St. Benedict Catholic Church - Baltimore MD - Roman Catholic Churches on Waymarking.com

From the church website:

EARLY BEGINNINGS
PREPARING THE FOUNDATION
The flow of immigration, primarily from Germany and Ireland, had swelled the Catholic ranks within the See of Baltimore in the 1890s. In 1893, James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, urged the Benedictine Society of Baltimore City to organize the unfranchised Catholics into a new congregation. The Society held a special meeting in March 1893 to introduce plans for the formation of Saint Benedict Parish and construction of a church. With this action on March 15, 1893, the parish planted in Mill Hill came to be. Although begotten of the German parish of Fourteen Holy Martyrs, the new parish had a territorial, not ethnic, orientation.

For much of the next 70 years, Fourteen Holy Martyrs would be parent, paraclete and financial backer for Saint Benedict. The parishioners of the newly established parish set to work at once to build their first house of worship, which spanned the course of seven months. For the time being the Steinwedel Mansion served as the Sanctuary for the new parish and the location of the Parish Rectory. On October 19, 1893, the first Mass was celebrated and the church building consecrated on Thanksgiving Day 1893 by James Cardinal Gibbons.

A SCHOOL FOR THE LORD'S SERVICE
That same year Gibbons urged the parish to begin plans to build a school for the parish, mandated for all parishes by the Ninth Synod of Baltimore. The first formal day of education began on September 14, 1908, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. With two School Sisters of Notre Dame present and 70 children in attendance, the education of Catholic children began. In 1913 the then-current church building needed expansion and the 19-year-old building witnessed one of its many capital improvements. The following year, the outbreak of World War I put an end to the German-American era in Baltimore. More than 55,000 young men from Baltimore served in the military with Allied troops on the battlefields of Europe.

A NEW CHURCH
In July of 1922, talks began about building a new church, as the current structure was becoming inadequate to care for the spiritual needs of the flourishing parish. At the annual meeting of the Benedictine Society of Baltimore City in November of 1930, discussions were held about building a new church, “in the near future.” Fr. Aloysius Luther, O.S.B., the pastor, would lead this parish for many years and was well chosen to supervise this project. Construction work began in April of 1931, on the Monday after Easter Sunday. Benedictine monk and noted architect Fr. Michael McInerney, O.S.B., of Belmont Abbey in North Carolina, was called upon to design the new house of worship on Wilkens Avenue. On July 10 the cornerstone was laid in place, and for the next 11 months the parishioners were without a church building for the first time since 1893. On February 22, 1933, the solemn dedication of the new church was conducted with parishioners and dignitaries in abundance and solemnized by Archbishop Michael J. Curley. The decade of the 1940s witnessed the greatest percentages of increase in membership.

In the 1940s, the stained glass windows were installed, completing the design of Fr. Michael McInerney, O.S.B. From 1943 to 1945 the amber glass windows were replaced with the stained glass windows designed and executed by Angelo Leopardo Pitassi, who worked out of his Pittsburgh studio. Fr. Aloysius provided the descriptions of the windows that included figural windows for the nave that illuminated the life and miracles of the patron of the Parish, Saint Benedict. Additionally, windows from the hand of Pitassi filled the sanctuary, the Mairian Chapel, the Baptistery, and the Great Wheel Window of the Apostles.The interior of the church was now illuminated with painted light.

The 1950s saw the erection of its current school building, built to accommodate the increasing number of children. One of Fr. Aloysius’ last reports to the Benedictine Society was concerning the overcrowded conditions at Saint Benedict School. It was not until the mid 1950s that building began on a new school, with the dedication occurring in September 1955 by the Archbishop of Baltimore, Francis Keough.

Type of Church: Church Status of Building: Actively in use for worship Date of organization: 03/01/1893 Date of building construction: 02/22/1933 Diocese: Archdiocese of Baltimore Maryland Address/Location: 2612 Wilkens Ave Baltimore, MD United States 21223 Relvant Web Site: [Web Link] Dominant Architectural Style: Not listed Associated Shrines, Art, etc.: Not listed Archdiocese: Not listed

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