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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.