Some Highlights of Parish History

18th Century (1729) Parish is founded in Willcox Homestead
                                       which later became the site of St. Mary's Chapel
19th Century (1852) Saint John Neumann lays cornerstone of Old Church
20th Century (1957) School built; 1991 - New church built

Preservation of Old Saint Thomas at Ivy Mills Historic Resources District:
The Rationale
(Presented at all Masses April 1st and 2nd, 2000)

     Here at Saint Thomas we are specially tied to the awesome Catholic tradition that has continued, unbroken, for 2000 years. We are able to attend Mass and receive the sacraments because our fellow Catholics over those 2000 years took extraordinary steps to make sure that the faith was passed along to the next generation. Catholics have worshiped together here for almost 275 years. As one of the oldest parishes in the U.S., and the first parish of the Philadelphia archdiocese, for 11 generations we have nurtured the faith. In the 1720s Mass was said at the Willcox family home on Polecat Road; in 1837 St. Mary's chapel was built there, and in 1852 Bishop St. John Neumann blessed the cornerstone of St. Thomas's original fieldstone church, the building on the northern edge of the parish grounds. Until 1991 Sunday Mass was held there, and since 1991 in the spacious new church. So our parish, too, has an unbroken tradition, a tradition which we extend every day and especially by the new school that's going up now.

     Belonging to a parish with such a tradition is a special honor.

     Belonging to a parish with such a tradition is also a special responsibility. Because we live here now, we are the ones responsible for preserving it for the future. Sure, we could live and practice our faith without caring about our tradition. But if we do that, we would separate our children from a large part of their education and their faith.

     We all want to make sure that children learn what's necessary to succeed in material life. But more importantly, as Catholics we want them to succeed in understanding themselves as part of God's creation. For this we at St. Thomas parish have the original and powerful story of the impact of the Christian faith on this region, this state and later, on our country.

     To explain: our historic buildings, with the old church as the centerpiece, and the surrounding grounds make up an historic site that is a field trip Saint Thomas school children can walk to. This place is a living lesson in faith, in religious history, in community history, and even in American Constitutional history. As the first Catholic parish in William Penn's colony, where the policy of religious freedom took form, St. Thomas is without question a site of prime Catholic and secular historical importance.

     Beyond their historic value, the buildings serve many daily purposes. The old church is the site of weddings and daily Mass (or will be again when school construction is finished); using donated funds and much volunteer labor, the old rectory will become a prime parish meeting place, historical library and museum; the ice house will be a learning site; the horse shed is the home of Gramma's Attic for the Fair, and will be upgraded to be used for outdoor social functions.

     John Ruskin, one of 19th century England's most respected thinkers, once wrote that "Old buildings are not ours. They belong, partly to those who built them, and partly to the generations of mankind who are to follow us....What we ourselves have built, we are at liberty to throw down. But what other men gave their strength, and wealth and life to accomplish, their right over it does not pass away with their death."

     It's that thought, and the thought that we have the duty of passing on the faith and all it implies to our children, that requires responsible care of our historical parish buildings.