Archdiocese of Philadelphia Celebrates Saint Edmond’s Home Centennial and Announces Arrival of Sisters of Life Minister in the Region
Saint Edmond’s Home for Children, a member facility of Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is celebrating one hundred years of providing health care services to some of the most vulnerable children in our community. To commemorate the occasion, Most Reverend John J. McIntyre, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, will be the principal celebrant at a special Mass this weekend.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
2:00 p.m.
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Several dozen members of the Saint Edmond’s Women’s Auxiliary, who have contributed generously over many decades to capital projects and program enhancements that have benefited the children, will be in attendance along with former and current residents of Saint Edmond’s and their families.
Founded by Archbishop Edmond Prendergast in 1916, Saint Edmond’s Home for Children was started to meet the needs of children affected by the polio epidemic. First located at 44th Street and Haverford Avenue in Philadelphia, the home was administered by the Sisters of Bon Secours and was the first Catholic home of its kind in America. One hundred years later, Saint Edmonds Home for Children continues to provide exceptional care for countless children with physical and intellectual disabilities and fragile medical health that requires 24-hour nursing care at its current location in Rosemont, PA (Montgomery County).
At Sunday’s liturgy, Bishop McIntyre will also announce the arrival of the Sisters of Life apostolate to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The Sisters of Life is a contemplative religious community of women founded in 1991 by the late John Cardinal O’Connor for the protection and enhancement of the sacredness of every human life. The sisters approached Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. about opening a convent and beginning their apostolate in the Archdiocese immediately following the World Meeting of Families Philadelphia – 2015 and the visit of Pope Francis. Their convent will be located at Saint Malachy Parish in North Philadelphia and they will serve throughout the five-county Archdiocese.
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Editor’s Note: For more information about Saint Edmond’s Home for Children, please visit http://www.stedmondshome.org/. To learn more about the Sisters of Life, please visit http://www.sistersoflife.org/.
