St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church - Augusta, ME - Roman Catholic Churches on Waymarking.com

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St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church - Augusta, ME

in Roman Catholic Churches

Posted by:  T0SHEA

19T E 437481 N 4906768

A relatively recent addition to the ecclesiastical scene of Augusta, St. Mary's wasn't built until 1926.

It is, nonetheless, a fine looking church, of rough granite with smooth stone trim and highlights. Especially eye catching is the highly detailed entrance with an ornately decorated rose window above. The nave is long and narrow, with buttressed stone walls and asymmetrical transepts at the rear.

This is the third St. Mary's to serve the congregation in Augusta, the first purchased in 1836, the second built in 1845, both wood framed structures. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the present edifice took place on May 6, 1926, with the dedication of the completed church coming about just over a year later, on May 30, 1927. The cornerstone of the building is dated 1836, to indicate the year of formation of the congregation, and 1926, the year of construction of the church. The building's designer was T.G. O'Connell, designer of many Catholic churches in Maine, and at the time with the firm of Shaw & O'Connell.

Saint Mary's Church is among the most architecturally significant religious edifices in Augusta. Built in 1926-27 by the Louis Milo Company of Lewiston, the handsome and richly decorated Gothic building was designed by the Boston architectural firm of O'Connell and Shaw. The deceptively small structure is one of the most picturesque and innovative examples of the churches designed for Catholic parishes throughout the state by the firms in which T.G. O'Connell was a partner.

The present church building is the third house of worship in Augusta to have served Saint Mary's congregation. The growth in the size of the city's Catholic community during the 1830's necessitated the purchase, in 1836, of the former Bethlehem Church (Unitarian). In 1845, a new edifice was erected on State Street. This rectangular wooden frame building featured a squat two-stage bell tower and a belfry capped by a mansard roof. During the pastorate of the Rev. Thomas J. Nelligan the former Kinsman estate on Western Avenue was acquired for the use of a proposed new church. Nelligan was subsequently transferred to a parish in Bangor and the work fell to his successor, Rev. Thomas J. McLaughlin. Following the 1920 purchase of the Frank Button estate, which adjoined the Kinsman estate; Saint Mary's convent removed to the newly acquired Button house, whereas the rectory was transferred to the remodeled Kinsman house. On May 6, 1926, a ground breaking ceremony was held for the new church building. It was dedicated on May 30, 1927, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Murray of Portland.

Judging from the list of known commissions given to the various firms in which T.G. O'Connell was a partner, Maine's Roman Catholic Church proved to be a faithful client. Beginning in 1905 the firm of Chickering and O'Connell designed Saint Louis Church in Auburn, Saint Joseph's Convent (1908) in Portland, Saint Andre Church (1909) in Biddeford, Saint Louis Church (1910) in Fort Kent, the Saint John School (1911) in Bangor and Saint David's Church (1911-12) in Madawaska. The wide geographic distribution of these commissions combined with their exclusive Catholic origin is suggestive of the firm's recognition by the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
From the NRHP Nomination Form