Proposed in May 1875, the Catholic Club of Philadelphia, formerly the De Sales Institute of Philadelphia, was organized January 2, 1877 and opened at 1403 Locust Street. The club, one of many founded in major cities throughout the country during the late 19th century, offered wealthy men of a certain socioeconomic background cultural, intellectual, and social opportunities. These clubs sponsored balls, concerts, lectures as well as other events and activities that raised large sums of money for local church charities.
The Catholic Club appears to have had strong and sometimes overlapping ties with several other Philadelphia Catholic societies and associations, including the American Catholic Historical Society, the Catholic Philopatrian Literary Institute, and the Hibernian Society.
Like other Catholic male fraternal societies and elite clubs, the Catholic Club of Philadelphia tried to keep its distance from the bishop in order to maintain its financial independence and decision-making authority. During the first couple decades of the 20th century, dioceses tried to consolidate their charities, urging clubs to work with newly-formed charitable bureaus. It appears that the Catholic Club died out during this period of time.
This collection is open for research.
Accession number 1990.023
This is a revised finding aid. An older finding aid is available in hard copy at PAHRC.
Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Catholic Club of Philadelphia records, 1871- 1923 (MC 23), Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center
Preservation copies of the newspaper clippings should be made.
Some oversized materials, specifically the N.C.W.C. News Sheets, should be separated and housed in oversized boxes.
Catholic Club of Philadelphia, Associations Collection (AC0047)
The collection contains administrative records, including a minute book documenting the club’s early years (1872-1876), by-laws, reports, and lists of elections and officers.
It also contains incoming and outgoing correspondence of which a significant amount is postcards. A majority of these postcards documenting club news, events and activities as well as invitations are addressed to Charles F. Devenny, a member of the Board of Directors.
Programs, souvenirs, and ephemera related to club-sponsored events and events sponsored by other local Catholic societies are also included. The collection also contains newspaper clippings, many of which document club events and activities, as well as letters of appeal for Catholic charities.
Miscellaneous pamphlets, cards and circulars, many of which do not appear to be directly related to the Catholic Club, are also included.