Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church stands on the southwest corner of 13th and Walnut Streets in Center City Philadelphia, a Roman Catholic parish staffed since the 1830s by Capuchin Franciscan friars and known locally simply as "St. John's." The parish carries the motto "Good News in the Heart of Philadelphia" and serves a uniquely urban congregation: residents of the surrounding Market East neighborhood, commuters who work in the office towers around City Hall, tourists from the Reading Terminal Market and the Convention Center a block away, and visitors who stumble in from the hotels that line nearby Chestnut Street. It is one of six Catholic parishes in Center City and the only one in the immediate Market East corridor.
The parish's character is shaped by two things above all: its Capuchin Franciscan identity and its extraordinary schedule of daily worship. The friars keep the church open from early morning until evening, with three Masses on weekdays, four on Sundays, more than six hours of confessions each week, and continuous Eucharistic adoration in the lower church from shortly after noon until nearly five o'clock, Monday through Saturday. For office workers, hospital visitors, neighbors and tourists, St. John's functions as an oasis of prayer in the middle of a busy downtown.
The Capuchin Friars Who Run the Parish
Saint John's is one of a handful of American parishes entrusted to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap.), the branch of the Franciscan family founded in sixteenth-century Italy as a reform movement emphasizing radical simplicity, brotherhood and preaching. The friars at St. John's belong to the Province of St. Augustine, based in Pittsburgh, and live together in the friary adjacent to the parish office on Ludlow Street.
The Capuchins arrived in Philadelphia in the mid-nineteenth century and have served St. John's continuously ever since. The current pastor is Friar Thomas Betz, OFM Cap., a Pennsylvania native who earned a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh before entering religious life, was ordained in 1991, and came to St. John's in 2022 after serving as Provincial Minister of the Province of St. Augustine. He is also pastor of the mission chapel, Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church. He received the papal honor Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice and the St. Thomas More Award from the Philadelphia St. Thomas More Society for his earlier work in urban parishes and his service to the Chinese Apostolate.
Three other Capuchin priests serve as parochial vicars: Friar John McCloskey, OFM Cap., originally from Hawthorne, New Jersey, who first came to St. John's in 2003 and was assigned again more recently; Friar Francis Ezeh, OFM Cap.; and Friar Luke Kim, OFM Cap., born in South Korea in 1978, who majored in violin in college, entered Capuchin formation at thirty-nine, earned a Master of Divinity from the Catholic University of America, and was ordained to the priesthood in June 2025. Friar Akolla Etuge, OFM Cap., originally from Cameroon, is chaplain at Neumann University while remaining affiliated with the parish, and Friar Keon Tu, OFM Cap., a native of China, is in residence while studying canon law at Catholic University. Two Capuchin brothers round out the community in residence: Friar Andrew McCarty, OFM Cap., a former attorney, and Friar Joseph Morton, OFM Cap., a young man from Horsham, Pennsylvania, in ongoing formation. Fr. Joseph Lei Jin, a priest of the Chinese Apostolate, serves the parish's Chinese mission at Holy Redeemer.
Parishioners and visitors frequently encounter the Capuchin vocation story here: the parish maintains a vocation office in cooperation with the Province of St. Augustine, and Friar Mike Herlihey, OFM Cap., the provincial Vocations Director, is a familiar presence. The 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi in 2026 has been observed as a Jubilee Year by Pope Leo XIV, and St. John's hosted the local observance, with pilgrim groups from other parishes walking through the church to receive the plenary indulgence attached to the year.
The Schedule of Mass and Adoration
Mass is celebrated in the upper church on Sundays at 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. The 10:30 a.m. Mass is livestreamed through the parish's YouTube channel and StJohnsLive page, and recordings of recent Sundays are posted there as well. The 6:00 p.m. Sunday Mass is hosted on the second and fourth Sundays of each month by Jack's YACs, the parish's young adult community.
Weekday Masses follow a tight rhythm. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays the lower church opens with a 7:45 a.m. Mass, continues with the 12:05 p.m. Mass followed by the Rosary, and closes the day with a 5:15 p.m. Mass. The same schedule applies on Wednesdays, with the addition of the Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes recited after each of the three Masses, and on Fridays, with the Novena to St. Padre Pio after each Mass. Saturdays begin with 7:45 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. Masses (followed by the Rosary) and conclude with the 5:15 p.m. Vigil Mass for Sunday in the upper church.
Confessions are heard Wednesday through Saturday from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. in the lower church. Eucharistic Adoration runs Monday through Saturday from 12:45 p.m. until 4:50 p.m. in the lower church, with the Blessed Sacrament exposed in a monstrance on the altar. Evening Prayer and Benediction close the day at 4:50 p.m. The result is that the lower church is, on weekdays, almost continuously open for prayer from early morning to early evening, a feature that makes St. John's distinctive among Center City parishes.
The pastor has publicly invited parishioners to commit to a weekly holy hour in the lower church during the afternoon adoration period, noting that the absence of adorers is one of the parish's most pressing pastoral concerns. On bitter winter days, the parish relaxes its usual rules about who may come inside, opening the lower church as a daytime refuge for homeless and mentally ill neighbors.
The Building: Two Churches in One
St. John's has the unusual configuration of an upper church and a lower church, and the parish uses each differently. The upper church is the formal place of worship: high ceilings, stained glass, a marble altar and tabernacle, and stations of the cross line the walls. Visitors stepping in from 13th Street consistently comment on its beauty, and Sunday music draws a congregation that, by the pastor's estimate, is fifty to sixty percent visitors rather than registered members. The lower church is more austere, set up for weekday Masses, confessions and adoration. It houses the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes with votive candles, the reconciliation rooms, a holy water font and additional seating for daily Mass.
The building has been through fire twice. On February 16, 1899, the church burned, taking the lives of four Philadelphia firefighters: William J. Chance, Hugh Duffy, George W. Steindle and James J. Shea. The parish remembers them every year at the Annual Mass for Firefighters, celebrated at the Philadelphia Fire Department's Memorial Wall at Fireman's Hall Museum. The 2026 Mass was held on February 28.
By the early twenty-first century, the building had again reached the limits of its infrastructure. A 1960s electrical transformer operates far past its expected lifespan, the air conditioning system is similarly aged, and the patio courtyard that covers major mechanical systems has deteriorated to the point of danger. A capital campaign launched in 2025 set out to raise the funds for replacement of the transformer and air conditioning and for repair of the deck, with the work scheduled to begin in late 2026. As of August 2026, the parish had received more than $1.3 million in cash gifts and was preparing to draw on its Historic Preservation Fund, a reserve created by Fr. John Daya, the pastor who preceded Fr. Betz, to cover the gap.
The Mission to Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church
In 1941, Saint John's established Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church as a mission chapel, and the two parishes have been linked ever since. Holy Redeemer, located at 915 Vine Street, serves the Chinese-American Catholic community of greater Philadelphia. Fr. Joseph Lei Jin serves as the Chinese Apostolate priest, and Fr. Tom is pastor of both parishes.
Each year on May 24, the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, Holy Redeemer parishioners process through Center City to Saint John's for a combined May crowning and prayer for the Church in China, a tradition rooted in Pope Benedict XVI's 2007 letter to Chinese Catholics. Holy Redeemer also maintains its own Catholic school, and the parish routinely uses its pulpit to invite contributions through Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program, which allows donors to direct a portion of their state taxes to Catholic school tuition assistance.
The Secular Franciscans and the Jubilee of Saint Francis
The parish is also home to one of the longest-running Secular Franciscan fraternities in the region. The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is the First Order of the Franciscan family; the Secular Franciscan Order (O.F.S.) is the Third Order, made up of lay men and women who follow the rule of Saint Francis in their daily lives. The Saint John's fraternity, which celebrated its ninetieth anniversary at the parish in 2026, meets on the fourth Sunday of every month.
Members of the fraternity are active in parish life beyond their own meetings. They sponsor a film-and-popcorn screening of the 1950 classic "The Flowers of Saint Francis" each fall, organize a "Cooking for Christ" team that prepares weekly meals for the young Catholic missionaries of Christ in the City who serve homeless men and women on the streets of Philadelphia, and host gatherings around the Feast of Saint Francis in early October. On October 3 the parish celebrates the Transitus, the Mass remembering Saint Francis's passing, and on October 4 the Solemnity of Saint Francis is marked at all Sunday Masses, with a Dominican preacher traditionally invited to the 10:30 a.m. Mass under an ancient custom exchanged between the two mendicant orders.
Young Adults in Center City
Jack's YACs, the parish's young adult community for men and women in their twenties and thirties, is one of the most active groups at St. John's. The community hosts the Sunday evening Mass on the second and fourth weekends of the month and sponsors guest speakers, prayer nights, Bible studies, social events and service outings throughout the year. The group's name is a play on the parish's location: "Jacks" for the jacks in the playing deck of cards. Members maintain their own Instagram presence and gather regularly for fellowship that often extends after the closing hymn.
The young adults are part of a wider parish effort to serve people who live and work downtown rather than the more traditional suburban commuter pattern. Many YACs members are renters in nearby apartment buildings, employees of the region's hospitals and universities, or young professionals in the law firms, hospitals and corporate offices within walking distance of the church. The group has a particular draw for those who have moved to Philadelphia for work and are looking for a parish community in walking distance of their homes.
Becoming Catholic: OCIA and Adult Confirmation
Adults interested in joining the Catholic Church or Catholics who have not received the sacraments of Confirmation or First Communion prepare through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), the process formerly known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). The parish runs a hybrid program of weekly Zoom classes and in-person gatherings for those preparing for the sacraments, beginning in mid-September and concluding at Easter. In 2026, twenty-eight adults from Saint John's and Holy Redeemer were baptized or confirmed at the Easter Vigil, a harvest the pastor described as "amazing." Catechumens preparing for baptism are presented to the Archbishop at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on the First Sunday of Lent and enrolled in the Book of the Elect.
Children of catechetical age are prepared through parish religious education programs connected with Holy Redeemer School. Children younger than seven whose parents wish to have them baptized are instructed to contact the parish directly; baptisms of older children typically follow the OCIA process adapted to their age.
Sacraments for Adults: Marriage, Anointing and Confession
The parish is one of the most popular Catholic wedding venues in Philadelphia, hosting roughly seventy weddings each year. Couples preparing for marriage meet with a priest or deacon, complete the FOCCUS premarital inventory (a 180-item instrument that prompts conversation rather than "passes" or "fails" the couple), and attend a Pre-Cana or Engaged Encounter program, either locally or in another diocese. Catholic teaching on marriage is that it is lasting, mutually faithful and open to children; couples who do not share that understanding cannot marry in the Catholic Church. Music at weddings must be liturgical, and couples may not compose their own vows, but a livestream of the ceremony can be arranged.
Confession is available more than six hours a week in the lower church, and the pastor has encouraged Catholics who have been away from the sacrament for some time to return. "When a person returns to Confession after a long absence," the parish teaches, "the angels dance."
The Anointing of the Sick is offered to anyone facing serious illness, major surgery or a life-threatening diagnosis, and may be received repeatedly as conditions change. Priests from Saint John's visit patients at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience and Liberty Court Elder Care as part of the parish Health Care Ministry, and parishioners are trained as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion to bring the Eucharist to those who cannot attend Mass.
A Parish with Two American Saints
Saint John's has ties to two of the American Catholic Church's canonized saints. Saint John Neumann, the Philadelphia-area Redemptorist who became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia in 1852, was an occasional presence at the parish in the mid-nineteenth century and administered sacraments in the lower church. Saint Katharine Drexel, the Philadelphia heiress who founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and devoted her life and fortune to the education of Native Americans and African Americans, is also remembered as a daughter of the parish.
The parish itself was founded in the late 1830s as Philadelphia's Catholic population expanded beyond the original cathedral parish. In the nineteenth century the parish served as the proto-cathedral of the Diocese of Philadelphia before the current Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul was completed on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. In a period when many city workers kept irregular hours, the parish even offered a 2:45 a.m. "Printers Mass" for compositors and pressmen from the downtown newspapers.
The parish caught fire in 1839 and again in 1899, weathered anti-Catholic riots in the 1840s, ran schools for poor children and adults, and opened St. John's Hospice in 1961 to serve homeless men in the neighborhood. The hospice, founded by the Capuchins, remains a vital ministry of the Province of St. Augustine today.
Music, Marriage and the Liturgical Year
Sunday Mass at St. John's is known for its music. The parish music director, Dr. Annette DiMedio, leads a volunteer choir that supports the sung liturgy, and visitors regularly mention the music as one of the things that draws them back. Each year on Good Friday the parish presents Franz Liszt's Via Crucis, a musical setting of the Stations of the Cross performed with media projection, narration and movement. The 2026 Good Friday performance drew a capacity congregation to the upper church.
The liturgical year is marked with the full range of Catholic seasons and solemnities. Ash Wednesday and the Easter Triduum draw special attention, with extended schedules for Holy Week published each year. The Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary is celebrated on August 15, the Solemnity of All Saints on November 1, the Immaculate Conception on December 8 and Christmas on December 25, with a broadcast of the Christmas Mass on local television supported by the parish music ministry. Each week the parish offers a Mass for those enrolled in the Sanctuary Guild, a perpetual Mass intention program; enrollment is by donation and includes a padded certificate.
Hospitality, Visitors and the Surrounding Neighborhood
The pastor estimates that half or more of the Sunday congregation consists of visitors rather than registered parishioners, and a great deal of parish life is built around welcoming them. The church sits one block from the Pennsylvania Convention Center and within easy walking distance of the Reading Terminal Market, the Fashion District, Jefferson Hospital and the central business district. People who work in the surrounding office towers, attend conventions, or stay in the Center City hotels find their way into St. John's for daily Mass, confession or quiet prayer during the workday.
The parish has been deliberate about accommodating visitors. Weddings, funerals, baptisms and quinceañeras for non-parishioners can be arranged, and the parish welcomes couples and families who do not live within the parish boundaries but who wish to celebrate a sacrament here. The parish also registers new members through an online form that gathers basic household information, sacramental history and an opportunity to express interest in ministries such as lector, altar server or hospitality.
Getting to Saint John's
The parish address is 21 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107. The parish office is in the friary at 1212 Ludlow Street, immediately adjacent to the church, and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The main office number is 215-563-4145; the recorded schedule line is 215-563-5432.
Visitors who drive in from the suburbs will find discounted parking at the Loews Hotel Parking Garage for $15 on weekends and weeknights by mentioning St. John the Evangelist. From eastbound I-676 (the Vine Street Expressway), the directions are to take the Broad Street exit, bear right onto 15th Street, turn left onto Chestnut Street past Macy's, then left onto 13th Street; the church will be on the right. From westbound I-676, the same routing applies from the opposite direction. SEPTA's Broad Street Line and Market-Frankford Line both have stations within walking distance.
Online giving is available through Parish Giving, PayPal and Venmo, with links posted in the pews. The parish livestream is accessible at the StJohnsLive page on the parish site and through the St. John's Philadelphia YouTube channel.