Ss. Philip and James, New Castle

Ss. Philip and James was founded in 1922 as a Polish ethnic parish.  Originally, the members of this congregation belonged to the first Polish parish in New Castle, Madonna of Czestochowa.  As time passed, the Polish population grew to the point that a new parish had to be split off from Madonna parish.  On August 13, 1922, the new pastor for Ss. Philip and James arrived in New Castle.  For the parish's first year, services were held at St. Michael's church while the new parish began fund raising for its own church.  Ground was broken for the new parish church on May 13, 1923 and the basement of the church was completed in December 1923.  The basement was used as a temporary place of worship and the first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day of 1923.

While the basement was a temporary expedient, it was not adequate for the long term.  On May 11, 1924, the cornerstone was laid for the church building itself.  By the end of the year, enough of the church had been completed to permit services to be held in the church.  The first Mass was held on Christmas Day of 1924.  While the church was being used, work continued on the building.  Finally, the building was completed in 1928 and the church was dedicated on September 3, 1928.

This church served the community for the remainder of the century.  By the end of the century, however, the population of New Castle had dropped to the point that the city could no longer support the number of existing independent parishes.  In 1993, Ss. Philip and James merged with Holy Cross, St. Michael, St. Margaret and St. Lucy to form the new St. Vincent de Paul parish.  However, Ss. Philip and James church remains open and serves the new parish as a worship site.

Ss. Philip and James exterior, 1938	Ss. Philip and James exterior, 1938	Ss. Philip and James interior, 1938

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