The church in a formerly prosperous neighborhood of doctors and lawyers cannot afford to replace a metal cross atop the steeple that was struck by lightning years ago. Inside, a vast net in the majestic sanctuary protects parishioners from falling plaster.
Yet the new community garden at Our Lady of Hope sprouted peppers, tomatoes, cabbage and bitter melon this summer for the north Philadelphia neighborhood that surrounds it, and the adjoining newly independent high school that aspires to send low-income students to college will graduate its first class.
This parish, not far from where Pope Francis will celebrate the largest Mass during his first trip to the U.