The St. Benedict the Moor property houses two prominent buildings, there is the St. Benedict Catholic Church, still in operation today, and the ruins of the Saint Mother Catherine Drexel Catholic School. The school was the first building to be erected on the property in 1898 with money donated by Mother Catherine Drexel.

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St. Benedict is unique due to the fact that is it has served primarily as a Catholic church for African Americans. The church and school were built so that African American children could go to school and learn about Catholicism; before the church was built the Catholics met at another church, St. Benedict Catholic Church finally gave the congregation their own home church. Many Catholics still attend mass in the Cathedral Basilica as they had before St. Benedict was built.

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Text by Clayton Junkins