
The rectory of St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi at 7th and Montrose Streets may have been built on top of a 100-year-old African American burial site. It was last used by the Mario Lanza Institute and Museum. A developer plans to demolish the rectory and build seven homes with garages. | Photo: Michael Bixler
In a city like Philadelphia, saturated with churches from the 19th century and earlier, there is bound to be a lot of “firsts.” As the demographics of the city’s neighborhoods change, sometimes those designations help save a religious building whose congregation is diminished or gone, but not always.
Sometimes auxiliary buildings will be sold to free up resources to preserve the main church building. That is what’s been happening with first Italian national parish in the United States, St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi at 7th and Montrose Streets in Bella Vista.
A national parish is one that serves a particular community, rather than a geographic area. In the U.S., they arose during various immigrant waves, starting with the creation of Holy Trinity German National Parish in Society Hill in 1784. At one time, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia had over four dozen such parishes, serving Italian, Polish, and several Eastern European immigrant groups. Today, nearly a dozen remain, including St. Rocco Parish in Avondale, in southern Chester County, which was founded in 2010 to serve the area’s growing Mexican population.
St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi was a 16th century Carmelite nun from Florence. The church bearing her name was founded in 1852 by St. John Neumann, then bishop of Philadelphia, to serve the city’s Italian immigrant community. The current church building was erected 39 years later. It was closed as an official parish in 2000 and is now used as a worship site once a week for St. Paul, a nearby church at 10th and Christian Streets. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission dedicated a commemorative plaque for St. Mary’s in 1994.
As with other attempts at church preservation in the face of dwindling congregations, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia wants to sell the former rectory of St. Mary’s to a developer. There’s been a precedent here, when its former convent building at 730 Montrose Street on the east side of the church was converted to five condos in 2010. There are, however, a couple of differences in the two buildings’ situations.
Records from around the turn of the last century refer to a cemetery on the site of the rectory building. In its Historic Burial Places Map and Database, the Philadelphia Archaeology Forum (PAF) indicates a burial ground there, citing the Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, published in 1895 by civil engineers George and Walter Bromley.
A second reference came from the Philadelphia Inquirer on October 26, 1900, in which a brief article reported that a group of laborers had unearthed crumbling coffins containing human skeletons while digging a basement for a new house on Hall Street, the alley bordering the west side of the church campus, where the rectory stands today. The unnamed author states that the remains were believed to be those of “members of a colored settlement which populated this district a hundred years ago.” If accurate, the graveyard would predate the parish by a half-century.
“References like these raise alarm bells with us,” said PAF President Doug Mooney. “So we advise: proceed with caution. We don’t know if this cemetery extended all the way to where the rectory is now,” noting that the church’s property lines have changed over time.

St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi was built in 1891 and designed by distinguished ecclesiastical architect Edwin Forrest Durang. The church was home to the first Italian national parish in America. | Photo: Michael Bixler
According to Mooney, there is no indication in the church records of any graves being relocated. Even if that had occurred, he explained, “It’s not unusual for cemeteries to not be fully moved.” In populous cities like Philadelphia, a shortage of space led to the practice of stacking graves, and as a result, only those near the surface would be relocated to make way for new construction. In this instance, the Inquirer article in fact refers to the graves being “piled one on top of the other.”
No plans to conduct an archaeological due diligence study have been announced by Ambit Architecture, the designers for the developer, who did not reply to an email requesting information.
According to Eugene Desyatnik, president of the Bella Vista Neighbors Association (BVNA), the proposal called for less open space than the parcel’s RSA-5 zoning district requires, and included front-facing garages, which are prohibited. It is therefore not yet cleared its way through the BVNA zoning committee and the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Even if construction eventually gets underway, if more remains are found, archaeologists might then have an opportunity to weigh in. “In Philadelphia, unmarked graves are under the jurisdiction of Orphans’ Court,” said Mooney. “It’s the only entity that can authorize such bodies to be moved.”
He went on to explain that if human remains are discovered, the coroner must be contacted. If they’re of a historical nature, the developer can petition Orphans’ Court to remove them to a new site.
Another issue that surfaced when the development plans for the rectory were begun was the fate of one of the building’s tenants, the Mario Lanza Institute and Museum. It was established in 1962 to provide scholarships for early career singers to further their training and operates a museum featuring photos and artifacts related to Mario Lanza, the Philadelphia-born operatic tenor and film star of the 1940s and 50s. It had been housed in the former rectory since 2002. Happily, this issue has been resolved. “We’ve moved to 1214 Reed Street, have been renovating the location and are about three-quarters done,” reported museum president Bill Ronayne. “We hope to be open to the public by November if not sooner.” They’re continuing their capital campaign for the move with a fundraiser, appropriately, at the Victor Café, replete with their singing waitstaff, on July 31.
An excellent piece. The habit of trashing burial grounds, especially African-American and Native-American cemeteries is a shameful practice and due diligence ought to always be done.
Beautiful building. Why do beautiful buildings like that have to be torn down
Just took a walking tour of Bella Vista and viewed up close the St. Mary Magdalen rectory> Its a shame the original building cant be repurposed for residential use as has been done for similar buildings in South Philly! The quaint old world charm of Montrose street as a early religious hub will soon be forever altered with cookie cutter millenial monotony! Just saying!
Interesting to compare this to the similar situation in Weccacoe playground in Queen Village, where the decision was made to scrap large portions of the existing playground and disrupt a public community space in order to preserve the remains and erect a ‘memorial’ where as in Bella Vista the developer merely shrugs and continues development. You’d think the church would be in an equal uproar, but nah.
Thank you for your thoughtful article. I have two comments for you. Update: a permit for demolition of interior non load-bearing walls has been posted on the rectory door. Correction: the rectory is on the east side of the church; the convent/condos and Hall St., on the west.
When will the Mario Lanza Institute Museum open in November.
Hello Kimberly,
My brother recently moved into the former St. Mary Magdalene school building. Do you know who I can contact in order to get pictures of the school when it was operating? I’d love to have some printed as a Christmas present. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Any luck with pics? That was my grade school in 70s. rdok123@yahoo.com
I would love to see pictures too I attended this School until 8th Grade,Sister Bernadette deLourdes. A great School
I have an original marriage certificate for my grandparents who were married in Orphan’s Court 1910-09-26, which marriage was confirmed in the church of ‘the Italians’ 1910-10-24 on another original certificate, just after my grandmother Luigia Cerino’s 14th birthday. I can email copies of these documents if you are interested.
Thank You
Parents Clarence & Mildred (nee Palumbo) Franchetti were married at Church on Dec 26 1938.
I made my first confession in that rectory in 1988, to Father Natali, a wonderful old priest from Genoa. It breaks my heart the church sold the rectory. So many good memories of this lovely church, the priests, and the delicious biscotti we would eat after Mass in the rectory.
Father Monzzoni, Father Duffy, Father Waszel,these are the Priests I remember growing up in this beautiful Parish where I was baptized. MyMom, my Grandparents, and my baby brother Billy (2) Funeral Mass was held in thisChurch
Hi, all of your comments and memories are very touching. As the article references it is difficult for a dwindling congregation to maintain these historical buildings. Please take the time to visit the church Sundays at 10 am. Also if you have the means please consider a donation to keep St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi Church as beautiful as you remember it.
Thank you!
My great great grandfather, Nunzio Petrecca, an Italian railroad worker was killed on the job and was buried in the Cemetery of St Mary Magdelene de Pazzi. Of course, I have had no luck locating this cemetery and I wonder if this is the same one referenced in this article. Nunzio lived at 733 Fitzwater St., Philadelphia with other Italian railroad workers and likely attended St Mary. The death record the railroad company sent to his widow in Italy says his death occurred on the job in Colmar, PA and that he was buried on March 29, 1893 in the Cemetery of St Mary Magdelene de Pazzi. The undertaker’s name looks like F.A. Franesera. I’m sure many poor people were buried in that cemetery and forgotten.
On Google maps in May 2023, the site of the rectory has been demolished, no building yet. What is the status of the story in terms of discovery of an old cemetery. My great-grandparents Di Giovanni and Cricca were married there in 1895.