There hasn’t been a baptism at Immaculate Heart of Mary church in Chester since 2017.

In 2023, the church had only two masses.

On March 1, the church will be relegated to “profane but not sordid use” by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, essentially closing the 151-year-old church, writes Jenn Ladd for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The official language means the church can be sold to someone who can repurpose it for a secular, but not immoral, use.

The church building at 1408 W. Second Street had been claimed by St. Katharine Drexel Parish since 1993 but has been used less and less since 2022.

St. Katharine Drexel Parish is comprised of six Catholic parishes and three Catholic elementary schools in Chester that merged in 1993. 

For 30 years, worship took place mostly at the former St. Robert’s Church on Providence Ave. The retained Immaculate Heart church building was renamed the St. Katharine Drexel Center for Evangelization. 

The Immaculate Heart of Mary building became more expensive to repair over the years, with significant roof and water damage and mold.

A food pantry there moved last fall to a Catholic Social Services site, and the building has been vacant since.

Find out more about the 1993 mergers in The Philadelphia Inquirer.