-1944 Rev. Richard W. Gaughan, 1944-1968 Rev. William J. Boyle, 1968-1980 Rev. Francis J. Kimble, 1980-2002 Rev. James E. Mortimer, 2002-(____) Rev. Nelson Perez
Notable St William Parishioners
William (Bil) Keane, Creator of Family Circus, Class of 1936.
Vocations from St William
Over 100 men and women have taken vocations from St William Parish, including Mosignor Joseph Tracy and Bishop Martin Lohmuller
Current Mass Schedule: All masses are said in English unless noted otherwise. LC-Lower Church, UC-Upper Church
Mon-Fri: 6:30am, 8am and 12 noon-all LC. Sat: 8am LC, 5pm LC(Vigil) Sun: 6:30am LC, 8am LC, 10am LC, 10am UC[Spanish] & 11:30am UC October-May,LC June-Sept. 4pm LC[Urdu], 8pm LC.
