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PAGE 2 — Hie Southern Cross, May 26,1988
Old St. Francis Xavier Church Present St. Francis Xavier Church
History Of St. Francis Xavier - Brunswick
BY TICKI LLOYD
The origin of the Marists (Society of
Mary) can be traced back to 1816 in Lyons,
France when a group of seminarians head
ed by John Claude Colin, S.M., believed
that the Mother of Jesus, Mary, was call
ing them to a life of missionary work in the
church. When the Holy See approved the
Society in 1836, Father Colin became the
first superior general and insisted that the
Marists engage primarily in missionary
work, a work they continue to do today.
And that is the reason the Marists are leav
ing the Golden Isles. St. Francis Xavier
and St. William’s are now considered
developed parishes. They are no longer
missionary, but firmly established
parishes with sizeable congregations.
Tracing events which led to Catholicism
in southeast Georgia is almost like bring
ing dry bones back to life. Most helpful has
been the late Father John Hillman’s “An
Historical Record of St. Francis Xavier
Church, Brunswick, Georgia”, loaned by
the Brunswick Regional Library.
Research on the Catholic Church in
Coastal Georgia reveals that long before a
little band of Marists set foot on Georgia
soil to minister to St. Francis Xavier
Parish and the southeast Georgia mis
sions, Spanish missionaries bore scars
from the heartbreaking days of labor and
suffering they endured. Some were mar
tyred for the faith (1566-1742) as they blaz
ed a trail to Christianity. No enumeration
of words could possibly give an accurate
picture of the deprivation suffered by the
Spanish missionaries and other priests
who followed.
For many years, Franciscans and
Jesuits labored in this section of the
southeast amid the ravages of Indians. By
1595, the Franciscans had succeeded in
constructing seven missions - two in Glynn
County; one on Jekyll Island; one each at
Frederica, Cumberland Island, St.
Catherine’s and St. Mary’s.
After the Spanish missionaries left, little
information is available regarding
Catholicity in this area. What is known as
the “Second Missionary Period’’
(1791-1868) evolved when a wealthy Catho
lic family, the Dubignons, purchased
Jekyll Island and opened their home for
the celebration of Mass for a handful of
Catholics, mostly of Irish and French des
cent. After the family moved to Brunswick
and lived in a home on which the Elk’s
Lodge now stands, they continued to allow
the visiting priests to celebrate the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass.
Emotions of nostalgia are no doubt stir
red by descendents of the first Catholics
when they realize how profoundly affected
the lives of their ancestors were in 1868
when a prominent local Protestant family,
the Darts, donated property for the erec
tion of the first Catholic church named St.
Francis Xavier. The small wooden struc
ture stood proudly on the corner of Egmont
and Mansfield Streets with living quarters
for the priests adjoining. Father Scollin
was the first pastor.
With the congregation expanding, the
parish began preparing for a larger
church in 1878 under the guidance of
Father P.J. McCabe, a diocesan priest. It
was Fr. McCabe’s dream that the church
be constructed of brick, thereby becoming
the first brick building in Brunswick.
However, his dream did not materialize.
Physically exhausted, McCabe died an un
timely death in 1881 and was buried in the
little cemetery plot adjoining the church
on Mansfield. Father McKendrick suc
ceeded McCabe and continued the work he
had begun.
On April 27,1848, the church that Fr. Mc
Cabe had hoped to see constructed, was
dedicated. Realizing Fr. McCabe’s love for
the church he did not live to see, Fr.
McKendrick had his remains removed and
interred in the basement of the then “new”
St. Francis Xavier Church on Newcastle
Street where they remained until the
demolition of the church in 1966. His re
mains now repose in the Brunswick
Memorial Park Cemetery.
Fr. P.J. Luckie, S.M.
First Marist Pastor
Father Caisse was the last diocesan
pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church. When
he left, Bishop Becker or a priest from the
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savan
nah administered the Sacraments to
parishioners twice monthly.
When the Marists took charge of St.
Francis Xavier Parish in 1897, the confines
of the church included all that portion in
the state of Georgia from the Ogeechee
River on the north to the St. Mary’s River
on the south. Its western territory extend
ed to Ware County.
Later, mission stations at St. Mary’s,
Waycross, Jesup, Ludowici, Hinesville,
Darien, St. Simons Island and Jekyll
Island were placed under the care of the
Marists. Stories are often told of how the
Marists made their mission rounds in a
horse-drawn buggy sometimes to the ex
tent of near exhaustion.
When Father Guinan, a Marist priest,
had served as pastor of St. Francis Xavier
for only two weeks and was transferred,
Father P.J. Luckie was installed as
pastor. Therefore, tradition indicates that
Father Luckie was indeed officially the
first pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church.
In 1898, the Marists were beset with
problems as a result of the aftermath of
the Spanish-American War. They sustain
ed a baptism of suffering, sickness and
privations. The church was later partially
destroyed by a tidal wave, but the Marists
accepted their trials as from God and were
able to embrace their misfortune
Fr. Joseph McLaughlin, S.M.
Last Marist Pastor
Records indicate that the oldest parish
society established at St. Francis Xavier
Church in 1897 was the Altar and Rosary
Society. The name was later changed to
the Council of Catholic Women and re
mains the same today.
When Father Luckie was pastor, a
parochial school was begun in 1900. Staffed
by the Sisters of St. Joseph, the original
name of the school was St. Joseph's
School. In 1955, as a tribute to the
parishioners, the name became St. Fran
cis Xavier School.
The passing years brought many new
beginnings to St. Francis Xavier Parish,
among them was the Henry T. Ross Coun
cil Knights of Columbus, 1939, named for
Mr. Ross who was the first Catholic man
from Brunswick to die in World War I. This
organization was formed in 1919 and re
mains today a stalwart support of the
church.
The Parent Teacher’s Association,
known today as the Home and School
Association, was founded in 1938 under the
direction of Father Thomas Roshetko.
In 1938, the Portuguese members of the
parish presented an exquisite hand-carved
statue of Our Lady of Fatima from Por
tugal to be placed in the church sanctuary.
The Marist Third Order, lay branch of
the Society of Mary, founded in France in
1850, spread to St. Francis Xavier Church
in 1960 with Father Edward Schlick as
Spiritual Director.
It is impossible to list all of the ac
complishments wrought by the Marists in
this area; however, it does not lessen our
remembrance of their devotion. Some of
those mentioned below can be seen only in
old photographs, but they have left hope
that death cannot dim.
When Father J.P. Cassagne was pastor
of St. Francis Xavier, the Chapel of the Im-
maculate Conception was erected in
Ludowici. Father Joseph Petit was respon
sible for the construction of St. Joseph’s
Church in Waycross. He was also in
strumental in the renovation of the sanc
tuary of St. Francis Xavier Church.
During Father Peter McOscar’s
pastorate, a much needed chapel, St.
William’s, was built for the convenience of
the faithful on St. Simons Island. In 1986, a
new St William’s Church was completed
under the direction of Father Fortune
Frenoy.
Father Marion Perry’s particular in
terest in youth led him to organize the first
Catholic Boy Scout Troop. And, the com
bined efforts of Father Phillip Hasson and
Father Leo Ziebarth resulted in the con-
(Continued on page 3)
