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Old Chapel - 1640- 2003 |
St. Mary's of Piscataway has a very rich and interesting history.
The official recorded history of the Church at Piscataway dates back to
July 5, 1640. Father Andrew White, S.J., baptized the Emperor of the Piscataway
Indians, Chitomachen, along with his wife, his child and members of his
tribe. Father White was a member of a band of colonists headed by Leonard
Calvert ( younger brother of Cecil Calvert ) sent to Maryland by the Governor.
From 1640-1838, the Church largely functioned as a mission extending from
St. Mary's City to Piscataway and as far as the area known today as Anacostia.
Written records of this time were limited due to the enactment in Maryland
of the Toleration Act of 1649 which dictated religious suppression. These
restrictions stayed in effect until the dawn of the American Revolution
of 1776. |
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Since the Revolution, the Church at Piscataway has undergone many
transformations. The first church was built in 1838, over two
hundred years after the famous English ships, The Ark and The Dove
deposited Fr. White on the shores of St. Clement's Island on March
25, 1634. Badly constructed, it was torn down in 1901 and replaced
by the present "Little Church." Incorporating some of the bricks and
timbers of the 1838 church, the "Little Church" was dedicated by
Cardinal Gibbons in 1904. Over the front door you can see a stone
saved from the first church with the inscription: " Come to me all
you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you."
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Graveyard site & side view of the old Chapel (right),
school bldg (left) & the new Church behind school bldg.
Built in 1906, the church of St. Mary’s was restored by Kerns Group
Architect’s in 1987 as part of a five year plan. The first phase
included a school addition and the conversion of existing classroom
space into a library and a science room. |
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New Church Interior |
Materials and details relate to the
American Gothic style of the existing
church and to Piscataway’s Victorian past. Inside, exposed
structural members provide rhythmic ornament and clear red oak mill work
adds intimacy to the 650-seat sanctuary.
Rev. Kevin Hart |
| The new sanctuary designed by Kerns Group with
Father Lawrence J. Madden, S.J.,STD. as the Liturgical consultant,
was dedicated in November 1988. It is appropriately sited at the
center of a new campus plan and serves as a backdrop to the
cemetery, emphasizing the relationship between past and present. The
new church is organized on a central sacred axis featuring symbols
of death and rebirth (cemetery and baptistery), fire (fireplace),
water (baptistery and font) and air (natural light). |
New Church Exterior |
| The growing Catholic community of Piscataway
demanded the building of
a beautiful "New Church" during the pastorate of Fr. Paul Norton which
was dedicated in 1988 by James Cardinal Hickey. At the same time the "Little
Church" was preserved and restored. The two churches recall the past and
set the future for St. Mary's, a holy place where, for over 350 years,
our Catholic faith has been expressed in prayer, worship, education, service,
and stewardship.
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©Copyright 2000 by St. Mary's of
Piscataway, MD. All rights reserved.
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