February 17, 2025

St. Patrick's Day parade adopts service theme for March 16 event in Center City

The 2025 procession featuring step dancers and musicians will depart from JFK Boulevard and 16th Street at 11 a.m.

By Kristin Hunt
PhillyVoice Staff

@philadelphiastpatricksdayobservance/Facebook

Philadelphia's annual St. Patrick's Day parade will be held Sunday, March 16. A Havertown pub owner will serve as grand marshal.

Bright green crowds will gather in Center City next month, and this time, it's not for the Eagles.

The Philadelphia St. Patrick's Day Parade returns Sunday, March 16, just one day prior to the holiday honoring Ireland's patron saint. The procession will depart from JFK Boulevard and 16th Street at 11 a.m. Marchers, step dancers and musicians will then move up Benjamin Franklin Parkway and end in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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The city's archbishop, Nelson Perez, will lead a mass at St. Patrick's Church on 20th and Locust streets prior to the parade. It will commence at 9 a.m. and feature both the Bishop Shanahan High School Choir and Philadelphia Emerald Society Pipe Band.

The organizers have adopted a service theme for the 2025 parade, focusing on those "dedicated to serving others." Its grand marshal will be Paddy Rooney, the namesake owner of Paddy Rooney's Pub in Havertown. He has served on the boards of several Irish American athletic associations since emigrating from Northern Ireland in 1984.