Our Foundation
It was in December 1954 that the Parish of Mother of Divine Providence was established by the late John Cardinal O’Hara. With the foresight of anticipated growth, a parcel of 15 acres was purchased and included an old farm house. In May of 1955 the first Mass on the parish grounds was celebrated in that old farm house which served as a rectory and temporary
church.

With education at the forefront of the planning, ground was broken in December 1955 to build a school with an auditorium that was to be used for Sunday Mass. Included in this first phase of construction was the convent for the 12 Sisters of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart who also provided the instruction to our first students. Those first students, totaling 204, began their education at MDP in October 1956. The school celebrated its 50th Anniversary last October with an Alumni Reunion Weekend. Over 400 alumni gathered to recognize the Catholic Faith foundation which MDP School provided them.

Six years later, under John Cardinal Krol, the parish received permission to build a church to further meet the spiritual needs of an ever growing community. In February1962, the ground was blessed and construction began. On Christmas Eve of that same year, parishioners gathered for the first time in our new worship space to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

An additional wing was added to the school in the 1960’s. In 1977, to keep up with the growth and needs of our community, the parish created McGrory Hall, named to honor our founding pastor, Rev. James M. McGrory. Used as a meeting space for over 30 years, the parish has outgrown once again its physical space.

Serving Our Community
Mother of Divine Providence Parish, serving Upper Merion Township, counts nearly 5300 Catholics as registered members of our community. With 35 active ministries, our parish is bustling every day and night of the week. Meeting the needs of our parish through various pastoral activities and organizations, there are over 300 adult parishioners and well over 400 of our children involved with all of these groups.

Our Parish Religious Education Program currently has 212 students enrolled and prepares them for First Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation. In addition, our Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), started under Father Charles Gormley in 1981 continues to flourish. MDP School serves 276 children from ages 3 to 12 and has maintained its enrollment for the last three years. Approximately 81% of the 184 school families are registered parishioners. All of these programs are strong and growing.

Building on the Foundation
For nearly two years, we have been conducting a parish self-assessment to identify and prioritize the temporal projects that need to take place in order to accommodate our growth in ministries and activities. If you are part of one of the groups listed, you have probably experienced a meeting cancellation or move to make room for someone else or another group. There were many areas identified during this process and our first priority will be to create a Parish Center that will allow us to gather as a family, provide a new kitchen and additional meeting space for large groups. Included in this project is the replacement of the school roof, upgrading the interior lighting of the church and expanding and renovating McGrory Hall to include a kitchenette and handicapped accessible toilet facilities. Also planned are additional handicapped church parking (on the Allendale Road side) and a more direct pedestrian walkway to the church. Finally, plans include demolishing the "Brownie Hut" for the safety of all! Renderings and floor plans follow on the next four pages.