Page 85 - WILMINGTON

St edmund
1906
REHOBOTH BEACH
With the the nearest Catholic Church 16 miles away in in Milford the the Most Reverend John J J Monaghan third Bishop of of Wilmington felt that it it was time to to build
A A A A a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a church church to to to to to meet the the the the the the the the the the the needs of of of of of of of of the the the the the the the the the the the increasing increasing Catholic Catholic population in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in the the the the the the the the the the the Lewes–Rehoboth Beach Beach Beach area And so in in in in in in in in in 1905 the the the the the Diocese of of of of Wilmington purchased property property Because of of of of the the the the the increasing numbers of of of of Catholics in in in in in in in in in the the the the the region a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a new in in in in in in in in in Rehoboth Beach for that purpose The property property which ran the the the the the church—Saint Edmond—was begun in in in in in in in in in 1939 at at at King Charles Avenue
full length of the the the oceanfront block between Laurel Street and Brooklyn Avenue
was originally owned by the the the Rehoboth Beach Camp Meeting Association of the the the the Methodist Episcopal Church The Diocese established a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a rectory and and a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a chapel on on on the the the property with two large cottages for for the the the Franciscan teaching and and nursing order as as a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a summer vacation retreat for for the the the the nuns The small chapel was unable to accommodate all all the the the the Catholic worshipers who began swelling the the the the the Rehoboth Beach community in in in the the the the the summer So a a a a a a a a a a new frame church church overlooking the the the the the ocean was was built The church church was was named in in in in honor of of of of St Agnes the the the the the patron saint of of of of the the the the the rst Mother Superior of of of of the the the the Order of of of of Saint Francis of of of Assisi Bishop Monaghan celebrated the the the the rst Mass there on on July 7 1906
St St Agnes-by-the-Sea was a a a mission to St St John the Apostle Church in Milford Services were predominantly celebrated during the summer months Sunday services during the winter depended upon the availability of a a a a priest The early history of St Agnes-by-the-Sea was in uenced considerably by severe storms that battered Delaware’s Atlantic Coast After receiving some damage after a a a a a Nor’easter on December 7 1914 the the church was moved farther back from the beach and turned so that its front faced the the beach and ocean After another severe storm in in April of 1918 the church was again moved further back from the the oceanfront During the the Great Storm of March 1962 the the old church suffered irreparable damage and was razed shortly thereafter and Laurel Street The rst Mass was Sunday May 12 1940 with its dedication on on on September 1 1 1940 The Most Reverend Edmond Fitzmaurice fourth Bishop of Wilmington and the one for whom the the church was named conducted the the dedication service Although St Edmond’s took care of of an increasing number of of Catholics during the the summer months it was open only on on on Sundays during the the winter months with the priest-in-charge coming down from Milford In 1952 St Edmond became a a a a a parish in its own right and was no longer
a mission of St John the Apostle Monsignor Francis J Desmond was the rst pastor In 1954 St Edmond’s built an elementary school on the the property adjacent to the the church This school staffed by Benedictine Nuns from Ridgely Maryland was opened with classes for grades one through eight In 1969 the school was closed when the Benedictine community was obliged to withdraw rst some and then all of the sisters During Monsignor Desmond’s pastorate three new missions were established: St Ann in Bethany Beach (1955) St Michael the Archangel in Georgetown (1956) and the St St Jude in Lewes (1960) St St Michael became a a a a a separate parish in 1957 with St Ann as its mission St Ann became a a a parish in 1972 St Jude became a a a parish in November 2002 83