Immigration and the Churches:
When Manayunk was first being populated a lot of the workers were from other countries. Some from Ireland, some from Poland, Italy or Germany. They were from all over. One of the rising problems that they ran into was that they all wanted a place to worship but they couldn't do that when they couldn't understand each other. So to solve this problem they all built their own Catholic church off of Main Street. They were soon made into schools for the children to learn about God while learning the normal school standards. Until 2005 when they all merged into one school, Holy Child Catholic School.
Saint John the Baptist, built in 1831, is still to this day, the biggest catholic church the Manayunk area. This specific church was for the Irish population that worked at the mills and factories off the canal. Even today they have a very large Irish population and have regular masses to attend.
For more information visit: http://stjohnmanayunk.org/
For more information visit: http://stjohnmanayunk.org/
Saint Josephat's was built in 1888 for the Polish citizens of Manayunk. They too have masses to attend and have a Christmas Bazaar every year for all the participants of the other churches to attend.
For more information visit: http://stjosaphatschurch.com/
For more information visit: http://stjosaphatschurch.com/
Saint Lucy's was built in 1891 for the Italian population. Unfortunately, they do not have masses these days.
For more information visit: http://www.stmarymanayunk.com/stlucys/
For more information visit: http://www.stmarymanayunk.com/stlucys/
Saint Mary's was built in 1849 for the German community. Unfortunately they too do not have services today.
For more information visit: http://www.stmarymanayunk.com/
For more information visit: http://www.stmarymanayunk.com/