Francis A. Morrison was born on April 26, 1917, in Philadelphia, PA, the fourth of five children. He had two brothers and two sisters. A terrible tragedy struck their lives on March 21, 1925, when their mother passed away. Francis was about 8 years old at that time. The family had moved to Baltimore by 1930. He started high school in 1931 and one of the those with whom he became friends in that first year of high school was Martin Flahaven, who also became a pastor at St. Peter’s. The war was coming and on October 16, 1940, he registered for the draft. The draft record notes that he was a divinity student at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore and that he was six feet tall and weighed 170 pounds. The Federal Census of 1940 indicates that he had by this time completed 5 years of higher education, was living in Catonsville, and was 22 years of age. At some point his draft record was updated to reflect his new assignment at St. Mary’s Rectory, 5502 York Road. He was ordained at the B...

Long sought post-Vatican II renovations to the second (1870-2004) St. Peter’s Church building in Libertytown culminated in the dedication of a new altar at a special Mass forty years ago on February 20, 1983. Auxiliary Bishop P. Francis Murphy, Western Vicar at the time, was the celebrant of the dedication Mass that Sunday afternoon. According to the Catholic Review edition that week, Bishop Murphy was “extremely impressed by the beauty of the newly renovated church” that “clearly reflects the vision of the Church and of the liturgy promoted by the spirit of the Second Vatican Council.” The Bishop also noted that “at the same time, there is a creative integration and utilization of a number of the more traditional features of the former sanctuary and church.” Former pastor Fr. Paul Iaia was pleased to mark his tenth anniversary at St. Peter’s by seeing the work completed, saying that since his appointment a decade earlier renovating the church had been a priority for him. He noted that...

With the season of Lent fast approaching, many parishioners are making plans to attend weekly Stations of the Cross services.  As we turn to face each of the fourteen plaques along the side walls of the nave of the church that depict the stages of Christ’s passion, we are reminded how fortunate our parish is that they were able to be salvaged after the devastating fire that destroyed our second St. Peter’s church in 2004.  The Stations were damaged, some quite badly, but it was determined that they could be repaired and saved for installation into our current church once it was built.  The parish contracted with the firm Sacred Spaces, then based in Alexandria, VA, and all involved were pleased with the quality of their restoration work. Lighting was installed allowing the Stations to be illuminated at night. There are a few other surviving elements that were saved after the fire and incorporated into our present church.   One that was a source of amazement and com...

In 1937, a group of Catholic women formed the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Peter’s.   Every Tuesday, the Sodality met in the Church for Mass and afterwards, would pray the Miraculous Medal Novena.   The Sodality was divided into small groups called bands, each having approximately thirteen ladies – and there were enough bands to fill the entire Church!   Each lady wore a large Miraculous Medal on a long blue-ribbon necklace during the Mass and Novena.   The ladies were active in other ways too; assisting the Sisters of Notre Dame with dinners and the annual two-day fall bazaar (the pre-curser to our Christmas in the Country annual fundraiser).   The Sodality lapsed for a time, but in 1952 was revived by the then “new” pastor, Father John Mountain.   The late Anne Morrissey, a long time Sodality member, recalled starting a gift shop of religious articles and crafts and making so many quilts, dish towels and similar items that she wore out 3 sew...

Fr. Charles M. Wible, known affectionately by parishioners as Father Chuck, is the pastor leading St. Peter’s into its third century as a community of Catholics in eastern Frederick County and western Carroll County worshipping and serving our Lord in Libertytown.   Fr. Chuck came to St. Peter’s five years ago when he was initially named parish administrator in January of 2018, before being appointed as pastor.  "Our parish anniversary gives us the opportunity to express our gratitude for the blessings of the past, as well as to be hopeful for future blessings as we continue to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ," said Fr. Chuck as the parish kicked off the bicentennial celebration marking 200 years since the establishment of our first church on the same site where we worship today. The building of the first church, a stone chapel, was initiated in 1821 when the parish was formally established. Construction was completed over the next two years and the church was dedicate...

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 larg...

As mentioned in a previous Key Moment article, Cemetery – the early years , Fr.  Samuel Kavanagh took a special interest in beautifying the cemetery grounds during his pastorate. Pastor from 1902 until his death in 1923, Fr. was instrumental in creating gardens and walkways throughout the cemetery – to such a degree that he drew the attention of the local and not so local newspapers. When St. Peter’s was referenced in a newspaper article, it was not uncommon for there to be a corresponding reference to the Parish having one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the country.  In 1915, the Baltimore American ran a full page pictorial of the grounds of St. Peter’s, which highlighted the cemetery, and showed many plantings and walkways constructed under his direction and Fr. could often be seen walking the cemetery, saying his daily office.  In 1918, when our Parish was not quite 100 years old, the cemetery saw its first increase in size.  James M. Sappington (great grands...