Good morning. Greetings to members of the news media and others gathered here who have worked on this project. Thank you for coming.

Today I am happy to announce that this building in which we have gathered will become the Catholic Heritage Center of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It will be the first archdiocesan artistic, cultural, and archival facility of its kind in the country. The center will contain an educational museum of the history of the Catholic people in the Philadelphia region, a new preservation and research center for our archdiocesan archives, and a special exhibits gallery for religious art and artifacts.

We could not have chosen a more appropriate address for this historical project than 320 Walnut Street. In the 1700's, this was the site of the old Quaker Almshouse, made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem "Evangeline." Next door is Old Saint Joseph's Church, where Mass has been celebrated since 1733. Around the corner is Old Saint Mary's Church, our first diocesan cathedral. A few blocks away is Saint Augustine Church which was burnt to the ground in 1844 during the anti-Catholic riots. We are in the heart of Philadelphia's historic district, in the shadow of Independence Hall, where the idea of religious freedom became a reality for our nation.

The archdiocese first became aware of the availability of this site in 1996 when Old Saint Joseph's Church became interested in the parking lot behind the building. The parish wanted more parking for weekend Masses. When we learned that the building was also for sale, we thought of it as a much needed new home for our archdiocesan archives. For the past sixty-eight years, the archives has been stored in a "basement-like" environment at Saint Charles Seminary. Therefore, we purchased this property in November of 1996, for what we know was a very reasonable, below-market cost of 1.3 million dollars.

We soon realized, however, that this six-story facility was large enough to accommodate more than the archives. A museum, cultural, and educational center seemed the perfect answer to the call of Pope John Paul II who has asked that we preserve the rich history of our faith.

What do we envision happening here? We want visitors to experience Catholicism from the 1700's to the present and to understand the changes that have shaped the Church and its people. We want to display artifacts from archdiocesan parishes and sacred treasures from some of our parishioners - to tell their stories and to preserve their legacies. We want students and adults alike to learn more about their faith and the faithful people who came before them.

To renovate this building and establish the Catholic Heritage Centerwill cost approximately 15-million dollars. During the archdiocesancampaign in the mid-1990's, called Catholic Life 2000, one-million dollars was designated for preservation of our archives.

The time has come to put the money to use. The question some people might raise is : why spend money on this project rather than for schools and parishes that need help ? Let me address that question directly: this project will have no impact on our ongoing commitments to parishes, to schools or to social services. As recently as last week, I announced new archdiocesan efforts that would help the Catholic Church serve as a catalyst for the revitalization of neighborhoods in the city of Philadelphia. As we go forward with the Catholic Heritage Center, we will rely solely on individual donations, foundations, grants, and corporations which have a particular interest in the arts, museums, and historical and cultural preservation.

We hope and intend that the center will energize people about the Catholic faith and illustrate how so many of the faithful have helped others in need throughout the years. The center will stand as a lasting monument to the way God has worked in and through the people of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

The Catholic Heritage Center is an important contribution to the Catholic Church in the United States and to the greater Philadelphia region. It will be another attraction for tourists in Philadelphia's world-renowned historic district. It will also help researchers and others to understand and appreciate the history of the Catholic Church in this wonderful city.

The Catholic Archdiocese and the City of Philadelphia and its metropolitan area grew up together in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Two American saints , Saint John Neumann and Saint Katharine Drexel, walked these streets and called Philadelphia their home. A Catholic Heritage Center is the perfect place to preserve our history, to display our artifacts, and to make accessible our archives, so that in the twenty-first century, many more people may experience the Catholic heritage of which we are so very proud.