Durang was the principal architect for the Catholic archdiocese of Philadelphia from before the Civil War into the twentieth century, working in Gothic, Romanesque, and Renaissance modes. For Irish congregations like that of St. Mary's, he often favored Baroque, executed either in richly carved stone, as in Philadelphia's contemporary brownstone church of St. Charles Borromeo (2000 Christian Street), or in recessed planes of brick, as here. The interior, with its galleries carried on iron columns, has the character of an auditorium, a hallmark of Durang, who belonged to a theatrical family and who also specialized in music halls. The church serves Luzerne County's oldest Roman Catholic parish, founded in 1842.