THIS Philadelphia mission of St. Pius X was brought about through the efforts of a small, dedicated group of traditional Roman Catholics who refused to bow to the errors of the conciliar church. In the early 1970’s, Edward Delate from Wilmington, Delaware was one of those courageous individuals who refused to abandon the tradi-tional Catholic faith. He reached out to many of his friends and acquaintances to form a small movement of people that would continue to grow and flourish to the present time. When the group was formed, Mr. Delate contacted Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre for traditional priests.

In the mid 1970’s, Mr. Delate, now coor-dinator of the chapel, became very ill. Neil Tagle, a dear friend of Mr. Delate, was selected by the Society to help Mr. Delate handle his many duties. Mr. Delate died in 1977, after a long illness, and Mr. Tagle was appointed coordinator of the mission.

By 1982 the mission was actively seeking a church property. By the grace of Almighty God, one of the faithful of the mission found a rundown church, built in 1915, in Eddystone, PA (a suburb of Philadelphia). The church interior was in a deplorable state. The entire congregation pitched in to renovate the building, including the altar and all furnishings. After many months of work, the church was finally finished with a sanctuary worthy to worship Our Lord. In October of 1982 our first Mass was offered. The Society of St. Pius X named the chapel St. Cyprian’s, after the holy Bishop of Carthage.

In April of 1983, the priests of the Eastern District of the U.S. rebelled against Archbishop Lefebvre. This caused a split in the mission. Much confusion and anguish developed among the faithful due to the actions of these priests. All but a handful of the parishioners remained with the Society of St. Pius X.

After several years and many legal battles, the court declared that the dissident priests had to relinquish and vacate the chapel. Mr. Conde McGinley was appointed coordinator of the newly named St. Jude Roman Catholic Church. At the beginning, the chapel struggled to survive, but within a relatively short time the chapel was able to maintain itself, particularly due to the extraordinary generosity of a benefactor who paid off the balance of the mortgage.

In December 1988, Fr. Ranger was appointed chaplin to the Carmelite Sisters at the Convent of the Holy Trinity in Phoenixville, PA. He was also named pastor of St. Jude. Within a relatively short time this determined priest assessed the needs of our chapel. By the time he left with the Carmelites in June of 1989, our chapel had a new coordinator, treasurer, secretary, choir, youth group, catechism classes for the children, Women’s Guild, and a sacristan. Before leaving, father also directed the coordinator to seek funds for a new church roof. When Fr. Ranger left, our newly appointed coordinator, Mr. Larry DeCristo, had been given the task of carrying on the work which was initiated by Fr. Ranger. Since July 1989, the number of parishioners has doubled in size. On June 2, 1991, Bishop Richard Williamson blessed the chapel and also confirmed 11 children and adults. We are very grateful to all the priests of the Society of St. Pius X who have offered Mass in our chapel.

St. Jude Roman Catholic Church 

1402 E. 10th Street

Eddystone, PA