St. Mary’s Parish is extremely blessed to have as its Pastor, Father Rory T. Conley, who not only holds Doctoral degree in Church History from the Catholic University of America but was appointed Historian for the entire Archdiocese of Washington in 1999.

KEY DATES IN THE HISTORY OF ST. MARY’S PARISH:

1634

Jesuits Arrival in America

1649

Act Of Toleration is passed

1654

First Catholic worship in Bryantown

1690s

Mass celebrated on Boarman Estate

1692

The Church of England becomes official church of Maryland

1743

Hayden family donates land to build a log cabin church

1790

Pope Pius VI establishes See of Baltimore

1792

Sulpician priests flee French Revolution and arrive in America

1793

St. Mary’s Catholic Church becomes a parish

January 2, 1793

First recorded birth in parish records

1811

Parish establishes Trustees’ Administration

March 1846

Parish begins building new church

October 1858

Plans developed to enlarge church

1859

Saint Mary’s Institute (Miss Martin’s Seminary) opens

1861-1865

Civil War rocks nation, cripples economy, and Institute closes

1893

Parish celebrates its centennial anniversary

1895

Tower and steeple torn down to make room for additional seating

September 1912

Reverend Conroy begins pastorate

September 1915

School Sisters of Notre Dame arrive to open new schools 

September 1915

Two new schools open – one for caucasian children and one for children of color. 

1921

New boarding school opens

1923

Court Bryantown No. 771 Catholic Daughters of America is chartered

1924

Holy Name Rallies at St. Mary’s Church

1925

St. Mary’s High School is accredited

1925

Father Conroy called to Rome

1926

Parish renovates church, adding new organ

1927

Father Conroy’s pastorate ends

1936

Archbishop Curley visits parish

July 1939

District of Columbia becomes Archdiocese of Washington

1943

Solemn celebration of 150th anniversary during wartime

May 1944

Parish erects a large statue of the Blessed Mother in front of the church

February 1948

Archbishop Patrick O’Boyle becomes first Archbishop of Washington, D.C.

1953

New cemetery opens in front of church

1955

New brick rectory is built

1961

Revered O’Brien directs church renovations

December 16, 1963

The great fire at St. Mary’s Church occurs

September 1965

50th anniversary of School Sisters of Notre Dame’s service at parish

May 1966

Dedication of rebuilt church

June 1967

High school closes

November 1967

New elementary school is dedicated

1968

Elementary school is desegregated and St. Mary’s Colored School closes.

June 1973

Court Bryantown celebrates 50th anniversary

1991

75th anniversary of St. Mary’s School

November 1992

New church organ unveiled

January – December 1993

Parish celebrates bicentennial anniversary

September 20, 1998

Memorial dedicated in tribute to St. Mary’s Colored School which was in operation from 1913-1968

July 2008 – July 2009

Under the direction of Father Lawrence Young, Pastor of St. Mary’s Parish from July 2008 until July 2009, and with much assistance from parishioners and area businesses, the rectory building, including the parish offfice, was partially remodeled. This was the first time the building was remodeled since being constructed in 1955.  Father Young, who earned his living as a remodeler prior to becoming a Catholic Priest, also personally contributed a great deal of carpentry expertise, labor and materials to the remodeling project.

Fall 2008

A Cemetery Research Committee was established under the direction of Father Young, with Anne Boone as the Chairperson, to map out the old section of the cemetery and establish a directory of who is buried where. Although death records survived the great fire in the church in 1963, the map of the cemetery was destroyed. The Committee is creating a database which will include a map which shows the location of each gravesite, a photo of each gravestone or marker, the name of the person(s) buried by each gravestone or marker along with all information engraved on each gravestone or marker. This process is being completed in a painstaking manner to ensure that the information that is being collected accurate. Our parish has a highly historic cemetery.

Winter 2009

A Religious Goods Store is added in the church foyer under the direction of Father Young with Chairperson Ellen Walls. Stunningly beautiful oak cabinets were built to house merchandise thanks to Deacon Henry Middleton’s fine cabinet-making skills. The proceeds of the store will go to the Parish.

Winter 2008

The front doors of the church were refurbished and repainted by volunteers from the parish under the direction of Father Young. The storage area above the sacristy was cleaned and organized and shelving was built. The lighting in the church was improved and energy efficient light bulbs were added to all fixtures.

Winter 2009 – Spring 2009

Under the direction of Father Young, and with input from parish staff and parishioners, a new parish web site was developed. Site design and content development were donated by members of Father Young’s family.

Spring 2009

Father Young re-established a parish council after it had been inactive for many years.

Summer 2009

Thanks to the generosity of parishioners, the interior of the church was repainted for the first time in 40 years. This took place under the direction of Father Young and the Parish Facilities Committee with input from parishioners via multiple votes on paint colors. Ornamental plaster throughout the church was also restored during this process. All precious metal objects on the altar along with Holy Water fonts were refinished thanks to the generosity of now deceased parishioner Mary Pat Jamison. Also refurbished as part of the project are the precious metal objects in the chapel in the rectory.

Fall 2009

Thanks to the generosity of parishioners, under the direction of Father Conley, the flooring in the interior of the church was recarpeted and tiles under the pews were replaced.

Please note that more dates will be added to this list as this site is developed.  Much of the information above was taken from the book Common Bond – St. Mary’s Church, Bryantown, Maryland which was authored by John E. Potyraj and published in 1993 by Steeple Press on the Bicentennial Anniversary of St. Mary’s Catholic Church.  Many of the dates and descriptions of events noted on this web page were taken from Pages 97 and 98 of the book.  We are  extremely grateful to have this book available as a resource.