From the organizer:
This
is a one-time TLM being offered by a young resident priest at a parish
in a once strong Catholic neighborhood made up of Polish, Italian and
German immigrants. The “three churches” along the short stretch of
Allegheny Avenue (known as “Church Alley”), St. Adalbert’s (Polish), Our
Lady Help of Christians (German) and Nativity BVM have all seen sharp
decreases in parish membership.
Each parish at one time had large
rectories and convents filled with religious, and each with their own
parish school. Now a mere 4 priests and 2 nuns remain at the 3 parishes.
The 3 parish schools were combined into 1 in 2006 and student
enrollment continues to decline. In 2015, the Archdiocese of
Philadelphia will evaluate this cluster of parishes to determine which
and how many churches to close, which is the new annual tradition in
Philadelphia. The TLM being offered at Nativity BVM is likely the first
one open to the public since the post conciliar changes, and there are
no plans to make this a regular occurrence due to strained parish
resources.
Please join us at Mass on March 1st at 11:30 AM to
pray for this dwindling community of faith and to offer thanksgiving
for this opportunity to pray the Mass according to the Traditional Rite.
