Catholic Club of Philadelphia records

Proposed in May 1875, the Catholic Club of Philadelphia, formerly the De Sales Institute of Philadelphia, was organized January 2, 1877 and opened at 1403 Locust Street. The club, one of many founded in major cities throughout the country during the late 19th century, offered wealthy men of a certain socioeconomic background cultural, intellectual, and social opportunities. These clubs sponsored balls, concerts, lectures as well as other events and activities that raised large sums of money for local church charities.

The Catholic Club appears to have had strong and sometimes overlapping ties with several other Philadelphia Catholic societies and associations, including the American Catholic Historical Society, the Catholic Philopatrian Literary Institute, and the Hibernian Society.

Like other Catholic male fraternal societies and elite clubs, the Catholic Club of Philadelphia tried to keep its distance from the bishop in order to maintain its financial independence and decision-making authority. During the first couple decades of the 20th century, dioceses tried to consolidate their charities, urging clubs to work with newly-formed charitable bureaus. It appears that the Catholic Club died out during this period of time.