By the 1780s, half of Philadelphia's Catholic population was German, and they asked permission of
John Carroll, the
Apostolic Prefect of the United States, to build their own church. and in 1788, Carroll authorized it as a
national parish for Germans. The church building was constructed in 1789, and today is nearly identical to how it appeared then. The church building was inscribed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places as "Trinity Roman Catholic Church" on April 30, 1957, and is a
contributing property of the
Society Hill historic district. The exterior cannot be altered without the approval of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. There is a small cemetery in Holy Trinity's
churchyard, which is also historically protected.
Merger with Old St. Mary's Church In the 21st century, the number of parishioners declined because of the church's proximity to two nearby Catholic churches,
Old St. Joseph's Church and
Old St. Mary's Church, and the area no longer contains a significant German-speaking Catholic population. After the merger, the church was infrequently used because of the poor condition of the roof and floors. On April 30, 2022, his successor, Archbishop
Nelson J. Perez, withdrew the decree to relegate the church. On December 11, 2022, Archbishop Perez, decreed that, effective January 23, 2023, Holy Trinity Church would be relegated to profane but not sordid use. == References ==