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History
CLICK HERE FOR A CATHOLIC VIRGINIAN ARTICLE ON ST. PAUL'S HISTORY.
The fourth St. Paul's church which
burned in 1897
A HISTORY OF ST. PAUL’S CATHOLIC CHURCH
By Jim Thomson
Member of St. Paul’s History Committee
Catholics in the Portsmouth and Norfolk area during Colonial
times were largely English and Irish immigrants. Evidence appears in
Norfolk County Court records as early as September of 1697 when a Father
Edmonds an accused "popish priest" is said to have married a couple. In
November of the same year a Father Raymond was accused. At that time the
Virginia Court’s (contrary to King James II's suspension of the penal
laws against Catholics) policy was that practice of the Catholic faith
was equivalent to treason. Harsh punishment was not meted out to these
offenders, nor have existing missionary records identified either priest
who may have been traveling under assumed names to protect their
families in England. Catholics in Virginia who chose to practice the
faith were served by Jesuit missionaries who operated from Maryland.
They said Mass, and ministered to the faithful in their homes since all
citizens of the Colony were legally required to belong to the Anglican
Church of their locality; both attendance and financial support for the
Church of England were legally required.
Though Virginia passed a Bill of Rights in 1776 which included freedom
of religion, its full implementation was hampered by the Revolutionary
War (which lasted through 1782) and how it was to be read was
controversial into the 1800s. Catholics in this area continued to
practice the faith in privacy until 1795, after the influx of French
refugees both from France and San Domingue (a French colony on the
island of Hispaniola, the remnants of which are today Haiti) had
expanded the Catholic population here considerably. At that point Bishop
John Carroll sent Father James Boushe to establish St. Patrick’s parish
in Norfolk (now St. Mary’s).
Early records of St. Paul’s are sketchy, both because the congregation
was small and because of two church fires in the 1800s in which property
and many church records were lost. Much of what we know comes from a
variety of secondary sources and from the reminiscences of early
congregants.
What we do know is that one of Fr. Boushe's successors, Fr. Michael
DeLacy (virtually all secondary sources refer to him as DeLacy, while
his signature on Parish records is simply Lacy) began celebrating Mass
for Catholics in Portsmouth in May of 1804 in a rented room at the
French Masonic 'Lodge of Wisdom' (Loge Provinciale Francaise de la
Sagesse, #2660) on Middle Street. Fr. DeLacy continued to celebrate Mass
there every second and fourth Sunday until his death late in 1814 (or
early in 1815, depending upon the source) though Catholics had to go to
Norfolk for the sacraments of Matrimony, Confirmation and Baptism.
Growth in the Portsmouth congregation prompted calls for better, more
regular quarters.
In October of 1809 a long-established and wealthy baker Patrick
Robertson died and bequeathed his property (both money and real estate)
for the purchase, erection, and furnishing of a place of worship for the
“Roman Catholick Congregation of Portsmouth“. Accordingly, in 1810 this
property was purchased by Robertson's executors from Jonathan Kay and
his wife Louisa for two hundred and ninety dollars, and the first church
was erected on this lot.
Father Joseph Stokes was appointed as the first resident pastor by
Archbishop of Baltimore James Whitfield in September of 1835. The first
wedding at St. Paul’s was officiated by Father Joseph Van Horsigh. Local
sources generally credit Fr. Van Horsigh with building the second church
on this site, first as an assistant at St. Patrick’s Parish in Norfolk,
and later as Father Stokes’ successor.
That building served until 1848 or 1849 when it was damaged by a storm.
Father Francis Devlin set about replacing it; this time a brick building
with a 135 foot steeple was dedicated in February of 1853. Father Devlin
would later be memorialized by the citizens of Portsmouth with a marble
monument (visible outside the church) for his selfless exertions during
the Yellow Fever Epidemic which swept the area from July-October of
1855, in which Father Devlin was martyred in ministering to the needy of
all faiths. He died of Yellow Fever in September 1855. Fr. Devlin also
began serving Catholics at Fort Monroe, a mission of St. Paul’s which
continued through the Civil War and after the formation of St. Mary Star
of the Sea Parish there.
The third building burned in 1859. This conflagration was attributed to
incendiaries--a diversion to secure the escape of some cohorts held in
the jail just across the street from the church. Father Joseph Plunkett,
Fr. Devlin's successor, set about immediately to replace it with a
larger structure. Its construction was interrupted by the Civil War
(1861-65) and delayed by the shortage of construction materials and
workmen, as many of Portsmouth's able builders were off fighting. That
did not prevent Fr. Plunkett from ministering to the needs of those on
both sides, as Portsmouth was occupied first by Confederates, and then
Union forces. The new church, in the Gothic Revival style, was not
completed until 1868. This building was the first to face Washington
Street, which was newly filled in (it was earlier a creek). Prior
buildings had faced east and toward High Street and Washington Street
was a creek bed. During the long delay Father Plunkett celebrated Mass
weekly in numerous places, including William Parker's home, and Oxford
Hall as well as in the unfinished building.
The fourth church served the congregation until 1897, when it too
burned. This time it was a general conflagration which burned blocks of
the city, leaving many homeless and destitute. Construction on the
present building, the fifth St. Paul's on this site, began in 1898 and
continued to completion in 1905. The attached rectory was added in 1913.
The fifth church is also of Gothic Revival style, with concrete
weight-bearing curtain walls and a slate roof supported by iron beams.
Features include a two hundred foot high copper sheathed steeple with a
3500 pound bell cast by McShane Bell Foundry in Glenn Burnie Md, which
was cast using remnants of the bell damaged in the 1897 fire. The
interior is plaster formed on a metal (rather than wood) lathe. This
church, on demand of the parishioners, was made as fireproof as
possible. It has a facade of Mount Airy granite and stained glass
windows fired by Meyer and Co. in Munich Germany, who still has records
from the purchase.
As mentioned earlier, St. Paul's is a daughter church of St. Mary's in
Norfolk (then it was called St. Patrick's), and is in turn the mother
church for St. Mary, Star of the Sea (Ft. Monroe in Hampton VA, 1860),
St. Mary‘s of the Presentation (Suffolk, 1909), St. Mary (Bowers Hill,
in Chesapeake, 1906), Holy Angels (Cradock in Portsmouth, 1919), St.
Therese' of the Little Flower (Western Branch in Chesapeake, 1954) and
Resurrection (Churchland in Portsmouth, 1971).
Along with St. Paul’s role in founding and operating a number of
Catholic Schools in the area (St. Joseph’s, St. Paul’s, and Portsmouth
Catholic grade and high schools) the pastors have also been instrumental
in the founding of the local Knights of Columbus and Catholic Clubs in
the area as well as Maryview Hospital. In 1884, Fr. Thomas Brady, pastor
of St. Paul’s, established St. Paul’s Catholic Cemetery (now Portsmouth
Catholic Cemetery) on Elm Avenue.
At the opening of the 19th century St. Paul’s was established by Irish
and French immigrants, as the century passed it also served more Irish
as well as German and Italian immigrants. From the beginning it likely
also served African Americans as well, both slave and free, though the
records remaining seldom mention of them. The approaching 20th century
would see St. Paul’s take them in as full members in the 1960s (before
segregation of the races ended statewide) when Our Lady of Victory
Parish on Effingham Street closed. The 20th century would also see an
influx of immigrants, from the Philippines and Latin America; St. Paul’s
served and continues to serve Portsmouth’s Catholics of all kinds into
the 21st century.
The congregation continues to recall our past by promoting a vigorous
History Committee which has enlightened visitors and newcomers about it
by research, collection and assembly of archival information and
artifacts. We also honor our roots in our partnership with St. Peters
Church in Roy sec Haiti, in the mountains northeast of Port au Prince,
Haiti.
St. Paul's History Room and Library
There are a number of items related to the history of St.
Paul's Catholic Church on display in the History Room and Library which
is located in the Father Walsh Center. Included are antique silver
serving pieces belonging to Father Joseph Plunkett, pastor of St. Paul's
from 1856 to 1870, First Communion prayer books from the early 1900s,
Sunday school books from the 1870s, early photographs, and many other
items of historic interest to the parish. The library will be open
on designated Sundays between Masses beginning in the Fall of 2009 and
by appointment with Mary Sue O'Brien, 483-3087. Parishioners are
encouraged to visit the library to view the displays and to peruse the
numerous religious books available for check-out.
St. Paul's Memorabilia Wanted!
Does anyone have old photos or memorabilia tucked away of St.
Paul's Church, St. Joseph's School (especially the original one), the
early convent on Dinwiddie Street, St. Paul's School for Boys (the
Brothers' School), St. Paul's Elementary School on King Street, and the
Catholic Club? If you do, we would like to include them in the
History Committee's collection of items that represent and capture St.
Paul's history in all its various aspects. The items can be
photos, articles, documents, programs, yearbooks, etc. Please call
Mary Sue O'Brien at 483-3087. I will copy your originals, if
necessary. Thank you!
Notes from the History Committee (28 June 2009)
Continuing its mission to research and document the history of St.
Paul’s, the History Committee has
verified the existence of a burial place used during the nineteenth
century for early parishioners and
clergy on the church property. Among those buried on this site were:
• Patrick Robertson, a bakehouse owner who died in 1809. He bequeathed
the funds to purchase the property on which all five churches have been
built and to construct the first St. Paul’s.
• Bartholomew and Rosalie Accinelli, refugees from the French colony of
San Domingue (now called Haiti). They settled in Portsmouth and were
among the founding members of this congregation.
• Antonio Sylvestre Bilisoli, the son-in-law of Bartholomew and Rosalie
Accinelli who was also among the founding members of St. Paul’s Parish.
He fought in the American Revolution and was with Admiral DeGrasse at
the Battle of Yorktown.
• Father Francis Devlin, pastor of St. Paul’s from 1844 to 1855. Father
Devlin died ministering to the citizens of Portsmouth during the Yellow
Fever epidemic of 1855. A monument located on the High Street side of
the church was erected in 1856 in his honor by the parishioners of St.
Paul’s and the citizens of Portsmouth.
• Father Joseph Plunkett, pastor from 1856 to 1870. This beloved priest
was pastor during the Civil War and oversaw the construction of the
fourth St. Paul’s completed in 1868. He was buried under the altar
of that church.
The History Committee has recently installed a bronze and granite marker
in the churchyard on Washington Street between the church and the Father
Walsh Center noting the site of the burial ground and the names of some
of those persons interred there.