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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
15
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE PARISH
OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, SAVANNAH
(Continued from page 4.)
of this city and members of said Church: I
requested the said Reverend Le Mercier to
come to the vestry room and examine whether
he could find the vestments necessary for the
performance of Divine Service; on examination
and comparison with the inventory that was
made at the time of said Rev. Le Mercier’s
leaving the Church, we found none of the sil
ver plated, nor Brass candle-sticks; we found
that the albs, surplice, altar cloths ornament
ed with valuable lace, had disappeared. We
thought it proper to send to the washerwo
man and enquire whether she had them; her
answer was that some of them were in her pos
session for some time, and that a few days ago
she had been ordered to send them immedi
ately to one Thomas Dollaghan, one of the
trustees,—to what purpose we do not know.
We also found out that the Holy Bible had
been taken out of the Church, and found at
said Dallaghan’s by Mr. John Shaw, who sent
it back again to the Church.
Upon this consideration, we the underwrit
ten, thought necessary to enter the present
protest on the book of records, to serve as
much as may be deemed useful to the dis
charge of said Rev. Le Mercier; who was kind
enough to supply us with some of his own
vestments, which by these presents he is al
lowed to take away when he pleases. Other
wise Divine Service could not have been per
formed.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set
my hand and seal, in the presence of the afore
said witnesses, who have also signed with me
and the Priest present, in the vestry room, on
this Lord’s day, the sixth of the month and
year aforesaid.”
Witnesses: Thomas Dechenaux
John Dillon
(SEAL) Francis Roma, trustee,
Le Mercier, priest.”
The above quaint record seems at first sight to
indicate a little friction between the French and
Irish members of the congregation; but the pres
ence of John Dillon with Francis Roma and
Thomas Dechenaux makes this a doubtful ex
planation.
There follow a number of records where Father
Le Mercier again signs his name as “rector of st.
john’s church”; and the following—several pages
further on—is the conclusion of the above inci
dent:
“BE IT PUBLICLY KNOWN, that on Sat
urday the nineteenth day of March in the year
of our Lord eighteen hundred and three, I
priest Rector of St. John’s church underwrit
ten, have Received from thomas Dollaghan
treasurer of said church through the hands of
Mr. john dillon all the Brass and Silver plat
ed candlesticks as also the albs, surplice, altar
cloths ornamented with valuable lace, and all
other articles that had disappeared from the
church as mentioned on page 91 of this Book,
having been kept by the said thomas Dolla
ghan to a purpose still unknown: and do fur
ther certify that they were all in as good order
as could be expected and conformable to the
original inventory Made and Signed by the
Rev. felix maccarthy My Successor in office
and Myself few days previous My leaving this
place.
in testimony whereof I have hereafter set
My name and seal in the city of Savannah this
nineteenth Day of March, 1803.
(Seal) Le Mercier priest
rector of st. john’s church.”
His Last Visit to Locust Grove
On June 29, 1803 we again find Father le Mercier
among the Catholics of the Maryland Colony
above Augusta. There are twenty three records
of baptisms, etc., indicating by the dates and ages
given that no priest had been in that settlement
since his last visit. On June 5th we find him in
Augusta, and there are eight records of baptisms
and marriages performed in that place.
He then returned to Savannah, and the last
record of “his second term of office” is dated July
25, 1803.
From Savannah he had been called to take
charge of the congregation of St. Mary’s in Charles
ton. This we learn, not only from the Charleston
records, but also from the fact that there are sev
eral records made in Savannah while Father le
Mercier was on a short visit here, from April 19 to
April 22, 1806. On the old parish book his name
is signed to these records—fifteen in all—as “Rec
tor of the R. C. C. of Charleston.”
Last Days of Father Le Mercier
Though not directly connected with the parish
history of Savannah, it will doubtless be of inter
est to those who have followed these sketches to
know something concerning the last days of the
ministry of the priest who may be justly called
“the founder of the parish.”
The principal reason for Father le Mercier’s call
to Charleston was the effort to quiet the dissen
sions which had divided the congregation of old
St. Mary’s. The Very Rev. Simon Felix Gallagher
had been pastor there since the year 1793; he was
a brilliant and eloquent man, and had done a
great deal in the cause of the Church in South
Carolina; but trouble had arisen between the pas
tor and the vestry of the Church—the result of
the “Trustee system” which prevailed generally at
that time throughout the country. The majori
ty of the vestrymen being French, it was hoped
that the coming of a French priest might calm the
disturbance. The traditions of the Charleston
Church, however, tell us that his advent only
caused the breach to become wider. The people
were divided principally on the ground of langu
age and nationality, but there were many other
causes which helped to complicate the situation.
The friends and supporters of the Rev. Mr. Galla
gher—mostly Irish, but not altogether so—at
length gained the supremacy, and Father le Mer
cier at times found the Church closed against him.
It is too late, at this day and time, to determine
just which side was right—undoubtedly there was
much to say for both. The story of the “Charles
ton Schism,” as it is called, will have to figure in
our story again later on, as it was the principal
cause for the establishment of Charleston as a sep
arate see in 1820.
Sometime about the year 1811, Father le Mercier
left America for a trip to the West Indies—prob
ably to San Domingo—and was lost at sea on this
voyage. We know little about him other than
what we find in the numerous records of long and
faithful service in Georgia and the Carolinas. The
Baltimore records contain a little data, and Bis
hop England mentions him once or twice,—but
what we do know shows beyond doubt that he
labored untiringly in God’s service, and his name
was held in deep veneration for many years after
his death, by the old French Catholic families in
Savannah, whom he had served so well.
ine Dmcese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, recentlv
raised $1,025,000 for the Diocesan Seminary and
charitable institutions. Reports are still missing
from 58 parishes.