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Holy Name of Jesus
 

Status: Active, Catholic

Founded: 1905

E. Berks & Gaul Street
Philadelphia, PA 19125

http://www.archdiocese-phl.org/parishes/7125.htm

http://www.holyname-fishtown.org/
 
Where Is It?


E. Berks & Gaul Street, in the land of Fish…err, I mean Fishtown.

The Skinny


The Project continues to troll the vast waters of North Philadelphia! This week, we set a course and cast our anchor in venerable Fishtown, an area barely a few leagues from Center City. What? Alright, I’ll stop it with the nautical terms.

Silliness aside, Holy Name of Jesus is a rather remarkable parish. Not particularly for its physical attributes, though. The church is nice enough, with solid stone construction and a huge spiky tower that dominates the rest of the design. Really, it’s so prominent, it feels like they built the tower and then, as an afterthought, decided to build a church around it.

Inside, we get a columned, cruciform Gothic design and some lovely, if not particularly large, stained glass windows. The altar section is oddly huge, taking up more than half of the church’s length, and a good portion of its width. And in the middle, where the tower is, the ceiling is plastered over and painted to look like the night sky. Well, not the night sky in Philly, because there are too many stars.

In the end, though, it’s a little on the plainer side because the plaster is unadorned. Aside from some nice touches, it’s not going to blow you away architecturally.

Size Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Ornamentation Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Overall Design Rating: 7.5 out of 10 crosses
How's It Doing?


This is where things get interesting. Fishtown is an area whose reputation tends to run the gamut, depending almost entirely on who is giving the opinion. Some say it’s the next hot thing, while others claim it’s the Badlands incarnate. Yes, Fishtown’s proximity to Center City, like its southern neighbor Northern Liberties, has enabled it to benefit from gentrification.

But really, though, it doesn’t seem like the area truly went away. Despite Philly’s economic turmoil, Fishtown still has a strong gritty, tight-knight, European, working-class sensibility. There’s no better proof of that than the Sunday 10:30 a.m. mass, which functions more like a family get-together than a Sunday service.

Pastor Francis Groarke and Deacon Jack Boyle run the show with heart, comedy and compassion. They seem to know everyone, and they aren’t afraid to interrupt the mass for random shout-outs or trips into the audience. Even their baptism, which takes place during mass and includes participation from the congregation, is unique. (And also stunningly beautiful.)

Strong congregation = strong church.

Emergency Rating: No clots here
Travel Tidbits


Fishtown is right off I-95, so getting there is quite convenient. (Unless you live nowhere near I-95.) Parking is another matter, since you’re dealing once again with a maze of tiny one-way streets.

The area seems solid enough, and the advancing tide of gentrification has only helped its status. You should encounter no real problems.

Safety Rating: 8 out of 10 tire irons
Interesting Note


This church has no intention candles of any kind. That’s very strange.
The Final Word


Holy Name of Jesus may not be structurally impressive, but it’s quite a catch nonetheless. (Get it? Catch? Oh, never mind.)

 

© 2007 Philadelphia Church Project