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Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque A Brief History St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Parish was started in 1921. Masses were originally said in a school house on Westinghouse property (now the Tinicum Industrial Park), and Father Dennis A. Coghlan was the first pastor. From there he moved to a house in Westinghouse Village, where he lived and offered daily Mass. In February of the following year the Archdiocese of Philadelphia purchased the land where the church stands today. The first church building was a two story structure moved from the Hog Island Boat Yard (now the Philadelphia Airport) and renovated in 1923. This structure served the parish until route 291 expansion in the 1940s necessitated the cutting in half of the building. From then until the present church building was completed services were held in the parish hall (located behind the old church). The current church building was completed in 1950 along with the school. The convent on the far end of the property was completed in 1954 for use by the sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who taught in the school. ( The convent is presently occupied by Bernardine Franciscan sisters who started and operate the Bernardine Center in Chester.) The current rectory was completed a few years later in 1958. Like many other small parishes, St Margaret Mary School was closed in 1990 due to decreased numbers. All of the students from St. Margaret Mary's Parish attend surrounding larger parish schools. One of the more noteworthy features of the St. Margaret Mary's church building is its collection of Stained glass windows, which were developed by Monsieur Gabriel Loire of Angers France. These works of art were the first windows that he crafted in America. The type of glass he used is Daile or slab glass which is much thicker then ordinary stained glass used in most other windows. This gives the pictures much deeper and more brilliant color. All of the windows depict either St. Margaret Mary or a theme of the Sacred Heart.
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