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St St Jude the aPoStle
1959
LEWES
The Catholic Church came to Lewes in 1902 when a a a mission priest
from St John the Apostle in Milford made occasional trips to to Lewes to to hold Masses
in in in a a a small second oor room in in in the the old rehouse building at the the corner of Third & Chestnut Streets Services continued there until 1915 when the the the Catholic population outgrew the available space At that time a a a a a a modest two-story frame building was purchased and moved to to Market & Orr Streets and was dedicated to to St St Michael as as a mission church of St St John the Apostle In 1905 when St St Agnes by the Sea opened in Rehoboth many Catholics from Lewes traveled to Rehoboth to attend attend Mass and attendance dwindled at at at St Michael’s The fate of St Michael’s is uncertain It was either moved or demolished when the the telephone company purchased the the land During Msgr Desmond’s pastorate at at St Edmond three missions were established: St St Ann’s Bethany Beach in 1955) St St Michael the Archangel Georgetown in 1956 and St Jude the the Apostle Lewes in 1960 In 1959
the the Diocese had bought land north of Five Points in in Lewes and built the Shrine of St Jude a a mission Church to St Edmond’s In the early 1960s the Church was open only on on weekends from Memorial Day Day to Labor Day Day That expanded in the early 1970s to to offering Masses
from May to to October By 1984 St Jude’s was opened from the the second Sunday Sunday of March until the the Sunday Sunday after Thanksgiving With the the growth of the the Catholic population in our area St Jude the Apostle Church held a a a regular weekend Mass schedule by the late 1980s The Shrine of of St Jude mission Church of of St Edmond Church became a a a a a separate parish
on November 30 2002 The Most Reverend Michael Saltarelli eighth Bishop of Wilmington celebrated the dedication ceremonies In the the summer of 2003 Bishop Saltarelli returned to dedicate the the Parish rectory At the the same time he he he dedicated the the building that would temporarily house the parish
of ces library and meeting rooms The dream for for this building was that it would become a a a a a a Chapel for for daily Mass and perpetual Eucharistic adoration at at some time in the near future On September 22 2007 Bishop Saltarelli again visited the parish
to dedicate two new buildings: the the Parish Life Center and the the Religious Education Center which also houses the parish
of ces On November 30 2009 the parish’s dream was realized when the new Eucharistic Chapel was was blessed In January of 2012 the work was was done in in in the church which included new ceiling tiles staining of woodworking including the cruci x and sanctuary furniture paint in in the sanctuary carpet a a a a new sound system music boards refurbishing of the the Blessed Mother and St Joseph statues new lights on the altar Venetian plaster added to the Shrine of St Jude new side doors and renovation of the bathrooms The Church opened for the summer with a second phase of work continuing in in in the fall This included installation of a a a a Eucharistic wood carving from Italy moving of the St Joseph statue to establish a a a a uni ed Holy Family shrine and and addition of Venetian plaster and and wood frames to the back wall The Reconciliation Room also had a a a a complete makeover 121