History of St. Mary’s-St. Francis
Early Years—The Jesuit Connection
Penal laws in the early days of the Colonies under English rule, before the Revolution of 1776, forbade the practice of the Catholic religion. No Catholic Churches were allowed to be built. Home chapels were allowed for private devotions held commonly without priests—priests were scarce. Beginning about 1756, a few Jesuit missionary priests came to this area of the Colony of Maryland, Frederick County from the Jesuit Conewago Mission near Hanover, PA or up from Georgetown until the parish of St. John’s the Evangelist, Frederick was established by 1763. Later Years—The Archbishop Connection
The Jesuits moved their center of operations to Poughkeepsie, NY in early 1903. Their properties and mission churches were gradually sold or turned over to Cardinal James Gibbons, the Archbishop of Baltimore. In the years before the Jesuits left Frederick, the Archbishop began to prepare for this new responsibility. Present Years—The Deacon Connection
In 2009, as one parish family with two churches, we are thriving under the able supervision of our Parish Leader, Deacon Lawrence Teixeira, the Staff and Parish Council. Deacon “Tex” was the first deacon from the Archdiocese of Baltimore to be appointed to this position in Frederick County (2003)—yet, another first for St. Mary’s-St. Francis. The reason for this change—priests are again scarce! We have 319 registered families in the parish and 80 children attending the Faith Formation Program. Assigned priests offer Masses during the weekends. St. Mary’s Parochial School
More research is needed to document this school as the first organized school for black children in this area of Frederick County and its use as a hospital during the Civil War. The old wooden and brick school building was located immediately behind and between the Church and former Rectory at the end of the present walkway beside the Church. The Sisters of Charity from Emmitsburg also taught here. After the school closed, the building was used throughout the years for various church and social activities before it was also demolished in 1977. St. Francis Parochial School
In the basement of the frame church on Seventh Street, Brunswick, religion classes were held with lay teachers by 1896. In the Fall of 1906, the school moved to B Street into the former Shenk’s Seminary, which had been newly built in 1901. By 1907, 150 students were registered. Ursuline Sisters taught multiple grades for several years while living in the residence/convent next door. After the school closed, summer sessions and religion classes were held inside the old school building for the parish children before its demolition. St. Mary’s Cemetery
Today’s cemetery around the church encompasses 5.313 acres. The earliest, legible tombstone date is 1832. The tombstones range from the very simple to the more elaborate—including graves totally unmarked in the long-arm, northeast corner of the cemetery. This narrow portion extends past Shady Lane to First Street off of Rt. 180 and dates from 1918. Charles T. Smallwood, Sr. (1915-2007) faithfully tended this cemetery for over fifty years. The Bells of St. Mary’s-St. Francis St. Mary’s steeple bell cast in Troy, New York in 1870, now hangs at the entrance of St. Mary’s, Petersville. Similarly, the steeple bell from St. Francis, Brunswick, cast on May 20, 1895, now hangs at the entrance of the church on First Avenue. This bell had formerly hung in the steeple of the frame church on Seventh Avenue. It was removed and reinstalled in the new brick church in 1907. Structural safety forced the bell relocations and enclosures of the steeples in the 1980s.
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