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Tucked away in a small building near the center of the penitentiary is unique evidence of a prisoner’s faith – the murals that distinguish the Catholic Chaplain’s Office. Inmate Lester Smith painted them in 1955 and used the signature “Paul Martin” to honor his two favorite saints. Smith was a self-taught artist who had converted to Catholicism in prison before coming to Eastern State. When Father Edwin Gallagher, Eastern State’s Catholic Chaplain, witnessed Smith painting, he invited him to apply his talents and passion to enhance the Catholic Chaplain’s Office. Smith covered nearly every available space of the walls with Catholic imagery. Most striking is the kneeling prisoner seeking reconciliation through confession. This image speaks to the depth of Lester Smith’s faith.
These beautiful murals remain a moving testament to the story of one inmate who underwent a powerful change while in prison. It is our goal to save the paintings so we can share them with our visitors, now more than 100,000 annually. Opening the Catholic Chaplain’s Office will also allow us to broaden our discussion of spiritual life at Eastern State, a subject of deep importance to many of the men and women who lived behind these walls.
The Chaplain’s Office is a separate small building constructed in the 1880s by Warden Michael Cassidy as his office. After his death it was configured to house the prison chaplains. The most distinct section is the two-roomed Catholic Chaplain’s Office with Smith’s 23 murals. Unfortunately, the severe deterioration of the Chaplain’s Office structure and the paintings’ fragile condition have forced Eastern State to keep the building closed to the general public.
The three-phase restoration project includes:
- Phase I (completed): In-depth Analysis of the Building and Mural Conditions, with proposed treatments and projected costs for the recommended work. It also recommends appropriate environmental controls.
- Phase II: Building Stabilization Plan, including heating and air conditioning. Paintings conservation cannot proceed until this work is done.
- Phase III: Conservation of the Murals. Phase III will also include the development of exhibit elements for opening the room to the public.
We are raising the $525,000 necessary to undertake Phases II and III and are now more than one-third of the way there - thanks to many donors and a large grant from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Heritage Philadelphia Program. We hope to open this wonderful space in 2012!
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The prestigious Heritage Philadelphia Program grant comes with a challenge - we must match it with another $350,000!
Please consider supporting the Catholic Chaplain’s Office project by making a direct contribution. Click here to donate online.
We deeply appreciate your generosity. Every gift, large and small, will move us closer to the day when you and all of Eastern State Penitentiary’s visitors can enjoy the murals you helped save!
View the current list of donors.
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As the Catholic inmate population at Eastern State grew in the mid to late 1800s, a period of rising anti-Catholic sentiment, Philadelphia’s Catholic community feared attempts to convert Catholic inmates. The community’s response began with the assignment of priests by the Archdiocese and expanded with the involvement of the nearby Church of the Gesu. By the turn of the century, lay leaders had formed the American Society for Visiting Catholic Prisoners which sent volunteers to assist with ministering to Eastern State’s growing population of Catholics from a variety of immigrant groups.
The early twentieth century saw two watershed events for the ability of Catholic inmates to practice their faith. In 1902, Eastern State permitted the first Catholic confirmation and used the Warden’s Office as a makeshift chapel. Fifty-four hooded inmates were escorted into the space to receive communion from Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan.
Once Eastern State abandoned the separate confinement system and became a congregate facility, group worship finally became possible. Inmates celebrated the penitentiary’s first mass in 1914 - 390 inmates participated. Eventually the upper floor of the Industrial Building became the site of weekly Sunday mass and Eastern State hired a full-time Catholic Chaplain.
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Prisoner seeking reconciliation by Lester Smith (aka Paul Martin).
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Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, visited Eastern State in 2008 to learn about the Catholic Chaplain’s Office project and kick off our effort to save the murals.
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Father Bernard Farley, Catholic Chaplain between 1929 and 1939, instructs two inmates. Father Farley’s diary has provided extensive documentation about daily life at Eastern State Penitentiary.
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Lester Smith, Catholic Chaplain’s Office muralist, poses with a selection of his other paintings.
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