Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church Park

Address: Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church, 916 S Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19147

Website: https://www.old-swedes.org/

Hours: Visitor hours variable; check Old Swedes’ Church website for service and tour times

Admission: Suggested donation or small tour fee for guided services (check church website)

Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church is a historic Episcopal church in Philadelphia associated with Swedish colonists of New Sweden. The present stone church building dates to the early 18th century and is often called Old Swedes’ Church.

The site includes an interior with period woodwork and box pews and a churchyard with historic gravestones from the colonial era. Interpretive materials describe the Swedish congregation, colonial worship practices, and the site’s continuous use.

Originally founded by Swedish Lutheran settlers of the New Sweden colony, the congregation and building later became part of the Episcopal tradition while retaining its historic fabric. The church has been preserved for its architectural and cultural significance.

Gloria Dei sits along the Delaware River in Philadelphia’s Southwark neighborhood, in the area historically associated with the early Swedish settlement.

• Founding era: The congregation traces to the Swedish settlers of New Sweden and the existing stone church building dates from the early 18th century.
• Historical distinction: The church is commonly known as Old Swedes’ and is recognized as the oldest surviving church structure in Pennsylvania dating to the colonial period.

What to See#

• Nave and chancel: The church interior contains original 18th-century woodwork, box pews, and an early wooden pulpit dating to the period of construction.
• Churchyard and burial ground: A historic churchyard with gravestones dating to the 17th and 18th centuries that records the burials of Swedish colonists and early Philadelphia residents.

The church sits in Philadelphia’s Southwark neighborhood on the Delaware waterfront, near the intersection of Columbus Boulevard and Christian Street. From Center City, take SEPTA buses or a 15-20 minute taxi/Uber ride; limited street parking is available.

• Attend a Sunday service or one of the guided tours for the best storytelling about the church's Swedish origins and colonial-era burials.
• Explore the graveyard-many Revolutionary-era and 17th-18th century stones are carved in iconographic styles rare in the U.S.
• Visit in the late afternoon for softer light on the church's original timbers and the Delaware River beyond.