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OUR HISTORY
This is a brief timeline of St Mary's parish history.
Visit the 'detailed parish history' page for essays and references.
Visit the 'art and architecture' page for information on the church's various art forms.
Visit the 'Photos' page for photographs.
Visit the 'Graveyard' page for more information on the graveyard.
Visit the 'Bicentennial Campaign' page for more information on our current renovation/restoration work.
Visit the 'detailed parish history' page for essays and references.
Visit the 'art and architecture' page for information on the church's various art forms.
Visit the 'Photos' page for photographs.
Visit the 'Graveyard' page for more information on the graveyard.
Visit the 'Bicentennial Campaign' page for more information on our current renovation/restoration work.
Saint Mary of the Annunciation, established in 1789, is the mother church of Catholicism in the Carolinas and Georgia.
The current building is the third on the site and was completed in 1839, built in the Classical Revival style. The church is situated in the midst of Charleston’s bustling and historic shopping district, standing as a sturdy witness to the eternal truths of the Gospel.
St Mary of the Annunciation, Charleston, SC - History Timeline
Mid-to late 1600s: King Charles II of England established the Colony of Carolina as a ‘proprietary’ colony, run by eight men called ‘Lords Proprietors’ • The colony was settled north to Virginia, south to Spanish Florida, and west to the Appalachians • The first colonists were English, followed shortly after by French Huguenots • Catholicism was prohibited (and Catholics persecuted); the few Catholic settlers were Irish • Catholics in all North American English colonies were under the jurisdiction of the ‘Apostolic Vicariate of the London District’.
Early-to-mid 1700s: Carolina split into North and South Carolina; converted to ‘royal' colonies due to mismanagement • Georgia formed to protect economically-valuable South Carolina from the Spanish, giving South Carolina its present-day borders.
1784: Apostolic Prefecture of the United States created, with Fr John Carroll of Maryland at its head. The entire United States fell under his jurisdiction.
1786: First Mass said in Charleston, in a private home for about a dozen people. Celebrated by a visiting priest from an Italian ship that had put into port.
1788: Fr Matthew Ryan, the first priest to reside in Charleston, sent from Dublin by Fr Carroll. Fr Ryan rented a wood frame building on Hasell St.
1789: United States Constitution granted religious liberty to all • Apostolic Prefectures replaced by the first diocese for the United States (Diocese of Baltimore). Fr Carroll ordained bishop and continued leading American Catholics • Charleston Catholics finally organized a parish, the first in the Carolinas and Georgia, though not recognized by the state of South Carolina • Fr Ryan left Charleston due to ill health; replaced by Rev Dr Thomas Keeting. Fr Keeting oversaw purchase of the Hasell St property.
1791: Parish incorporated by the South Carolina Senate (following the State Constitution of 1790, which abolished liabilities against Catholics) as ‘the Roman Catholic Congregation of Charleston’. Leadership was by vestry, a group of parishioners • Fr Keeting also fell ill and left Charleston for Philadelphia, leaving the parish without a priest.
1793: Bishop Carroll sent Fr Simon Felix Gallagher to Charleston.
Early 1800s: The parish now had a large French contingent as well as the founding Irish, mostly refugees from the French and Haitian Revolutions • Fr Gallagher oversaw replacement of the wood-frame building with a brick one (completed in 1806). Organ #1 installed • Fr Gallagher suspended due to ‘intemperance’ but stubbornly resisted the appointment of another priest, Fr Le Mercier. He traveled to Rome to argue his case, and prevented Fr Le Mercier from saying Mass. Bishop Carroll prohibited Fr Gallagher from saying Mass except in his own home; defiantly, Fr Gallagher opened his house to the public. Despite his insubordination, Fr Gallagher remained in control of the parish, while Fr Le Mercier traveled to other Catholics spread throughout the Southeast.
1808: Dioceses of Boston, Bardstown, New York, and Philadelphia formed from Baltimore, which was elevated to an Archdiocese. Baltimore’s territory now extended from Maryland south and west to the Mississippi territory, and included oversight of those four suffragan dioceses.
1811: The vestry put restrictions on Fr Gallagher; Archbishop Carroll reprimanded them.
1812-1816: Archbishop Carroll sent Fr Joseph-Pierre Picot de Limoëlan, Chevalier de Clorivière, as Fr Gallagher’s replacement. Fr Gallagher refused to leave, involved Fr Robert Browne from Augusta, and for a second time contacted Rome. The vestry also refused to accept Fr Clorivière, insisting they had the authority to decide who their pastor would be (see Trusteeism). Archbishop Leonard Neale, who succeeded Archbishop Carroll, suspended both dissenting priests.
1817: Parishioners remained divided as Fr Gallagher, Fr Browne, and the vestry continued to disregard the Archbishop’s authority. Archbishop Neale finally placed the church under interdict. Fr Clorivière found a private chapel to use for Mass and the sacraments.
1818-1820: The vestry wrote to Rome, insisting they had the right to choose their priest. Archbishop Ambrose Maréchal (Archbishop Neale’s successor) sent Fr Benedict Fenwick and Fr James Wallace to restore order. The vestry finally capitulated and the interdict was lifted.
1820: As a result of these issues, Pope Pius VII formed the Diocese of Charleston in 1820 from Baltimore’s territory, consisting of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Irish priest Fr John England ordained bishop and sent to Charleston. Fr Gallagher reinstated as pastor and remained until 1822; Fr Browne assigned to other parishes, before returning to Hasell St in 1835; Fr Clorivière assigned to the Visitation Monestary in Maryland; Fr Fenwick remained in Charleston as Vicar General until 1822; and Fr Wallace left the Jesuits to teach. The parish remained unsettled for several years afterward.
1821: Bishop England purchased a plot of land on Broad St for a cathedral. Temporary chapel named St Finbar’s; parish on Hasell St became known as St Mary’s.
1900s: ‘Of the Annunciation’ became commonly added to the parish’s name, after new altars from the first renovation (1896) were consecrated on the Feast of the Annunciation. Two other major renovations completed (1905, 1928). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1976). St Mary’s welcomed Fr Patrick Allen and the Corpus Christi Catholic Community (2013) and Fr Andrew Fryml and the College of Charleston Catholic Student Association (2022). Fourth renovation in progress (2020).
PASTORS
The ten most recent pastors of St Mary's are listed below. A complete list is available on the 'detailed history' page.
Rev. Charles H. Rowland, June 13, 1975 – June 15, 1982
Rev. Msgr. John A. Simonin, June 15, 1982. June 5, 1999
Rev. Msgr. Chester M. Moczydlowski, June 5, 1999 – June 28, 2001
Rev. Msgr. Joseph R. Roth, June 28, 2001 - April [??] 2008
Rev. Gregory B. Wilson, Administrator, April 8, 2008 – Aug. 10, 2011
Rev. Jeremi Wodecki, Administrator, Aug. 10, 2011 – Sept. 5, 2011
Rev. Msgr. Steven L. Brovey, Administrator, Sept. 5, 2011 – June 30, 2017
Rev. H. Gregory West, JCL, Pastor, July 1, 2017 -- June 30, 2020
Rev. Patrick S. Allen, Temporary Administrator, July 1, 2020 - September 8, 2020
Rev. Msgr. D. Anthony Droze, VG, Pastor, September 9, 2020 - present
The current building is the third on the site and was completed in 1839, built in the Classical Revival style. The church is situated in the midst of Charleston’s bustling and historic shopping district, standing as a sturdy witness to the eternal truths of the Gospel.
St Mary of the Annunciation, Charleston, SC - History Timeline
Mid-to late 1600s: King Charles II of England established the Colony of Carolina as a ‘proprietary’ colony, run by eight men called ‘Lords Proprietors’ • The colony was settled north to Virginia, south to Spanish Florida, and west to the Appalachians • The first colonists were English, followed shortly after by French Huguenots • Catholicism was prohibited (and Catholics persecuted); the few Catholic settlers were Irish • Catholics in all North American English colonies were under the jurisdiction of the ‘Apostolic Vicariate of the London District’.
Early-to-mid 1700s: Carolina split into North and South Carolina; converted to ‘royal' colonies due to mismanagement • Georgia formed to protect economically-valuable South Carolina from the Spanish, giving South Carolina its present-day borders.
1784: Apostolic Prefecture of the United States created, with Fr John Carroll of Maryland at its head. The entire United States fell under his jurisdiction.
1786: First Mass said in Charleston, in a private home for about a dozen people. Celebrated by a visiting priest from an Italian ship that had put into port.
1788: Fr Matthew Ryan, the first priest to reside in Charleston, sent from Dublin by Fr Carroll. Fr Ryan rented a wood frame building on Hasell St.
1789: United States Constitution granted religious liberty to all • Apostolic Prefectures replaced by the first diocese for the United States (Diocese of Baltimore). Fr Carroll ordained bishop and continued leading American Catholics • Charleston Catholics finally organized a parish, the first in the Carolinas and Georgia, though not recognized by the state of South Carolina • Fr Ryan left Charleston due to ill health; replaced by Rev Dr Thomas Keeting. Fr Keeting oversaw purchase of the Hasell St property.
1791: Parish incorporated by the South Carolina Senate (following the State Constitution of 1790, which abolished liabilities against Catholics) as ‘the Roman Catholic Congregation of Charleston’. Leadership was by vestry, a group of parishioners • Fr Keeting also fell ill and left Charleston for Philadelphia, leaving the parish without a priest.
1793: Bishop Carroll sent Fr Simon Felix Gallagher to Charleston.
Early 1800s: The parish now had a large French contingent as well as the founding Irish, mostly refugees from the French and Haitian Revolutions • Fr Gallagher oversaw replacement of the wood-frame building with a brick one (completed in 1806). Organ #1 installed • Fr Gallagher suspended due to ‘intemperance’ but stubbornly resisted the appointment of another priest, Fr Le Mercier. He traveled to Rome to argue his case, and prevented Fr Le Mercier from saying Mass. Bishop Carroll prohibited Fr Gallagher from saying Mass except in his own home; defiantly, Fr Gallagher opened his house to the public. Despite his insubordination, Fr Gallagher remained in control of the parish, while Fr Le Mercier traveled to other Catholics spread throughout the Southeast.
1808: Dioceses of Boston, Bardstown, New York, and Philadelphia formed from Baltimore, which was elevated to an Archdiocese. Baltimore’s territory now extended from Maryland south and west to the Mississippi territory, and included oversight of those four suffragan dioceses.
1811: The vestry put restrictions on Fr Gallagher; Archbishop Carroll reprimanded them.
1812-1816: Archbishop Carroll sent Fr Joseph-Pierre Picot de Limoëlan, Chevalier de Clorivière, as Fr Gallagher’s replacement. Fr Gallagher refused to leave, involved Fr Robert Browne from Augusta, and for a second time contacted Rome. The vestry also refused to accept Fr Clorivière, insisting they had the authority to decide who their pastor would be (see Trusteeism). Archbishop Leonard Neale, who succeeded Archbishop Carroll, suspended both dissenting priests.
1817: Parishioners remained divided as Fr Gallagher, Fr Browne, and the vestry continued to disregard the Archbishop’s authority. Archbishop Neale finally placed the church under interdict. Fr Clorivière found a private chapel to use for Mass and the sacraments.
1818-1820: The vestry wrote to Rome, insisting they had the right to choose their priest. Archbishop Ambrose Maréchal (Archbishop Neale’s successor) sent Fr Benedict Fenwick and Fr James Wallace to restore order. The vestry finally capitulated and the interdict was lifted.
1820: As a result of these issues, Pope Pius VII formed the Diocese of Charleston in 1820 from Baltimore’s territory, consisting of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Irish priest Fr John England ordained bishop and sent to Charleston. Fr Gallagher reinstated as pastor and remained until 1822; Fr Browne assigned to other parishes, before returning to Hasell St in 1835; Fr Clorivière assigned to the Visitation Monestary in Maryland; Fr Fenwick remained in Charleston as Vicar General until 1822; and Fr Wallace left the Jesuits to teach. The parish remained unsettled for several years afterward.
1821: Bishop England purchased a plot of land on Broad St for a cathedral. Temporary chapel named St Finbar’s; parish on Hasell St became known as St Mary’s.
1900s: ‘Of the Annunciation’ became commonly added to the parish’s name, after new altars from the first renovation (1896) were consecrated on the Feast of the Annunciation. Two other major renovations completed (1905, 1928). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1976). St Mary’s welcomed Fr Patrick Allen and the Corpus Christi Catholic Community (2013) and Fr Andrew Fryml and the College of Charleston Catholic Student Association (2022). Fourth renovation in progress (2020).
PASTORS
The ten most recent pastors of St Mary's are listed below. A complete list is available on the 'detailed history' page.
Rev. Charles H. Rowland, June 13, 1975 – June 15, 1982
Rev. Msgr. John A. Simonin, June 15, 1982. June 5, 1999
Rev. Msgr. Chester M. Moczydlowski, June 5, 1999 – June 28, 2001
Rev. Msgr. Joseph R. Roth, June 28, 2001 - April [??] 2008
Rev. Gregory B. Wilson, Administrator, April 8, 2008 – Aug. 10, 2011
Rev. Jeremi Wodecki, Administrator, Aug. 10, 2011 – Sept. 5, 2011
Rev. Msgr. Steven L. Brovey, Administrator, Sept. 5, 2011 – June 30, 2017
Rev. H. Gregory West, JCL, Pastor, July 1, 2017 -- June 30, 2020
Rev. Patrick S. Allen, Temporary Administrator, July 1, 2020 - September 8, 2020
Rev. Msgr. D. Anthony Droze, VG, Pastor, September 9, 2020 - present
