Fr. Gene Nickol

A rocking chair, a VCR and a TV. Those were gifts that friends of Fr. Eugene Nickol gave him upon his assignment as pastor of St. Peter’s in 1985, along with good-natured ribbing that his move to Libertytown was akin to semi-retirement in the countryside. After all, what could there be for this city boy to do, way out there? In reality, Fr. Gene doesn’t think he ever had time to use that rocker or the video cassette recorder.
Born in Baltimore April 25, 1947, he was the middle of the three children of Andrew and Marian Nickol. He attended the city’s Shrine of the Little Flower School, the elementary school affiliated with his home parish of the same name. Father Gene says his priestly discernment began in the eighth grade. He was one of 108 ninth graders enrolled in St. Charles College High School and its six-year seminarian studies program….108 young men thinking about the priesthood. To this day, Fr. Gene stays in touch with dozens of those classmates. Besides holding a virtual 55th class reunion during the pandemic, 40 to 50 of them from around the world gather on Zoom weekly. Fr. Gene completed his priestly formation in 1973 after six years at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a masters in theology, so he really was no stranger to Frederick County.

After being ordained by Lawrence Cardinal Sheehan fifty years ago in May 1973, Fr. Gene served as an associate at St. Joseph, Fullerton from 1973 – 1977. His next assignment was as an associate at St. Agnes, Catonsville from 1977-1985. It was in this timeframe that he led Search Retreats, which were retreats for young people held at locations such as the Sparks CYO Retreat House. The Archdiocese honored him with the title of “Padre of Youth” in 1985.

In April 1985, an unusual month for a transfer, Fr. Gene came to St. Peter the Apostle in Libertytown. He remembers specifically that departing pastor Fr Iaia celebrated the Easter Masses and Fr. Gene celebrated the following Sunday, and then departed for a planned two-week vacation to the Holy Land. The trip had long been planned and Archbishop William Borders, who had assigned him to St. Peter’s, strongly encouraged Fr. Gene to proceed with his planned trip. He, his classmate Fr. (now Msgr.) Dick Murphy and about 50 other people made the pilgrimage. A moving moment for Fr. Gene came when he concelebrated Mass on the Sea of Galilee, at an outdoor chapel dedicated to St. Peter at the site where Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, and Peter replied that the Lord knew that he did. This, to Fr. Gene, was a wonderful place to be just after becoming pastor of our church named for the first pontiff. Since his days at St. Agnes, Fr. Gene has continued to be an avid traveler, often leading groups of parishioners and friends abroad and on cruises. Free tickets, earned by booking enough fellow travelers, would be raffled off for St. Peter’s fundraisers during his time here.

Fr. Gene was officially installed as our pastor on June 9, 1985. His pastorate was a period of tremendous growth for St. Peter’s with the number of registered families more than tripling from 320 to 1,050. With a century-old church, there were repairs to be made such as the steeple restoration shortly after his arrival. With a burgeoning congregation, there was also need for new space. After exploring the possible purchase of another building in the neighborhood, the decision was made to build a new parish center. Who would help him lead this major project? Amazingly, it was while he was on vacation on St. John’s in the Virgin Islands that Fr. Gene noticed an ad on a placemat when he went out for a meal. “Homes of Distinction – Dan Sullivan” had an area code (301) 898 number. Fr. Gene knew that had to be someone close to home and a subsequent phone call secured the parishioner architect who would serve as head of the building committee for the Parish Center. Due to Dan’s untimely passing just before the dedication of the center, its largest room is named Sullivan Hall in his memory. Fr. Gene also continues to be grateful to John and Cindy Pfaff who built the pavilion for our parish, noting how generous many parishioners have been. He chuckles when he remembers that before the pavilion was built, he looked out with concern when he saw cows in the field where his first parish picnic was to take place that day. Fr. Gene fondly remembers Thelma Baltzell, the parish secretary, who he said was a true blessing as he began his first pastorate. He is also grateful for the welcome he received from Fr. William Hirt who was a weekend helper, and Director of Religious Education Martha Langdon.

In 1993, Fr. Gene was appointed pastor of Holy Trinity in Glen Burnie. Before leaving Libertytown, he told the Catholic Review that he would miss being able to “sit on the front porch and see hills and cows.” It was while at Holy Trinity, in August 1994 that he and the receptionist were abducted at knifepoint after Mass by a man who forced Fr. Gene to drive a distance before locking him in the car's trunk. Lying in that dark, hot space, Fr. Gene began praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a devotion that he had helped institute at St. Peter’s. Soon, Fr. Gene says he heard a voice telling him "Get out of this trunk!" He recalls gaining a sense of calm and the knowledge that God was with him. He found a release wire for the trunk lid and slowly pulled it. The trunk opened slightly, so he held the lid closed and waited for an opportunity. Minutes later, as the car stopped at a red traffic light, Fr. Gene popped the trunk open and climbed out. The receptionist realized what was happening and scrambled out of the front seat. The two were quickly surrounded by onlookers, one of whom helped call an ambulance. The startled assailant fled and was arrested a few days later after committing another crime.
Fr. Gene would later serve as pastor of Our Lady of the Fields in Millersville from Jan. 2003 to 2011, and then serve at St. Rita’s in Dundalk and St. Marks in Catonsville, before retiring in 2018 after serving as senior priest at St. John’s Church in Columbia. He currently resides at the rectory of Queen of Peace Church in Middle River, MD. and continues to celebrate Mass, hear confessions, anoint the sick, and lead retreats while also enjoying travel, reading and catching up with his fellow priests.





Other Key Moments in St Peter's History

Monsignor John A. Dietzenbach

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John Augustine Dietzenbach was born on December 9, 1951 at West Union, Iowa, the second of six children. He grew up on a family farm near Fort Atkinson, Iowa and attended St. Luke Church and school in St. Lucas, Iowa. After graduating from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa in 1974 with a BA double major in Business Administration and Philosophy, he attended St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park, Baltimore, MD. He graduated with a Masters of Divinity in Theology from there in December of 1978 and during his last year in the seminary, he sought incardination (the official acceptance by one diocese of a clergyman from another diocese) with the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Fr. John was assigned to All Saints Parish on Liberty Road in January 1979, where he remained through his deaconate ordination on May 24, 1980 and his ordination to the priesthood on November 29, 1980. In the summer of 1981 he was assigned to St. Elizabeth Parish on Baltimore Street where he remained for 5 ye
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St. Peter’s Bicentennial

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The most recent key moment in St. Peter’s history is the commemoration of the parish’s bicentennial. 2021 marked 200 years since the establishment of the parish and the beginning of construction of our first church building, a stone chapel, on land donated by the Coale family. In September 1823, the newly completed first church was consecrated by Archbishop Ambrose Maréchal of Baltimore. To commemorate this milestone, a Bicentennial Committee consisting of 20 parishioners planned a number of activities beginning in September 2022 and culminating in Fall 2023. In order to carry out these plans without impacting the parish’s normal operating budget, Bicentennial fundraising efforts were undertaken. Early on, a logo was developed showcasing the current church with the extant portion of the second church prominently featured. This logo was used in the development of a Bicentennial ornament, which has been sold over the past year. A ticketed Bicentennial Ball dinner dance is planned f
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Deacons John Martin, Jerry Jennings and Michael Dvorak

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“I’ve come to serve.” That was the response called out by John Martin in May 2009 and by Jerry Jennings and Michael Dvorak in May 2011 as each was called forward from the pews of Baltimore’s Cathedral of Mary Our Queen to be ordained as deacons by then-Archbishop (now Cardinal) O’Brien. When asked today to talk about their roles as deacons assigned to St. Peter’s, they each summarize by saying “I’m here to serve.” Both Deacon John and Deacon Jerry have served in our military, and Deacon Mike works for the Employee Assistance Program for the Department of Defense.  Deacon John was in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserves, while Deacon Jerry is a retired U.S. Army Colonel.  All are husbands and fathers, and Deacons John and Jerry are grandfathers. They each talk about how blessed they are to serve in our parish which values its deacons and allows them to exercise their full diaconal ministry through the liturgy, sacraments, preaching and outreach ministries.  Over the years, our d
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Fr. Martin W. Flahavan

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 Fr. Flahavan was a man of varied talents.  One example was a Marian Children’s Missal with Martin Flahavan featured in photos celebrating Mass.  This Missal, published by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, was designed to help children prepare for their First Communion, and was widely purchased throughout the country by parents for their children in the 1950’s and 60’s. In all the parishes he was assigned to, he was perpetually active doing something to advance the mission of the Catholic Church.   At St. Peter’s, where he was assigned from 1961 to 1965, he constructed a basketball court, developed the largest Altar Boy Society in the history of St. Peter’s, revived the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, organized an Usher Society, began high  school and adult discussion groups in cooperation with the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (known to many of us as CCD), made major maintenance improvements to the church and (old) rectory, renovated the parish hall, and developed a new
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Religious Educators of our Children Over the Years

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While the religious education of our children has always been the responsibility of their parents (and extended family), there is documented evidence that the Jesuits who visited Libertytown in early years of the Parish, and later the diocesan pastors, provided specific instruction to our young, prior to their receiving their First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Archive materials from the School Sisters of Notre Dame, however; provide us with our earliest window into the beginnings of formal religious education at St. Peter’s. From these records we learn that the religious women from that Order, beginning with Sr. Theophora Foley and Sr. Fidelis de Katow, moved into their new convent on October 25, 1892. This convent was adjacent to the school where they would be teaching – Notre Dame Academy (now occupied by the Parish office staff). Records don’t indicate how many sisters were teaching at the school at one time, but in 1935, the number of religious in the community were reduced t
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Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

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Catholics in Libertytown were blessed to interact with some of the major pillars of early Catholicism in the United States. For example, the first US bishop, John Carroll, was involved in the initial discussions about the possibility of a church in Liberty. Fr. John Dubois, who would go on to become Bishop of New York had ministered to Catholics here, as did Fr. John McElroy who completed our first church and later founded Boston College. Very notably, they also interacted with the first American born saint! Some eight decades before St. Peter’s would open the Notre Dame Academy, and a decade before our first church building even got underway, a young lady from Libertytown would benefit from the fact that the first free Catholic school for female education staffed by religious women in the U.S. opened here in her county. “Received the sum of twenty five dollars for three months advance payment for the board + tuition of Miss Sarah Coale,” reads a September 1811 receipt signed by Mo
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Father John McElroy, S. J.

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The priest who saw to the completion of the first St. Peter’s church was one very busy Jesuit. He was also responsible for building other local Catholic churches and schools before moving onto important roles from Mexico to Massachusetts. John McElroy came to the US from his native Ireland as a young man in 1803. He was ordained a priest in 1817 at the age of thirty-five. He was sent to Frederick in 1822 to aid the ailing pastor of St John the Evangelist Church, Fr. Francis Maleve, S.J. the successor to Fr. John Dubois, S.S. After arriving, Fr. McElroy, S.J. stayed with Fr. Maleve until he passed away a few days later, on Oct 3, 1822. Fr. McElroy was subsequently named pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church. St. Peter’s was a mission of St. John’s, as was St. Joseph’s on Carrollton Manor. While here, Fr. McElroy continued to build the church in our community…both figuratively & literally. Fr. McElroy’s journal notes that he made his first visit to Liberty on Nov. 12, 1822, and
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James McSherry Coale

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The building of the second St. Peter’s Church (dedicated in 1871, accidentally burned in 2004) was made possible by the generosity of the son of Richard and Catharine McSherry Coale who had donated the land and funding for our first church, dedicated in September 1823.   As our parish outgrew the original stone chapel, James McSherry Coale, son of Richard and Catharine, helped see to construction of a new brick church next to it. James was born in Libertytown on January 19, 1805, educated at Mount Saint Mary’s in Emmitsburg, and later studied law under Richard Potts of Frederick.   He was an Elector in the Electoral College for the 1836 and 1840 Presidential elections.   As noted in another Key Moment it was James, who had inherited the land where our church sits, who followed through in November 1867 on his late father’s intention that the 2 acres be transferred to the Catholic Church.   The “better late than never” transfer facilitated efforts to construct the larger church that the
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Consecration of St. Peter’s First Church

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Jesuit records reflect that the building of St. Peter’s first church was initially overseen by the Jesuit pastor of Frederick, Fr. Maleve. When Fr. Maleve died in October 1822, his successor, Fr. John McElroy, S.J. stepped in to see the completion of Liberty’s Catholic church. St. Peter’s was consecrated on September 28, 1823, as recorded in the diaries of both Archbishop Maréchal and Fr. McElroy: “I set out for Liberty town and got out at Mr. Coales’s, an earnest and zealous man, and owner of all the land about the town. He built a fine stone chapel and intends to give land for a graveyard, and very likely, a presbytery, garden and pasture: great prospect for an ecclesiastical establishment." - Arch Bishop Maréchal diary entry September 26, 1823 [i] “On the 28th I blessed the church. A great crowd from the neighborhood, and singers from Frederick and a fortepiano. Mass with the deacon and sub-deacon. I spoke twice, first on dedication of the church and secondly on confirmat
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Dedication of the Third Church

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“Woo-hoo!” shouted an excited parishioner, breaking the hush a few seconds after Msgr. Dietzenbach opened the doors. Perhaps a bit more vocal than the consecration 200 years ago of our first church, but no doubt very similar in sentiment to the consecration of our first church. Countless hours, lots of energy and significant effort went into making sure this most recent dedication was as flawless as possible. It was no small undertaking to arrange for a dedication liturgy involving a Cardinal, an Archbishop, 2 Bishops, more than 40 priests and deacons and a congregation numbering 800. Of interest, the youngest parishioner in attendance was Ava Folger, who was only 13 days old on the 7th of September and our most senior parishioner to witness the Dedication was Anne Morrissey, 104 years of age at the time. Two hundred years ago, in 1823, Fr. McElroy’s diary contained the following specifics concerning the procession preceding the liturgy of the consecration of the first church: “… s
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