This page and the following linked pages are in the process of being updated; thank you for your understanding! For a more detailed history, including references (some of which are available online), click here. For more information on our current renovation/restoration work, click here.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Rebuilt in the Greek Revival style after the Great Fire of 1838, Saint Mary is distinguished by the temple-style pediment on its gable-front roof, which is supported by four Ionic columns. The church is entered through a portico.
Over the main altar hangs a painting of the Crucifixion by John S. Cogdell, painted in 1814. Severely damaged in the fire of 1838, it was completely repainted on the same canvas by the artist. Mr. Cogdell lived in Charleston and was a member of Saint Michael Episcopal Church. (He also painted two portraits of Bishop England in 1842. One was sent to Rome; the other was gifted in 2014 to St Patrick Catholic Church in Fayetteville, NC, the oldest parish in that state.)
The twenty-three paintings that adorn the church are copies of masterpieces and were rendered by Caesare Porta of Rome. Among these, tucked away in the northwest balcony, is a portrait of Saint Peter with six toes on his right foot. The large central painting of the Assumption of the Virgin was placed in the memory of Dr. James A. Corcoran, who served the parish briefly in the mid-1840s by several priests he had taught in the Philadelphia Theological Seminary. The stained glass windows portray various Biblical scenes and were donated by some of Saint Mary’s longstanding and prominent families; they are from the famed Mayer Glassworks in Munich.
The church has a crowded graveyard of local interest. Predominant inscriptions are written in Latin, French and English. Seventeen nationalities are represented, spanning two centuries and three continents.
In 1896, parishioners undertook a restoration effort for the church. The main altar and sanctuary were donated by Mrs. Louis Storen and Mrs. Theodore Wilbur, in memory of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. George C. McNulty, and were erected on March 25th of that year. The Sacred Heart altar was given by the family of Henry Oliver. The Blessed Virgin altar was donated by Mary J. Powers, in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Powers, in 1905. Additional projects have been completed in the years since then.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Rebuilt in the Greek Revival style after the Great Fire of 1838, Saint Mary is distinguished by the temple-style pediment on its gable-front roof, which is supported by four Ionic columns. The church is entered through a portico.
Over the main altar hangs a painting of the Crucifixion by John S. Cogdell, painted in 1814. Severely damaged in the fire of 1838, it was completely repainted on the same canvas by the artist. Mr. Cogdell lived in Charleston and was a member of Saint Michael Episcopal Church. (He also painted two portraits of Bishop England in 1842. One was sent to Rome; the other was gifted in 2014 to St Patrick Catholic Church in Fayetteville, NC, the oldest parish in that state.)
The twenty-three paintings that adorn the church are copies of masterpieces and were rendered by Caesare Porta of Rome. Among these, tucked away in the northwest balcony, is a portrait of Saint Peter with six toes on his right foot. The large central painting of the Assumption of the Virgin was placed in the memory of Dr. James A. Corcoran, who served the parish briefly in the mid-1840s by several priests he had taught in the Philadelphia Theological Seminary. The stained glass windows portray various Biblical scenes and were donated by some of Saint Mary’s longstanding and prominent families; they are from the famed Mayer Glassworks in Munich.
The church has a crowded graveyard of local interest. Predominant inscriptions are written in Latin, French and English. Seventeen nationalities are represented, spanning two centuries and three continents.
In 1896, parishioners undertook a restoration effort for the church. The main altar and sanctuary were donated by Mrs. Louis Storen and Mrs. Theodore Wilbur, in memory of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. George C. McNulty, and were erected on March 25th of that year. The Sacred Heart altar was given by the family of Henry Oliver. The Blessed Virgin altar was donated by Mary J. Powers, in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Powers, in 1905. Additional projects have been completed in the years since then.
