St. Agatha – St. James Church

St. Agatha St. James Church has been a crucial part of my faith journey while in the Philadelphia area. It is a beautiful Catholic community in so many ways. I highly recommend this church to anyone visiting Philadelphia or anyone who has just moved here and is looking for a parish that will make them feel welcomed and at home.

A nice church in the University City area. Limited parking availability, but has an extended parking in the back. Holy Water is available to parishioners for their personal containers.

Excellent liturgy, very reverent and spiritual. I’ve been going to this parish for a while and always have come away happy. There’s a great faith community there as well with the Newman Center.

I went here to witness my cousin’s wedding, and the priest and the church simply made for a moving ceremony. I am not an architecture expert, but I found this church to be simply beautiful. The details were intricate and exquisite. I especially loved the gorgeous stained glass windows. It is spacious and yet intimate.
My only caveat is that it gets stifling hot because there is no air conditioning. But then again, I am supposed to be humble in a house of God so perhaps I should not complain much…

There are really nice people here, very welcoming and warm. The Church is beautiful!!! And you really can find God in every mass.

I’m reviewing this specifically as a venue, not a religious affiliation, so take from this what you will.
My cousin recently had her wedding ceremony in this church, and the architecture was stunning. The space itself is vast and ornate. The stained glass windows were gorgeous. We all snapped some great photos.
Comments: There is no air conditioning. Doors are left open, which raised the decibel level substantially. Hearing city traffic, police sirens, etc during a wedding ceremony is a bit of a bummer. However, the space was so beautiful it is well deserving of 4 stars.

The building itself is a traditional stone church with interior dominated by large granite pillars and traditional catholic artwork. It has a very large space for the congregation so there has never been a problem finding a seat. This Catholic Church primarily serves the students from the nearby universities. From the couple of masses that I have been to, this tends to give it a more ‘progressive’ feel and message in most of the homilies. Everyone seems pretty friendly and have been very welcoming, so I would definitely recommend this church to those looking to get involved with a new church community.

For years, I have heard people complaining about their priests politking from the Altar. I have to say I didn’t really believe them. I thought it was agnostics making excuses for not going to Church. I’ve just never really experienced that before, and couldn’t even imagine how it fit in. Mostly homilies I hear are about being good to each other and loving God and the kinda shit you’re supposed to get when you got to Church. That is until I went to Ash Wednesday mass at St. Aggs. I have never heard so much right wing crap in Mass before. We were asked to contact our legislators about the Blunt Amendment. Excuse me? I do not see myself going back to Mass here, but I work close so I’ll never say never.
I am giving it 2 stars because the church is gorgeous.