1851-1870


	[Saint George] [History] [1851-1870]


	Updated August 17, 2004

(from the 1959 Dedication of St. George Church, October 10, 1959 by Rev. James A. McEnerney, S,J,)

The St. George Story (continued)

The land for St. George Church was donated by John Shadrick, a non-Catholic who was well disposed toward the Faith and wished his family to have a place to worship. On September 16, 1852, he deeded to Bishop (later Archbishop) Francis Patrick Kendrick of Baltimore “two acres of land for the purpose of erecting, or causing to be erected or built, a Roman Catholic Church and for a burying ground . . . together the the free use and enjoyment of the spring of water . . . and a convenient right of way thereto . . “

Permission for the establishment of a new parish had been given earlier by the Bishop. Thus, the date for the establishment of the parish is given as 1851 in the records. The Catholic Census of 1910 states that “St. George’s Church of Valley Lee was erected in 1851.” This does not refer tot eh actual deeding of land or building of a church, but to the canonical erection of the parish under the laws of the Church. This right is reserved tot eh Bishop of the Diocese.

Similarly, the right to choose the name for a church is reserved to the Bishop - though, of course, recommendations may be made by the interested parties. Since St. George was the very first church in the area, there was no perscriptive right of any other parish to the name.

Father Thomas Lilly of St. Inigoes when arrangements were made to open a new parish in 1851. In his diary for 1855 he records:

“Wednesday, Jan. 24th. Went to Col. Coad’s to remain all night for confessions and communions of his family and others. Went to the new Church of St. George to prepare it for opening.

“Sunday, Jan. 28th. We opened St. George Church today. I said Mass at home, after breakfast went to Col. Coad’s, then to the new church (St. George’s) where Fr. Miller was engaged in hearing confessions. It is large congregation of all sorts. The Catholics are few in number, and generally very poor and unable to go to any church. Colonel William Coad, his brother George, his son Edwin, and a few other gentlemen originated the idea of building a church for those who could not get to St. Inigoes or to St. Nicholas. It is a very pretty little Church, and reflects credit on those who kindly and charitably had it put up . . . The Church is not yet finished, but soon will be, judging from the interest and delight of the Catholics and Protestants of the neighborhood in having a Catholic Church . . . “

It has been determined that one of the “other gentlemen” was Cornelius Coombs. These men, with the help of their slaves, cleared the ground and built the church.

The priest who said the first Mass in St. George was Father Perter L. Miller, who was born in Belgium in 1821 and entered the Society of Jesus there in 1841. Yielding to his zeal for active missionary work, for which the new world offered a large field, he came to the United States in 1845. He was ordained at Georgetown University in 1848.

Father Miller’s first duties were in behalf of the black Catholics of Georgetown. Here he manifested that loving, earnest desire for the interests of this race that marked his whole career as a priest. After some time, he was sent to Frederick and later transferred to St. Inigoes as an assistant to Father Lilly. He soon won the affectionate esteem of all by his earnest, self-sacrificing efforts to advance the eternal interests of those committed to his care. In 1855, he was transferred to Baltimore, where he labored among the black Catholics until his death in 1877.

In the old days, there were Mission Stations at which the priests would say Mass and care for souls on week days. These Stations as far as can be ascertained, were Cherry Fields, the home of Col. William Coad; Locust Grove, the home of Mrs. Ellen Sheehan (Magees); Green Rest, the home of Walter Cole; Hill View, the home of George Herbert, and Traver’s Retreat, the home of P. M. Pettit.

The honors for the founding of the parish can be divides equally between Father Carbery and Father Lilly, because both gave many years of service to its people. However, the title of “Founding Father” more particularly belongs to Father Lilly. For it was he who made the arrangements with Colonel Coad, and who went to Baltimore in September 1852 “to obtain the lime, bricks, lumber, and roofing for the foundations and plastering of the new Church lately erected at St. George’s,” as he recorded in his diary.

The work extended from 1852, when the first underpinnings were laid and the walls begun, to July, 1856, when, according to Father Lilly’s diary, “Fr. McMullen and William Carroll went to St. George to paint the alter of the new church.” Building was done slowly in those days!

Father Lilly was born at Conewago, Pa., on October 3, 1806, and entered the Society of Jesus on September 21, 1821. He was ordained at Georgetown in 1834 and taught there until 1837. In that year, he was sent to St. Thomas Manor, Charles County, where he took care of the congregations in four areas, Pomfret, Newport, Cobb Neck, and Conwallis. In 1842, he was made Vice President of Georgetown while Father James Ryder (under whom he had studied philosophy) was Rector. In 1845, he became Superior of the Jesuits at Frederick. In 1848, he was made Superior at Newtown and St. Inigoes, and ten years later he return to St. Thomas Manor as Superior. His health began to fail, however, and he was transferred to Old St. Joseph’s Church, Philadelphia, where he remained until his death on March 15, 1863.

The dedication of the church was arranged by Father Lilly in a letter to Archbishop Kendrick, dated July 16, 1855:

“Whilst you were absent in Europe, we had some idea of having the Church of St. George dedicated. I wrote to Rev. H. B. Coskery about it. He authorized me to do it, or to get someone to bless it. We were not or could not be prepared at the time. We now propose, with your approbation, to have the Church dedicated on Sunday the 5th of August. Father Provincial has promised to preach on the occasion. Would it suit you Reverence to be here on that day to perform the ceremony? Pleas let me know at you convenience.”

The Archbishop delegated the Very Reverend Charles H. Stonestreet, Provincial of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, to perform the ceremony of dedication. The Catholic Mirror of August 25, 1855, reported:

“The 5th of August, 1855, was a memorable day for the Catholics of St. George’s, St. Mary’s Co., Md. On that day, a new temple was dedicated under the patronage of the glorious martyr St. George, to the worship of the Most High. The day was fair and, although a heavy rain the previous day made the country roads more difficult than usual, a large concourse of people was assembled. The church is situated in the midst of a thick grove, on a site central with respect to those who will frequent it.

“The very Rev. Father Stonestreet performed the ceremony of dedication. The same reverend gentleman preached the dedication sermon, which was really an instructive and moving discourse. After speaking of the claims to veneration of St. George, the patron of the church, and commending the praiseworthy exertions of the congregation, he very appropriately alluded to the Catholic character of St. Mary’s County, and recalled the hallowed associations which endear the soil of Maryland to her Catholic children.

“Without departing from the character of a preacher of the Gospel, or entering the field of politics, he blended a solid lesson of true patriotism with his religious admonitions. There were many Protestants present, and as far as could be judges, they were much edified by this specimen of a Catholic sermon, seasoned as it was by true charity.

“High Mass was celebrated by Rev. Fr. Thomas Lilly, S.J., Rev. Fr. King, S.J., and Rev. Fr. Miller, S.J., assisted by Mrs. Mary Coombs, who provided the choir. The church is not yet provided with an organ, and they sang without any instrumental music. There performance was remarkably good.”

They labored to plant the seed of the Faith, and they nurtured it with much toil and sweat. While we of the present day reap the harvest, which is full and abundant, we bless their names, and are proud to be privileged to the list of names of illustrious men of God who have been the pastors of our Souls.

The Church has been compared to a great tree, which sprang from a small seed planted in the ground. The simile was first used by Christ. In the growth of this tree, there has been vital development that is somewhat difficult for the historian to trace. For at times, there is such intimate intertwining of the branches that what is separate seems to form a unity. The unity is real, for it is based upon the unity of the Church.

For example, from St. Inigoes, begun in 1705, there sprang a new congregation in 1829 at St. Nicholas, Mattapany, and for 130 years the growth has flourished. The name Mattapany remained in the catalogue until 1927, and then it was changed to St. Nicholas, Jarboesville. In 1930, it became St. Nicholas, Pearson. In 1942, the change came to St. Mary and St. Francis, California. In 1948, only St. Mary at California remained. Now in 1959, the successor of them all is Immaculate Heart of Mary at Lexington Park, a large and flourishing parish in a modern Milieu.

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