They then crowded around Saint Augustine's Church in the City.
Mayor Scott made a fruitless attempt to quell the crowd, but by 10.30pm the Augustinian church had been burned to the ground.
The Augustinians sued the City of Philadelphia for not providing adequate protection during the rioting, and claimed damages of US$80,000.
The City contended that the Augustinians could not claim their civil rights had been violated since the Order was a foreign society under the orbit of the Pope.
Further they contended that the friars took a vow of poverty and thus could not hold property.
Augustinians vindicated
The Augustinians were ultimately able to prove that their Order had been lawfully incorporated in 1804. They were awarded $45,000.
This case was one of the first tests of the rights of citizens to religious freedom under the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
It also fulfilled one of the articles in the Charter of Principles laid down in the year 1701 by William Penn, founder of the (then) Colony of Pennsylvania.
In 1847, the Augustinians decided to rebuild their church. It was designed by Napoleon LeBaron, the architect of such Philadelphia landmarks as the Academy of Music, and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.
It was completed in 1848. The church's interior is stunning. The ceiling frescoes depict scenes from "Saint Augustine in Glory."
The artist was Philip Costaggini, who painted part of the frieze on the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C..
The first Augustinian General Chapter to be held in the New World opened there in Philadelphia in 1968.
Link
Old Saint Augustine's Church, Philadelphia. Website, containing photographs, history, etc..
ID2731
