OLDEST -Institution in the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington-St. Francis Xavier Church - Warwick MD
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 39° 26.238 W 075° 48.276
18S E 430758 N 4365614
Saint Francis Xavier Church (Old Bohemia) is the oldest institution in the area that now comprises the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. Old Bohemia is truly the Mother Church of the Wilmington diocese.
Waymark Code: WM17DF8
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 01/31/2023
Views: 0
From the church website:
"HISTORY
History
Saint Francis Xavier Church was founded by Father Thomas Mansell, S.J. in 1704. It is one of the earliest Catholic establishments in the English Colonies and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Since the church is the oldest institution in the area that now comprises the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Old Bohemia is truly the Mother Church of the Wilmington diocese.
The plantation was clandestinely established to minister to the scattered Catholics throughout what is now Cecil County, MD, the entire Delmarva Peninsula, and southeastern PA when Catholicism was outlawed in the English Colonies. Maryland Colony’s laws during this period and until after the American Revolution prohibited the building of Catholic churches and schools, and the holding of public office by Catholics. Wealthy families often had chapels in their homes where horse circuit-riding priests would periodically come to offer Mass.
?The income from the plantation supported the priests’ secret mission stations and educational activities. The Jesuits planted tobacco and other crops and ran a water-powered grist mill and a sawmill on the Bohemia River that crosses the property. Also on the plantation was a kiln for making bricks, a carpenter and a blacksmith shop, an ice house and various farm buildings typical of such a large operation.
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