Oldest northeastern U.S. Catholic parish celebrates bicentennial

Newcastle, ME, Jul 11, 2008 / 03:15 am (CNA).- St. Patrick Catholic Church in Newcastle, Maine will celebrate its bicentennial this weekend. The church, whose building was completed in 1808, is the oldest continuing parish on the Atlantic Seaboard north of St. Augustine, Florida.

The celebrations will begin at noon on Saturday with the ringing of the church bell, one of the last church bells to be cast by the American hero Paul Revere, the Bangor Daily News says.

Parishioners will conduct tours of the church cemetery and portray in costume some of the historical personages buried there.

Bishop of Portland Richard J. Malone will celebrate Mass on Saturday afternoon in the modern $2 million church finished in 2004. On Sunday a Latin Mass will be celebrated in the original church building, a small brick church set on a hill overlooking the Damariscotta River.

Carrie Watson, one of the event planners, said the program was designed to appeal to history-lovers as well as Catholics interested in Maine’s religious heritage.

“From a historical viewpoint, anyone interested in any kind of history would find the story of the oldest Catholic Church in the state fascinating," she said, according to the Bangor Daily News. "And in terms the architecture and structure of building, I would think people interested in those things would be interested in hearing details about its construction to learn how it’s lasted so long."

Rev. John Lefevre de Cheverus celebrated the first Mass in the area in 1798 while returning to Boston from missions to the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Indians. In the same year, a small wooden chapel called St. Mary of the Mills was built at Damariscotta Mills, though that building has not survived.

The existing church building was designed by architect Nicholas Codd, who was reputed to have been shanghaied from Ireland to design the church and homes for local prominent figures.

The church altar, built in the form of a tomb, is older than the church building itself. It is the original altar at which Father Cheverus offered Mass.

It is humbling ... but also .... most inspiring! Our parish celebrated its centennial in 2005. We are currently restoring a 160 y/o former Methodist Church. Once completed, it will be consecrated as a Catholic Church. Over the past 3 years, I have gathered what little information as could be found in the archives of the Methodist Council, in order to preserve the history of the congregation that built this church. Having ourselves struggled to build our own community, we have a great appreciation for those who forfeited personal belongings, sacrificed and determinedly built that church. When that community eventually fell apart, the remnant tearfully gathered one last time in prayer before turning the building over to a local hardware store that purchased it. Their one request was that it be sold only for religious worship, regardless of the denomination. Many lucrative offers from commercial enterprises were turned down by the hardware store owner, out of deference for the wishes of those devout christians.

As we work to restore this small Church, we all focus in on the spirit of the original community and have gone to great lengths to preserve this Church's original design elements. Even the construction of the sanctuary respectfully blends itself to the historic setting. We will celebrate their memory with a special commemorative board. Currently, the original stained glass windows have been removed and are in the process of being restored. The original carved doors have been removed, sanded down and await a fresh coat of paint. What a celebration there will be on the day this Church is reconsecrated! The memory of the christians who built it will be honored before all gathered that day.

It is important to preserve the past. What better honor to pay those who sacrificed much with a renewed commitment to worship God in that sacred space.

CNA got this wrong.

The oldest eastern seaboard church is St. Ignatius in Chapel Point, MD. Founded 1641.

Founded in 1641, St. Ignatius is one of the oldest Catholic Parishes in continuous service in the United States. Fr. Andrew White and other Jesuits sailed on the Ark and the Dove to help found an English Colony, permitting freedom of religion. Fr. White settled among the Potobac Indians at Chapel Point, learned to speak their language, and soon baptized their Indian Tayak or Chief.
Although often tried by repressive laws, the Jesuits continued to serve colonists, Indians, and slaves from the "olde wooden chapelle" by the point, and later from "Paradise Hill." Supplies from the Manor Farm were offered to the Americans attacking Yorktown. With the return of peace, the present church was built in 1798. It was blessed by John Carroll, the first bishop of Baltimore.
Though suppressed worldwide in 1773, the Society of Jesus was restored in America by those who took their vows in this church in 1805. From here, saddle priests rode forth to serve all of Charles County, as well as parts of Prince George’s and Calvert Counties.
Union troops occupied St. Thomas Manor during the Civil War. Fire substantially destroyed the interior of the church and Manor House on December 27, 1866. However, by June 7, 1868, both were restored and rededicated.
For over 150 years, St. Thomas Manor at St. Ignatius was the home of Superiors of the Maryland Mission. Many missionaries lived and worked here. Courageous people worshiped here despite severe obstacles to their faith, and the famous visited for advice and counsel. From this manor, priests attended Catholics in an area from Virginia to Pennsylvania, developing new missions and establishing new residences. From here, all the older parishes of Charles County have been attended, and most were founded by priests of St. Thomas Manor.

St. Ignatius Church at Chapel Point was founded in 1641 by Father Andrew White, a prominent English Jesuit, who was born in London in 1579 and who was one of the first Jesuits to arrive in Maryland.
In England, Catholics were forbidden to practice their faith. They couldn’t hold office, and many unbearable restrictions were put upon them. In the late 1620's, the Calvert family provided a plan for the colonization of Maryland; a new colony in the new world with freedom of religion possible for all. In November of 1633, the expedition set sail for America in two ships, the Ark and the Dove, with Fr. White among the colonists along with two other Jesuits, Fr. John Altham and Brother Thomas Gervase. The two ships arrived at St. Clement's Island in March 1634. Fr. White celebrated the first Mass in Maryland and set about establishing the Church in this new land.
Catholic settlers began to move westward along the Potomac River. Fr. White established a claim for St. Thomas Manor lands and took up his residence. A chapel had been erected at the point of land now known as Chapel Point. Fr. White labored among the Indians, broke the language barrier, and wrote a catechism in their language. The window above the entrance of the Church commemorates the baptism of the Indian King and Queen of the Piscataways. Fr. White also blessed their marriage, and baptized their child.
Father John G. Shea, S.J., an authority on U.S. Catholic history, tells of a remarkable miracle wrought through the large relic of the True Cross which Father White carried in a specially designed receptacle hung around his neck. Fr. White was called to attend an Indian who had been impaled by the limb of a tree. The branch had gone through the upper part of his body and he was in great agony and near death. Fr. White was able to impart the necessary articles of faith, which the Indian accepted, and then baptized him and administered the last Sacraments. Leaving instructions that, upon death, the body was to be kept for burial with the Church’s ritual, he blessed the Indian with the relic of the True Cross, and departed.
The next day, Fr. White returned to bury the Indian and was astonished to find the Indian recovered and out fishing. Two small marks were all that was left of the wounds. The same relic of the True Cross which Fr. White brought to America remains at the Church.
In 1645, Fr. White was captured, sent back to England in chains, and tried for being a Catholic priest and for having entered England illegally. He was acquitted but banished, and never returned to Maryland.
In 1649, Fr. Thomas Copley acquired 4,000 acres along the Port Tobacco River under Lord Baltimore’s "conditions of plantation," in exactly the same way as lands were obtained by other settlers. The Manor had been established and the claim entered by Fr. White in 1641. Fr. Copley assigned his rights to the land to Mr. Thomas Matthews, Esq. Mr. Matthews held the land in trust until 1662 when he conveyed all his rights to Fr. Henry Warren, S.J., the then resident pastor.
Fr. Warren was also Superior of the Maryland Mission and, until 1832, St. Thomas Manor was known as "The Superior’s Residence."
During the suppression of the Society of Jesus (1773 to 1805), the Jesuits continued their work at the Maryland Mission as secular priests. On August 18, 1805, the restoration of the Society took place at St. Thomas Manor. Fathers Robert Molyneux, S.J., Charles Sewall, S.J., and Charles Neale, S.J., renewed their vows here, thus becoming the first Jesuits of the new United States.
Among the strong and determined frontier priests to serve in Charles County were Fathers George Hunter, Ignatius Matthews, Charles and Francis Neale, Aloysius Mudd, and James Brent Matthews. All were from Charles County, with the exception of Fr. Hunter, who came from England. Fathers Charles and Francis Neale, and Fr. Ignatius Matthews had been parishioners of St. Ignatius, Chapel Point.
Fr. Bernardine F. Wiget, S.J. opened a school for boys in 1855. He was appointed to other work in 1856 and due to the scarcity of men teachers, the school closed in 1857. In 1870, a school for girls was established by the Misses Jennie and Nellie Neale. It continued until 1900.

Historical marker commemorating the parish.

The current church and manor.

The cornerstone for the current church building, erected in 1798.

Don't get me wrong...I have nothing but best wishes for St. Patrick's in Maine. But CNA got this one WAY wrong.

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