St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church

In 2021, President Joe Biden took his first trip via Air Force one to Wilmington, DE, which included attending his home church, St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church. The church building opened in 1841, and the church's history can be traced back to in-home-masses conducted in 1814. The church speaks to the church's importance to the community, mainly comprised of Irish and Italian laborers employed at the DuPont mills and the growing trend of companies having a hand in developing communities comprised of its workforce and their families.

St. Joseph on the Brandywine (originally St. Joseph's until 1947 when originally Saint Joseph's Church until St. Joseph's Church- Wilmington opened in 1947) ostensibly started in 1814 when a traveling priest performed masses in the homes of those who worked at nearby DuPont powder mills. Years later, the services moved to the Brandywine Manufacturers Sunday School. By the 1830s, the Philadelphia Archdiocese granted the local catholic community's (mainly Italian and Irish Americans) petition for their own church. The DuPont family contributed financial assets and used their political clout to help establish the parish and build the church. Moreover, the DuPont Company allowed its stonemasons to construct the church on company time. Still, the workers also contributed by donating part of their weekly checks towards the church's construction; the facility opened in 1841 and received its formal dedication in 1842. 

More than just a church, St. Joesph's of Brandwine served as the cornerstone of the community, forging a bond between Irish and Italian immigrants, as well as the DuPont Mills to its workers. (St. Joseph's first board of trustees consisted of several DuPonts.) Shortly after the church opened, a school was established in the basement of the church until the parish raised funds to build a two-story stone schoolhouse in 1855 (since razed). The Sisters of St. Joseph staffed the school from 1853 to 1870 followed by the Sisters of St. Francis until it closed in 1972. Throughout the nineteenth century, the DuPont family routinely made financial contributions and oversaw several renovations to the church and its school, but worker contributions and pew fees were also collected. 

Next to the church lies its cemetery, with the oldest tombstone dating back to 1843. Thousands of graves now exist in the cemetery including soldiers from every war, priests, and Nelia Biden, (1942-1972), the first wife of U.S. President Joe Biden (elected in 2020).

Though the church is officially 180 years old, the roots of the Catholic community in the community outside of Wilmington arose just after the War of 1812. Its been the home to immigrants, workers, and eventually such dignitaries as Joe Biden, who served as Vice President from 2009 - 2017 to Barack Obama (44th U.S. President) and then as U.S. President (2021 - present). Biden, too, comes from an Irish American family, which speaks to a big part of the very immigrants who populated the area, and the many workers tied to the DuPont family and their businesses. 

"A Brief History of St. Joseph on the Brandywine Church." St. Joesph on the Brandywine Church. stjosephonthebrandywine.org. 2016. https://www.stjosephonthebrandywine.org/parish_history.pdf.

Mulrooney, Margaret M., "Labor at home: The domestic world of workers at the Du Pont powder mills, 1802-1902" (1996). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623881. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-mj0e-dg16.

Norton, J.M. "Nomination Form: St. Joseph's on the Brandywine Church." National Register of Historic Places. nps.gov. November 07, 1976. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/e80293bd-f983-43ae-b1d2-f1ed5135b865/.