Today

Old St. Joseph’s Today

Old St. Joseph’s today is a thriving, diverse parish which reflects the understanding of “Church” and “parish” that is expressed in the documents of its Second Vatican Council, of the United States Bishops, and of the Society of Jesus. Following these documents assures Old St. Joseph’s continuity with the parish’s traditional commitment to lively and inspiring worship, to forming community in the model of the disciples and the early Church, to the promotion of the Spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, and to the care of the poor, the hungry, the sick, and other disadvantaged persons. However, these documents also have moved Old St. Joseph’s into new areas, including:

• • fostering the full, active, and conscious participation of the Assembly in its liturgical celebrations;
  • meaningful sharing by Jesuits with lay parishioners the responsibility for parish leadership, including properly forming lay
  • parishioners in the mission of the Society of Jesus in the United States and in the Jesuits’ way of proceeding; engaging the secular culture of Philadelphia in new and expanded ways;
  • establishing regular dialogue with persons of other faith traditions; and becoming a center for lively cultural and intellectual life in Philadelphia.

Nevertheless, whatever the parishioners of Old St. Joseph’s may do today, they are ever seeking the “magis,” that is, the greater glory of God.

Acknowledgement and thanks to Martin I.J. Griffin, M. Maury Walton, Eugene Gallagher, S.J., and John M. Daley, S.J., for essays or pamphlet histories of Old St. Joseph’s.