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4 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA Historical Sketches of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, Savannah By VERY REV. JOS. D. MITCHELL, V. G. VIII. The continuation of the Parish Story. Father le Mercier remained in charge of the lit tle flock in Savannah from October 1796 to Janu ary 1802. During these years he organized the con gregation, obtained from the City sufficient land on which to erect a Church, and dedicated the edi fice to the service of God under the patronage of St. John the Baptist. Only one other priest has left any records during that period, with the ex ception of the Rev. John le Moine whose funeral record appears on the cover of the old register, and who died in Savannah in 1794. This other priest, whose signature appears twice under date of the 8th of December, 1799, was Pierre Pabade, a French Sulpician father, then on his way from Havana to Baltimore. Father Babade officiated at Mass in the house of Pierre Joseph Mirault on Sunday, December 8th, and after Mass he baptized two negro slaves belonging to Gabri el Yvonnet. Pierre Babade was a member of the Society of St. Sulpice in Paris, who had fled from France to Spain during the Revolution. Finding no en couragement for the work of his Society in Spain, he resolved to migrate to the West Indies, in the hopes that he might establish a School or Semin ary on the Island of Cuba. He was warmly receiv ed by the old Spanish families of Havana, and for a time things looked hopeful for a successful in stitution. But the government of Spain, distrust ful of French influence, so hindered the work that M. Babade was forced to relinquish the project and determined to join his confreres in Balti more. Accordingly, he left Havana, bringing with him several boys from San Domingo, among them Denis and Achille Cottineau who, with their com panions, became the first students of St. Mary’s Academy. These two boys were the sons of Cap tain Denis Cottineau and the nephews of Jean Berard Montalet of Sapelo and Jean Baptiste Wil liam Polycarp Montalet, owner of the “Hermitage” near Savannah. The party landed in Savannah on their way from the West Indies, and it was on the Sunday during their stay here waiting for an opportunity to proceed to Baltimore that M. Ba bade said Mass and performed the two baptisms mentioned, thus leaving his signature on the old record book to tell the story. In Baltimore he became the spiritual director of Mother Seton’s school for girls, and the little community held him in the highest affection and esteem. His career in Baltimore, which lasted un til 1820, was that of a saintly priest of God, and his name is still held in veneration among the Sulpicians in the United States. He taught both French and Spanish at the College, and assisted at times on the various missions. From the Annals of the Sulpicians we learn that he was born in Lyons, came to the West Indies in 1796, arrived in Baltimore in December, 1799, and remained until after 1820 when he returned to France and died in his native city in 1846. The Incorporation of the Parish In 1801 an Act of Incorporation of the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church of the City of Sa vannah was passed by the State Legislature, and the following gentlemen were named in this Act as the first Trustees: Don Emanuel Ringel, Thomas Dollaghan, Thomas Callaghan, John Shaw, Francis Roma, Bartholomew Coquillon and John Mocquet Mon talet. In this act it was provided that the trus tees should hold office during the term of one year, three being subject to removal annually at the option of the congregation; and on the first Monday in January annually, “between the hours of ten and twelve o’clock at the meeting house of said church” the congregation should assemble for the purpose of electing three trustees, “discreet and virtuous men,” to hold office for one year aforesaid. The Act is signed by David Meriwether, Speaker of the House of Representatives; John Jones, President of the Senate protempore, and Josiah Tattnall, Governor of Georgia. The full text of this Act of Incorporation has been preserved and will be published complete when the entire history of the Parish is printed in book form. A Change of Rectors and Father le Mercier's Return On Saturday, January 16, 1802, Father le Mercier records the baptism of Lewis Thomas, son of Lew is Nicholas Allard, late of San Domingo, which he has performed “with special license of the Rev erend felix-mac-carthy, Rector of the said church;” and he signs this record: Le Mercier priest ex-rector of st. john’s church. Felix MacCarthy, whose name indicates his na tionality, remained in charge of the congregation until the following May, his signature several times occuring as follows: Felix MacCarthy R. C. Rector of St. John’s Church, Savannah. From the 27th day of May until Sunday, Febru ary 6th, 1803, there was no priest in Savannah to exercise the ministry here. We can find nothing concerning the Rev. Felix MacCarthy, nor do we have any record of why he remained so short a time. From the history of Charleston and other places in the South (Augus ta especially) we know that there was already at that early date some dispute between the French and English speaking Catholics regarding the language to be used in Church announcements and sermons, but Savannah seems to have been free from such factionalism. The trustees were chosen from the various nationalities represented, as appears from the Act of Incorporation men tioned above, and the records show a friendly feeling existing among all classes. However, the following, taken from the pages of the old book and written in the beautiful hand of Thomas De- chenaux, would indicate that even in the old Sa vannah parish, “the course of true love did not al ways run smooth:” BE IT PUBLICLY KNOWN BY THESE PRESENTS: That on Sunday the Sixth of February, one thousand eight hundred and three; at the re quest of a large number of the congregation— I, Francis Roma, one of the trustees of the Roman Catholick Church in this city, wait ed on the Reverend Oliver Le Mercier, formerly Rector of said Church (and lately returned to this place) for the purpose of performing Di vine Service. On his politely receiving my re quest, he asked for the keys of the Church. On my waiting on several of the trustees whom I knew to have them in their possession, I found none of them at home; I of course in my private name and public capacity as a trus tee, the only one present, broke open the win dow of the vestry room, entered the Church, and opened the door inside in the presence of Thomas Dechenaux and John Dillon, both (Continued to page 15.)