By Gia Myers • Posted September 4, 2024

Straddling the neighborhoods of Harrowgate and West Kensington you will find The Mission of St. Joan of Arc, a worship site and community outreach program providing essential spiritual and material support for the multi-cultural area regardless of faith affiliation.

“It’s a good thing we’re here,” says Sister Linda Lukiewski, SSJ, who serves as the pastoral minister at St. Joan of Arc.  She considers the mission to be “an outpost” in the urban area, “maintaining a Catholic identity and mission” where it’s often difficult to do so due to violence and crime.

Located at Frankford Avenue and Atlantic Street, the former parish was founded in 1919 by Pastor Msgr. Edward Hawks.  Having served as a military chaplain during World War I, he named the parish after St. Joan of Arc, who was divinely inspired to lead France to victory during the Siege of Orleans in the 15^th century.

At the time, he said hers was “a name beloved of every soldier who had been at the front,” even though the fearless saint wouldn’t be canonized until the following year, 1920.

The parish initially served an industrial area populated by textile mills, other manufacturers, and working-class families. The area faced rapid decline during the latter half of the 20th century as its factories closed or relocated. It now ranks among the poorest and most violent sections in Philadelphia, and is home to a diverse community of Latinos, African-Americans, and others.

In 2013, St. Joan of Arc became part of Holy Innocents Parish, and the former St. Joan of Arc red-brick, clay-tile-roofed church building took on a new life as both a worship site and mission providing community services and resources to its neighbors in need.

In the spirit of the parish’s patron saint, The Mission of St. Joan of Arc is divinely inspired to perform fearless works of evangelization and charity.

Sunday Masses are offered in English and Spanish. Together, they draw roughly 200 for worship each week.

In addition, the site provides several community outreaches, including religious education, sacramental preparation, door-to-door evangelization, a food pantry, vacation Bible camp and social events.

“We work with everybody. We welcome everybody,” says Sister Linda of the community outreach.

A Philadelphia native who was born in Port Richmond and graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School, Sister Linda arrived at St. Joan of Arc in 2011 when it was still a parish.  She helped with the transition from the parish life of church and school to being a worship site and mission.

She says the community “needs this kind of place” and that even those in the surrounding community who don’t attend Mass show “respect for the church and what we’re doing here,” she said.

Sister Linda says that Fr. Thomas Higgins, pastor of Holy Innocents, understood from the very beginning the new mission of St. Joan of Arc as a worship site and community outreach, as “his heart is with the poor.”

“The Latinos are largely the backbone of the Catholic Church in urban Philadelphia,” she said, “and they crave community,” which The Mission of St. Joan of Arc gladly provides through liturgical and social activities.

The community garden at St. Joan of Arc is “a source of life and beauty,” says Sr. Linda.  It started as an abandoned lot on Joyce Street behind the church.  Residents volunteered to clean up the area and plant gardens, which now produce a bounty of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cantaloupes, beans, and kale.

The food pantry which is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 12 Noon also “helps a lot of people,” says Sister Linda.

“The food pantry is a way to meet the neighborhood,” she says.  “We engage with them and see what they need.”

The food pantry subsists completely on donations of food and money from generous people throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Large monthly food donations come from  Nutritional Development Services (NDS), an agency of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia within the Secretariat for Catholic Human Services, and fresh produce is provided by New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC).

Other food donations come from Hope 101 in Fallsington, food drives at the nearby John H. Webster Elementary School, as well as a man from Newtown who often delivers food donated by a market in his neighborhood.  And many individuals send checks because they simply want to help.

“People like to donate to people they know can use it,” said Sr. Linda.

Though Sr. Linda says The Mission of St. Joan of Arc couldn’t do all that it’s doing for the community if it wasn’t for the help of many volunteers “who help perform these good works.”

Volunteers run flea markets and raffle ticket sales to help to pay for cleaning supplies and defray operating costs.  Volunteers also clean the church, and actively assist with the many ministries.

She says residents enjoy feeling connection, and St. Joan of Arc “provides a real Catholic presence” in the neighborhood.

“That’s our mission, to be present,” she said.