Sacred Heart Church (Bowie, Maryland)

Sacred Heart Church in October 2007

Sacred Heart Church in Bowie, Maryland is a Catholic Church established in 1729.

Historical background

Sacred Heart Church had been better known as White Marsh after the long stretch of sandy loam between the church and the Patuxent River and marsh. This soil contains a significant amount of mica which appears sparkling white.[1]

Beginning with the Protestant Revolution in Maryland in 1689, Catholics were prohibited to worship publicly and the Catholic Church was not allowed to own land.[2]

The original patent to the "White Marsh" property was granted by the authority of Charles Calvert II in 1722 to James Carroll.[3] On February 12, 1728, Carroll bequeathed 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of White Marsh, then known as Carroll's Burgh, to the Jesuits at St. Thomas Manor in the vicinity of Port Tobacco, Maryland.

During this time, while Catholics could not worship publicly, they could do so privately and were able to build private chapels on privately held land. To facilitate the construction of a church, Carroll left the land to the individual Jesuits. That allowed them to construct the Mission of Saint Francis Borgia on the property, which is considered the founding of Sacred Heart Church. However, the Jesuits did not take up permanent residence at White Marsh until about 1741, when a chapel was constructed.[1]

The chapel and church building

The bell tower was added in 1876

The extant church consists of that chapel, originally built around 1741, destroyed by fire in 1853, rebuilt in 1856, and modified to include a bell tower in 1876. A much larger, modern church, was built in 1969 to accommodate the growth of Bowie due to the Levitt and Sons development, "Belair at Bowie", where most of its current congregants live.[4]

General Chapters organizing the Catholic Church in the US

After the American revolution, Catholics in the newly created United States enjoyed freedom to worship. The Jesuit Fathers, led by John Carroll and five other priests, began a series of meetings at White Marsh beginning on 27 June 1783 called the General Chapters that organized the Catholic Church in the United States.[4][5]

They held a second meeting 6 November 1783, and a third on 11 October 1784, at the same place, when they formulated the draft of the regulations binding all the clergy of Maryland. It was decided at these meetings every priest was maintained and given thirty pounds a year, and each priest agreed to offer ten Masses for every priest who died there. It was at this same meeting that those assembled voted John Carroll's name to be included in a petition sent to the Pope requesting Carroll's appointment to an office that ultimately resulted in Carroll becoming the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Hogan, Reverend John F. (1975). "Sacred Heart Chapel". Bowie, Maryland: Sacred Heart Church: 1–6.
  2. ↑ Virta, Alan (1984). Prince George's County: A Pictorial History. Norfolk, Virginia: The Donning Company. p. 53. ISBN 0-89865-812-8.
  3. ↑ Hogan, Reverend John F. (1975). "Sacred Heart Chapel". Bowie, Maryland: Sacred Heart Church: 1.
  4. 1 2 "Sacred Heart Church - The Parish with Colonial Roots - since 1728". Sacred Heart Church. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  5. 1 2 "John Carroll". Catholic Encyclopedia (1913). 1913. Retrieved 2007-10-03.

External links

Coordinates: 38°58′58.7″N 76°43′10.6″W / 38.982972°N 76.719611°W / 38.982972; -76.719611

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