Noteworthy Phila. churches for guests to visit

Before Pope Francis celebrates Mass on the Parkway on Sunday, guests may want to consider visiting some Philadelphia churches that acted as both spiritual and social lodestars for their communities.

St. Peter Claver: Africans have been part of what became the Catholic Church since Simon of Cyrene helped Jesus carry the cross toward Calvary. Named after a 16th-century Jesuit priest, St. Peter Claver served Philadelphia's African American Catholic community for nearly 100 years at 12th and Lombard Streets. Former members of St. Joseph's, St. Mary's, and Holy Trinity Church founded the parish as the Union of St. Peter Claver for Colored Catholics. St. Peter Claver shuttered in 2013 after a consolidation of parishes in the archdiocese.

Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church: Bishop Paul Yu Pin, vicar of Nanking, China, visited Philadelphia in 1939 to tend to the city's Chinese Catholics. When he arrived, however, he found only a few scattered families. Enlisting the help of Cardinal Dennis Dougherty, Father William A. Kavanaugh, and others, a mission was formed and soon Chinese immigrants were being baptized and confirmed. Successful fund-raising efforts led to the dedication in 1941 of the Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church and School, 915 Vine St., a mission church of the parish of St. John the Evangelist.

St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi is the first Italian national parish in the United States and a historic anchor of Italian South Philadelphia. Founded in 1852 by Bishop John Neumann, St. Mary Magdalen met the spiritual needs of the city's burgeoning Italian immigrant community, which reached 150,000 by 1930. In response, the archdiocese established Italian national parishes all over the city, including Our Lady of Good Counsel, St. Nicholas of Tolentine, and King of Peace. In 2000, the archdiocese merged the parishes of St. Mary Magdalen, 712 Montrose St., and St. Paul's at 10th and Christian Streets, designating St. Mary Magdalen a "worship site" - a satellite church offering limited Masses and funerals.