Immaculate Conception Parish
History

Our parish roots are old and deep in the history of the Catholic Church on Maryland's Eastern Shore and that of our Nation. Thirteen miles south of Elkton, the Jesuit Fathers founded St. Francis Xavier Church in what is called Old Bohemia. These Jesuits ministered to the Catholics of the Elkton area since 1704. In Old Bohemia, the Jesuits opened an academy that educated Charles Carroll who later signed the Declaration of Independence. His cousin, John Carroll was a contemporary of his at the school. In 1789, John was appointed the first bishop of the thirteen American Colonies. Prior to his consecration as bishop, with his Cathedral in Baltimore, the early American Church had no local diocese but was considered missionary territory.

In 1808, the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware and part of New Jersey were subdivided from the Diocese of Baltimore by the Vatican; creating the Diocese of Philadelphia. The Archbishop of Baltimore granted the establishment of Elkton, as a mission to St. Francis Xavier. Through the donation of land, material and labor of seven local Catholic families, the cornerstone was dedicated in 1849. Located on Bridge and Cathedral Streets (in back of the present Union Hospital), the original church was dedicated by Archbishop Eccleston on August 27, 1850. Within this site of one-half of a city block were later built a rectory, school and convent. All that remains, now, are the graves of the original cemetery. The stimulated interest at the time was in the doctrine of Mary conceived without sin.surely influencing the naming of our parish. The Pope officially proclaimed the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 1854. Our Nation was likewise placed under the patronage of Mary with this title.

In 1868, the Diocese of Wilmington was created by the Pope to include all of Delaware and Eastern Shore Maryland. The sub division of massive areas into smaller dioceses with individual bishops reflected the continuous growth of the Catholic population in our area. Under the Most Rev. Thomas A. Becker as the first bishop of Wilmington, Elkton was included in his jurisdiction. That same year, Immaculate Conception Church became a separate parish in its own right and received its first resident priest, the Rev. Francis Blake.

Because of the leniency of obtaining a marriage license in Cecil County, Elkton became a famous stop on the eastern coast for weddings. During the Depression and up to and through the Second World War, our parish records show a large number of Catholic nuptials celebrated in our Church. The strategic location of Elkton between major cities, and its easy access, created growth for Elkton especially when the munition plants were operating and super productive during World War II. Already in 1927, the Ursuline Sisters opened our parish school. In 1930, the Franciscan Sisters of Philadelphia took charge of the school and remain in our parish to this day. In July of 1956, a new school and convent were located in Elkton Heights on Bow Street Extended.

The first Mass in North East, Maryland was celebrated on June 2, 1957 with 200 present in the local Fire Hall. Ever growing with people relocating to or recreating in that vicinity, work was started on St. Jude Mission Church. As a mission of Immaculate Conception Church, St. Jude's was consecrated in June 1969. The modern structure surly reflects the foresight that was present in implementing the Second Vatican Council.

By 1970, the original church in Elkton could not adequately serve the growing numbers of parishioners. A new Immaculate Conception Church and rectory were built in 1973 within the present, unified parish complex. By the summer of 2002, the huge task of remodeling the convent building resulted in much needed parish offices. Here, most parish business is done and meetings take place. Here, also, our Parish Outreach is outstanding in serving the needy of Cecil County.

The most recent Capital Campaign that was headed by the Diocese of Wilmington, "Bringing the Vision to Life," has allowed our parish to focus on our school building. Modernization of the building is presently taking place in stages. Keeping the buildings in safe and sound condition is an on-going goal. These aging buildings need to meet the needs of our ever-growing community. Within the first years of this new millennium, records show us that the demographics of our immediate Elkton area are growing rapidly. The convenient location to mostly everywhere makes our parish ideal to raise a growing family or simply retire.

Already celebrating one-hundred & fifty-seven years of existence, our parish foresees many good years ahead where we hope to serve the call of Christ who said: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them.Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, until the end of the world! (Matthew 28: 18-20)".