Page 89 - WILMINGTON

St St John the aPoStle
1910
MILFORD
From the early 1700s Catholic in Delaware’s lower counties attended Mass whenever whenever possible in in individual homes whenever whenever Jesuit priests from Maryland would visit In 1808 with the the the the the the established of of of the the the the the the then-Diocese of of of Philadelphia priests from New Castle would minister in in Kent and Sussex Counties Then in in 1870 after the Diocese of Wilmington was erected
and Holy Cross was founded in Dover priests from the the new parish cared for the the Catholics down state Under the the care of of the the priests of of Holy Cross and until 1909 a a a a a monthly Sunday Mass was said at at various locations On December 8 1909 Captain George Mahon donated land on what is is now Maple Avenue to the Bishop of of Wilmington for the purpose of of building a new church On June 26 1910
the Most Reverend John Monaghan third Bishop of Wilmington dedicated St John the Apostle church and for two years traveled by train to offer Sunday Mass The rst resident pastor was assigned to to St ohn in 1912 With the formation of Dover Air Force Base and an an increase in in industry in in Milford St John’s congregation outgrew the church and facility In 1952 on on land donated by Mr Mr and and Mrs Irwin G Burton a a a a new church was planned at the corner of Seabury Avenue and School Place The dedication took place on on November 25 1954 During this time parishioners from Harrington who had been travelling to to Milford for for Mass completed a a a a a new church Saint Bernadette which was dedicated on September 6 1953 Since then it has been a a mission of St John the the Apostle A Hispanic ministry was established in in the mid-1980s to serve a a growing population Today there are several hundred families in the parish’s Hispanic community In 1990 the parish began an an “Oktoberfest” celebration as as an an annual fundraiser It has grown into a a community-wide event and attracts people from all over Kent and Sussex Counties In 2005 a a new Parish Hall was opened which expanded the opportunities for parish and family life at St John And as part of the Sustaining Hope for the Future Capital Campaign plans were made for a a a a new parish Rectory to to be built adjacent to to the church The groundbreaking ceremony was held on on March 2 2 2017 and its expected completion is the summer of 2017 At this time St John the the Apostle together with St Bernadette supports close to 1 400 families in lower Kent County and upper Sussex County and is served by two priests and three deacons 87