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Parish History |
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St. Agnes Catholic Church |
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| The first people in the Blackwood area were the Lenape Indians, called by many of the early settlers the Delaware Indians. | |
| John Blackwood, a gentleman who owned much of the area’s rich farmland, settled Blackwoodtown, as it was then called, in 1750. Mr. Blackwood, anxious to have a church built on his land in the hopes of attracting settlers, established a town and sold the land upon which now stands the First United Presbyterian Church in the center of Blackwood. | |
| In 1914, Father Michael Dolan, the pastor of St. Patrick's in Woodbury, began celebrating Mass for Catholics from the Blackwood area. Every Sunday in the summer, they gathered in Hugh Boyle's home. By 1921, Father Charles McCorristin, then pastor of St. Patrick's, purchased property in Blackwood. That same year, he built St. Agnes Church on that property, located at the corner of 6th Street and Woodbury Road. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when fire destroyed the church in 1936. Rebuilt at a cost of $9,000.00 on November 15, 1938, much of the interior design of the new mission church (now St. John Vianney Church) was based on suggestions made by the Diocese of Camden’s first bishop, the Most Reverend Bishop Bartholomew Eustace. | |
| After St. Theresa's parish was established in Runnemede, the Bishop of Trenton separated St. Agnes from St. Patrick's parish. It became a mission of St. Theresa's. Many Catholic families moved into the area, and Saint Agnes Mission continued to grow. On July 13, 1946, Bishop Eustace of the Camden Diocese made St. Agnes a parish, naming Father Martin McMahon as its first pastor. Father McMahon bought the estate of Dr. William Wilcox on Church Street in Blackwood, with the intention of building an elementary school. Saint Agnes School opened its doors for the first time on September 11, 1948. | |
| As late as 1955, St. Agnes was the only Catholic Church in Washington, Gloucester and Deptford Townships. In 1958, Father Charles D. Keiser, pastor of St. Agnes, was given the assignment of finding and purchasing land for a mission church in the area of the many new housing developments in Blackwood. An ideal location was found on the Black Horse pike at the end of Crestmont Avenue. Five acres were purchased from Solomon M. and Yetta Cohen of Philadelphia for $25,000.00 on July 15, 1958. The book of deeds shows this land had been previously deeded in 1910 to Mary Dilks. | |
| Doctor Edward J. Sarama was one of the devoted people who came from St. Agnes. He was responsible for naming the new mission. He was devoted to St. Jude, who had answered many of his prayers. When asked for a suggestion of a name for the new mission, he replied - - St. Jude. | |
| The Diocese of Camden approved a loan of $40,000.00 for St. Agnes Parish on September 11, 1958. In March 1959, construction began on an all-purpose hall in the community of Washington Township. Bishop McCarthy then established the mission under the patronage of St. Jude, and designated the new hall as a site for the celebration of Mass. When Archbishop Damiano created ten new parishes in June 1961, St. Jude's became our "sister" parish and Father Keiser its first pastor. | |
| In May 1966, the new pastor of St. Agnes, Monsignor Edward Buckley, signed a contract for construction of a multi-purpose hall and rectory at the corner of Coles & Little Gloucester Roads in Gloucester Township. Eight months later, Bishop Guilfoyle dedicated the building complex, which became the new home of St. Agnes parish. In February 1971, the Bishop separated Deptford Township from St. Agnes, establishing the new parish of St. John Vianney. | |
| In 1992, under the direction of Monsignor Charles Barth, a new parish center was constructed on the Coles Road property. Bishop James T. McHugh dedicated the center, also known as St. Agnes Junior High School. | |
| In January 1997, under the dedicated supervision of Monsignor Joseph V. DiMauro, the parish began rebuilding the Church -- undertaking a major renovation of the multi-purpose hall on Coles Road. This renovation required that the existing facility be vacated in order to begin the re-construction. During this time our liturgies were held in the gymnasium of the junior high, or "prayernasium" as some referred to it. The facilities were cramped but we made due… until Advent approached. The gymnasium was just not large enough to accommodate all the worshipers who would be attending the Holy Week Liturgies so a large tent was rented and put up on the front lawn next to the rectory. It had electricity for light and heaters were provided because the winter chills had not yet abated. Everything seemed to be anticipated… except for one thing… wind. Our Easter Vigil was to say the least very interesting that year. Now the original agreement with the contractor stated that we would be back in the completed structure for Midnight Mass 1997, however, while the building was nearing completion it still did not meet the necessary codes for occupancy. After much discussion with the contractor and local authorities, Monsignor DiMauro was able to obtain a three-day temporary certificate of occupancy. This meant that we could move in on December 23rd, celebrate Christmas in the new facility but had to move everything out again by midnight of December 25th. Our Midnight Mass was concelebrated by Monsignor DiMauro, Fr. Bruni, Fr. Lambert and Deacons Custodio and Werner. Monsignor DiMauro’s opening statement to the congregation was "Welcome Home". On January 31, 1998, the 50th anniversary of the parish, the new St. Agnes Church was rededicated by Bishop McHugh. | |
| In June 1999 His Holiness, John Paul II designated The Most Reverend Nicholas A. DiMarzio as the sixth bishop and new shepherd of the Diocese of Camden. On Thursday July 22nd, 1999 the Catholic Community of St. Agnes was honored to host the new bishop’s Installation Mass. In attendance were the Most Reverend Gabriel Montalvo, J.C.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, who read aloud the Apostolic Letter of Appointment from the Holy Father, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore, John Cardinal O’Connor, Archbishop of New York and thirty-seven Archbishops and Bishops. There were eleven Inter-Faith Representatives and twelve Civic Representatives as well present to welcome Bishop DiMarzio. The Community of St. Agnes was humbled to have our new church selected as the site for this historic celebration. | |
| Now as we enter the second millennium, St. Agnes is a parish very hard at work. Being one of the largest communities in the Diocese of Camden she struggles to meet the needs of a multifaceted community in both spiritual as well as the mortal needs of her children. She is proud of the work of her many and varied ministries that cover Liturgy, Pastoral and Educational fields. The Children’s Liturgy of the Word: to break open the message of Christ’s Word to the child. Life Teen: to bring the very same message to the questioning young adult mind and heart. The Casserole Program & St. Vincent dePaul Society: to care for the very least of His children. The Grief Support Program: to give strength and compassion to those whose faith may be challenged by the loss of a loved one. The Liturgical Renewal Board: studying the Liturgical Documents of Vatican II to suggest ways to finally implement these changes into the Liturgy so that one…. just one child of Christ will find the Way, the Truth and the Life. | |
| To all who visit these pages and take the time to read this chronicle, we invite you to join with us as we celebrate Christ’s Liturgy. | |
| Christ never said His work would be easy, but He did promise that it would be worth it. | |
| We ask for your prayers. | |
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Contributed by John Zolty |
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