Saint Paul Catholic Church (Ellicott City, Maryland)
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Saint Paul Catholic Church is a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
parish located in
Ellicott City Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 65,834 at the 2010 census, making it the mo ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. It was founded in 1838 and is part of the
Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of M ...
.
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
married here. It is a two-story ashlar granite church which faces north. It is three bays wide and four bays deep. Its front facade includes two twin Roman arch windows each topped by a rose window, enclosed within a Roman arch lintel with keystone.


History

Saint Paul Catholic Church was constructed on land in Ellicott City acquired from
George Ellicott George Ellicott (1760–1832) was a son of Andrew Ellicott, who with his two brothers (all were Quakers from Bucks County, Pa.) founded Ellicott's Mills (now Ellicott City), Maryland. He was a mathematician, an amateur astronomer, a younger cou ...
, an early settler of the region. The first pastor of the church was the Rev. Henry Coskery, who prior to the establishment of the parish celebrated Mass at the nearby Castle Angelo. The church was dedicated on December 13, 1838 as the only Catholic parish between
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
and
Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...
. It is now the oldest active Catholic parish between Baltimore and
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
. Coskery also founded the Christian Brothers' Rock Hill College in 1857. The Rev. Augustin Verot served as pastor of the church from 1853 to 1858, and was succeeded immediately by the Rev. John Samuel Foley, who served until 1863. Both later became bishops. During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, the basement of the church served as a hospital for both
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
and Confederate soldiers. During the pastorate of the Rev. Peter Tarro (1883-1907), several structural improvements were made to the church building. Three marble
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
s were added to the church, as were new
pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...
s, a
confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but si ...
, Statues and Stations of the Cross, stained-glass windows, a
baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
, and a church
spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...
. In the early 1900s, many couples who eloped came to St. Paul's to get married. On October 14, 1914,
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
and his bride Margaret Helen Woodford were married in St. Paul's by the church's pastor, the Rev. Thomas Dolan. He was 19 at the time and she was 17. Ruth, who was known to fabricate certain elements of his personal history, later claimed that he "married isfirst wife in Elkton." However, the marriage certificate lists Ellicott City as the place of his marriage. A copy of the marriage certificate is exhibited by St. Paul's in the church narthex. The church is included in the local
Ellicott City Historic District Ellicott City Historic District is a national historic district in Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland. The Ellicott City Station is a National Historic Landmark located within the district. The district encompasses a predominantly 19th cen ...
. In a 1977 draft nomination for the church to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places (which appears never to have been submitted), it was noted that "In addition to its historical merit it is an outstanding example of American eclectic architecture, blending elements of the Gothic and Romanesque in its fenestration and entrances with simple granite architecture so indigenous to Howard County." St. Paul's Church created a chapel for the students of Rock Hill College in 1859. The side chapel eventually became part of the church proper. St. Paul's served as a refuge for people during the Ellicott City flood that took place on July 30, 2016. The church's pastor, the Rev. Warren Tanghe, opened one of the church's buildings to people fleeing the floodwaters. Over 50 people stayed in the church. 2 people died in the flood. It hosted flood recovery activity in 2017.


School

What is now Resurrection-St. Paul School was founded as St. Paul Parish School in 1922 at the direction of the St. Paul's pastor, the Rev. Michael Ryan. In its early days it was staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. In 1966, due to the growth of the school population and the lack of space on the St. Paul's property, the location was moved to Paulskirk Drive in Ellicott City, and the school was renamed St. Paul the Apostle School. In 1974, the Church of the Resurrection parish was established on the same property as the school, and it was renamed Resurrection School. In January 1990, the name was changed once more to Resurrection-St. Paul School. It is now fully supported by both parishes, and teaches students from PreK through 8th grade. In 2016, the school's enrollment was 425 students.


Pastors

The following men served as pastor of St. Paul's: * Rev. Henry B. Coskery (1838-1839) * Rev. B.S. Piot, SS. (1840-?) * Rev. B.J. McManus * Rev. Augustin Verot (1853-1858) * Rev. John Samuel Foley (1858-1863) * Rev. T. O'Neill (1864-1870) * Rev. William E. Starr (1870-1873) * Rev. John J. Dougherty (1873-1883) * Rev. Peter Tarro, D.D. (1883-1907) * Rev. Michael Ryan (1907-1912) * Rev. D.C. Keenan (1912-1914) * Rev. Thomas S. Dolan (1914-1920) * Rev. Michael Ryan (same as above; 1920-1953) * Rev. Nicholas Dohony (1962-1986) * Rev. Donald Croghan (1986-1992) * Rev. Tom Donaghy (1992-2003) * Rev. Michael Jendrek (2003-2008) * Rev. Matthew T. Buening (2009-2015) * Rev. Samuel Young (2015) * Rev. Warren V. Tanghe (2016–2019) * Msgr. John Dietzenbach (2020–present)


References

{{Coord, 39, 16, 0.3, N, 76, 47, 45.7, W, type:landmark_region:US-MD, display=title Roman Catholic churches in Maryland