The Campaign for St. John's will ensure that we safeguard our legacy. In 2007, a Building Code Review and Site Conditions Report, prepared by Atkin Olshin Shade Architects, indentified nearly $7.5 million of needed repair and restoration, as well as opportunities for facility improvements. Recognizing that this amount of money exceeded the fund-raising capability of the parish, a review was conducted to prioritize the projects.

Costs and Our Campaign Goal

The total costs of Phases 1,2 and 3 will be approximately $3,055,000. Due to the initial generous bequest of $600,000 to the parish, our capital campaign will seek to raise the remaining $2,455,000. Our goal is to complete these high-priority projects over the next three years and to address the other restoration needs and improvement opportunities over the next ten years.

Financial support will be solicited from private and public foundations, local businesses and corporations, along with friends of St. John's and parishioners. The necessity of restoring the church of St. John the Evangelist is absolutely clear. This former cathedral for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is an important, historical landmark and a vibrant faith community located in the heart of Center City Philadelphia. We are confident that by making these essential safety and handicapped accessibility improvements, we will safeguard our mission to be a welcoming community for years to come.

Phase 1
The inspection of the church's bell towers revealed significant deterioration and immediate safety concerns. The final costs are currently being determined; however, these repairs have been completed at an estimated cost of $1.9 million. A $600,000 bequest and a bridge loan from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia provided the resources to complete this portion of the project.


Phase 2
Phase 2 of the campaign will include: extremely time sensitive repairs of exterior masonry surfaces of the church and friary; repair of the church and friary roofs, including replacement of six large skylights on the church roof which are leaking badly; restoration of the church's historically and artistically important stained glass windows; restoration of doors in the church and friary; and restoration of water damaged plaster walls and ceilings in the church.
Work on this phase will also address several life safety deficiencies by providing emergency illumination systems and lighted exit signs in the church and friary; retrofitting exit doors with code compliant hardware; and repairing walking surfaces in the church and entrance porch.


Phase 3
Finally, there is no reasonably accessible restroom facilities in the church resulting in significant inconvenience to parishioners and guests at services and activities held at St. John's, thereby limiting the ability to utilize the church for community outreach events and programs. Once Phases 1 and 2 are complete, appropriate facilities will be installed in the lower church.