Saint Joseph's College (now Saint Joseph's University) was founded in 1851 by members of the Society of Jesus in Philadelphia. From 1851 to 1856 Saint Joseph's College held classes at Old Saint Joseph's Church located on Willing's Alley near Independence Hall. As enrollment expanded, classes were moved to a more spacious building at Filbert and Juniper Streets, and later to a site on Stiles Street between Seventeenth and Eighteenth Streets where a preparatory school ( Saint Joseph's Prep) and a church (Church of the Gesu) would also be built.
In 1927 the College moved to its present location on City Avenue near the Overbrook Farms area of Philadelphia.
SJU Archives and Special Collections holds papers, books, objects, photographs, and other materials related to the history of Old Saint Joseph's Church, and of the Jesuits and Catholicism in Philadelphia and neighboring areas, including sacramental records dating back to 1758. OSJ Church is the oldest Catholic Church in Philadelphia. Saint Joseph’s College (now SJU) was founded by Father Felix Joseph Barbelin, S.J. one of the first pastors of OSJ church. A finding aid for this collection is linked here.
For Genealogists:
Please note: We do not have death or burial records in the OSJ archival materials. The website Find My Past can be helpful. Another possibility from the Church of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) is the Philadelphia County cemetery records. Databases of historic newspapers may contain obituaries. Another suggested source is "America's Obituaries & Death Notices" which brings together obituaries from thousands of newspapers in one searchable database. Regional historic newspapers and "America's Obituaries & Death Notices" are available through the Free Library of Philadelphia and many other public libraries.
Baptism and marriage records from 1758 to 1917 are available through Find My Past. A wonderful source of our digitized materials is the site Philadelphia Congregations Early Records.
To find a baptism record from 1917 to February 1963, or a marriage record from 1917 to January 1, 1974, contact our archives.
For a baptism record after February 1963 or a marriage record after January 1, 1974, contact the Rectory office at Old Saint Joseph’s Church office@oldsaintjoseph.org or phone 215-923-1733.
To learn more about the history of OSJ, please visit their website.
Related materials may be found at The Catholic Historical Research Center https://chrc-phila.org/