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TWO
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
OCTOBER 27, 1956.
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STEWART PLATE
GLASS 00.
PHONE 1047
P. O. BOX 208
100 GLOUCESTER ST.
BRUNSWICK, GA.
Parish Of Saint Francis Xavier
And Missions Cover 11 Counties
BRUNSWICK, Ga„—The Marist V
Fathers are in their sixtieth year
at Brunswick. It was in 1897 that ;
the Parish of St. Francis Xavier
Parker I
& Langsti
Helms
in, Inc. ,
INDUSTRIAL
SUPPLIES
TELEPHONE EL. 3-3180
TELEPHONE 2462
P. O. Box 425
P. O. Box 417
1902 East Beaver Street
1030 Bay Street
JACKSONVILLE, FLA,
i
BRUNSWICK, GA.
i
! ... t
Brunswick Pastor.
ie S. E. Georgia Missions
The records
Prior to the coming of the Mar
in Brunswick from 1871.
COASTAL
CHEVROLET
CORPORATION
1004 Gloucester Street Phone 161-102
BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA
CHEVROLET.
However, the beginnings of the
Church in this area of coastal
Georgia date back some four hun
dred years, long before Ogle
thorpe established himself at
Frederica. From 1566-1742 Span
ish missionaries labored, suffered,
and were martyred in this locali
ty for the cause of the faith.
In 1791 the island of Jekyll was
purchased by the du Bignon fam
ily. From time to time the head of
his family arranged to have a
visiting priest celebrate Mass for
his family and his slaves. The as
sumption is that these visiting
priests were missionaries at
tached to the Diocese of Balti
more and to the Diocese of
Charleston, or were visiting
priests from France.
The Catholic Directory for 1840,
shows that the Diocese of Charles
ton had seven priests in charge of
the missions in Georgia; and it
was in the same year that a new
district was formed, the princi
pal stations of /which were St.
Mary’s, Jekyll Island, Brunswick,
and Darien. Sometime after 1844
the du Bignon family moved from
Jekyll Island to Brunswick and
Mass was said at their home on
Union Street for the few Catholic
families of Brunswick, who were
mostly of French and Irish de
scent.
In 1868, a small frame structure
was erected with the chapel fac
ing Egmont Street and living
quarters of the priest adjoining
it, facing on Mansfield Street.
This site was donated by a non-
Catholic l'amily f , the Darts. The
chapel was dedicated to St. Fran
cis Xavier. The first resident pas
tor was Father Scollin. The parish
began preparing for a new and
more suitable and larger church
under the guidance of Father
P. J. McCabe in 1878. It was
on Sunday, April 27, 1884, during
the administration of Father J. S.
McKendrick, that the new and
present church was dedicated by
Bishop Gross.
The pastorate of Father W. A.
McCarthy (1885-1888) was out
standing because of his work in
the outlying districts and bap
tisms under his signature are
recorded in the parish records
at Willacoochee, Aiapaha, St.
Mary’s, Darien, and Doboy. There
were ten families in the congre
gation when Father Joseph Hen
nessey arrived in Brunswick on
March 2, 1888. Two heavy mort
gages (later to be assumed by
Bishop Becker) stared the ener
getic Irish priest in the face as
he took over the parish affairs. .
During the yellow fever epidemic
of 1893, Fr. Hennessey refused to
leave town, although everyone
who possibly could was doing so.
This courageous priest weht from
house to house, regardless of
creed, aiding the victims of this
dread disease. With them and
their descendants, the name of
Father Hennessey is. held in ben
ediction.
In 1897, the parish of St. Fran
cis Xavier and the S. E. Georgia
Missions were entrusted to the
Marist Fathers. Father P. J.
Luckie is considered Brunswick’s
first Marist pastor. Trials beset
the Marist at the outset of their
work in Georgia. The War with
Spain in 1898 arrested the com
merce of the city.. In October of
that year, a combined cyclone and
tidal wave' destroyed the larger -
part of the business section of
Brunswick. The flood entered the
church and destroyed almost all
of the windows. Father Luckie
worn out by physical and mental
distress, fell a victim to yellow
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