Old church Fathers Matthew Carr and John Rosseter were sent to
Philadelphia by the
Catholic Church to buy land to build a church in the city. St. Augustine's Church began construction in 1796 to a design by Philadelphia architect Nicholas FitzMaurice Fagan (d. 1810) and was the first
Order of Hermits of St. Augustine church founded in the United States. After delays as a result of
yellow fever outbreaks among the workers and funding issues, the church was completed in 1801. Contributors for construction of St. Augustine's included President
George Washington,
John Barry,
Stephen Girard, and
Thomas Fitzsimons; the largest individual donation was $200 from merchant
John Leamy. In 1811, the St. Augustine Academy, a boys' school, was founded; the school included the largest theological library in the city. The origins of
Villanova University are traced back to St. Augustine Academy. The church became a center of musical activity in the city. A
cupola and tower were added to the church in 1829. Loaned to the church in the late 1820s by
Independence Hall, the "Sister Bell", a bell that had been cast to replace the cracked
Liberty Bell, was placed in St. Augustine's tower.
Current church During the three months after the church was destroyed, St. Augustine's congregation was allowed to use Old St. Joseph's Church. Three months after the riot, a new temporary church, the chapel of Our Lady of Consolation, was built and dedicated on October 27, 1844. This chapel fronted on Crown St., now N. Lawrence St., and adjoined St. Augustine's when the church was later rebuilt. Our Lady of Consolation was torn down in 1871 to make way for parish schools on Crown St. The
friars of St. Augustine sued the city of Philadelphia for not providing the church enough protection during the riots, claiming US$80,000 in damages. The city argued that the friars could not claim their civil rights were violated as the
Order of St. Augustine was a foreign organization under the authority of the Pope. The city also argued that the friars took a vow of poverty and could not be property owners. The Augustinians ended up proving the Order St. Augustine was incorporated in the US in 1804 and was awarded US$45,000. who was organist at the church by at least 1852 and possibly as early as 1849. He served as the longtime organist at the church until his death in 1881 when he was succeeded by his son, Henry Gordon Thunder, Jr. Also in December 1992, a storm severely damaged the church's
steeple. Debris from the steeple fell onto the
Benjamin Franklin Bridge, which had to be closed for three days. The steeple had to be disassembled and removed. From the damaged roof, the church and art inside suffered water damage. The steeple restoration was documented by Brawer & Hauptman, Architects and was fabricated by Campbellsville Industries, "The Steeple People", located in Campbellsville, Kentucky. St. Augustine's was featured in the 1999 thriller
The Sixth Sense, and the 2007 action movie
Shooter. In 2019, St. Augustine was featured in the film
21 Bridges. ==Architecture==