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our lady of good CounSel
1886
SECRETARY
A Catholic priest visiting Secretary in in 1910 was so impressed when he he saw 300 people at at Mass
on a a a a a a a a single Sunday that he he he wrote to his Bishop predicting a a a a a a a a great future for the the Catholics in in in the the area YYet only 24 years earlier no more than a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a handful of of of of Catholics was present when priests from Easton offered the rst Mass
in Secretary This Mass
celebrated at at the Herman Institute on Sunday March 7 1886
was the beginning of what would become Our Lady
of Good Counsel Church Services were held at the the Institute for a a a short period then Mr and Mrs John Phelan offered the use of of a a a a more convenient location a a a a room in in their house on Main Street where the the general store now stands By this time several Catholic families of Polish Bohemian and and Czechoslovakian descent and and one German family had arrived from Baltimore to work in the oyster houses and canneriesofSecretary WiththearrivalofmoreCatholic
families it was was felt that a a a a a a a church was was necessary Plans were initiated to build the church on on a a a lot on on Main Street bought by the Most Reverend Alfred A A Curtis second Bishop of Wilmington for $100 Many men gave their time to assist in the the construction Each family contributed $25 but but a a a a a donation of $150 came from Miss Abell of the the family that owned the the Baltimore Sun It was her idea that the church be named Our Lady
of Good Counsel Dedication ceremonies by Bishop Curtis took place on December 6
1891 The following Easter the the rst High Mass
was sung under the the direction of a a a Mrs Bowman who owned a a a a nearby farm In 1907 an addition was constructed across the the back of the the church to make more room for the growing congregation In 1910 several families from the church contributed a a a a total of $400 to buy the present cemetery area It was around
that that time that that those buried in the the churchyard were transferred to the the new cemetery grounds In 1926 the parish bought My Lady
Sewall’s Manor House for $850 The house built circa 1664 was almost in ruins but the congregation repaired it it it and used it it it as a a a a a community house The following year they also bought two additional waterfront acres acres to to complete the the tract the the church owns today about ten acres acres altogether The church was completely repainted and redecorated in 1929 But by 1938 a a a new church was was needed The old building was was moved back and and used in that ternporary location while a a a a a a a new and and much larger church was under construction On September 8 1940 the new church was dedicated with great solemnity by the Most Reverend Edmond J Fitzmaurice fourth Bishop of of Wilmington The construction of of the new church was paid for by the Catholic Diocesan Foundation with the the stipulation that the the parishioners
furnish the the organ pews and other items In 1886
the nearest parish was Saints Peter and Paul in in Easton and priests came regularly from there to to minister to the Catholics in Secretary Later when Cambridge
became a a a a parish with the construction of St Mary Refuge
of of Sinners in in 1904 priests from there took charge of of our congregation It was not until May of 1964 almost 78 years after that rst Mass
at at the Sherman Institute that Our Lady
of Good Counsel ceased being a a a a mission and and was made its own parish In 2017 Cambridge
and and Secretary are are once again linked as the two parishes are are now served by one pastor