Brief History of Saint Anne and Saint Jude Parish

The history of both St. Anne and St. Jude parishes is engraved in the hearts of the parishioners whose ardent desire is to belong to one community of faith. Therefore, St. Anne and St. Jude Roman Catholic Church welcome this new milestone as God’s faithful are guided by our patron Saints to fulfill the vision: United in Faith, Strengthened by Hope, and Active in Charity.

In the early 19th century, Irish migrants settled in Sumter County and established the area’s first Catholic community. Colonel Thomas Sumter’s wife, Natalie Delage, was Catholic, and her family donated 168 acres of Providence Plantation for a Catholic church. Construction began in 1836, and upon its completion three years later, Bishop John England established the Catholic Parish of Sumter District. Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church was dedicated on June 2, 1839.

Nearly a decade later, the original church was abandoned, and the Catholic community decided to purchase the Old Methodist Church on Liberty Street in what is today downtown Sumter. The church was named St. Lawrence Catholic Church. Due to the rapidly growing Catholic community, parishioners recognized the need for a larger church. Father Charles DuBois Wood, the pastor of St. Lawrence, held masses at St. Joseph’s Chapel until the new church, St. Anne Catholic Church, was built.

During the Civil War, the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy took temporary refuge in Sumter. They established the community’s first educational institution, St Joseph’s Academy, which included St. Joseph’s Chapel. The Neil O’Donnell home was bequeathed to the nuns, and they renamed it St. Catherine’s Convent. The Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy resided there until a new convent was built adjacent to St. Anne’s Church.

St. Lawrence Catholic Church on Liberty Street was demolished in 1906. However, the Catholic Cemetery on Oakland Avenue remains St. Lawrence Cemetery.

In May of 1909, the groundbreaking ceremony occurred for St. Anne Catholic Church. The estimated cost of the church was $30,000. After two years of construction, the Most Reverend Henry Northop of Charleston dedicated the present-day church building, followed by the consecration a decade later by the Most Reverend John J. Monaghan.

With its Gothic Architecture and 45 stained glass windows, St. Anne Catholic Church was noted to be “one of the complete temples of Divine worship in the Southern States.”

In 1946, St. Anne Catholic Church purchased St. Joseph Chapel, the first parish Hall. The Chapel was renamed Gerald Hall in honor of John Paul Gerald, the first St. Anne parishioner killed in WWII. In 1955, St. Anne opened a new elementary school in Gerald Hall.

Due to the decline in the number of vocations to the priesthood, diocesan clergy could no longer serve St. Anne. In September 1974, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate arrived and began their pastoral ministry in the community.

The decreasing number of vocations in the community of nuns led to the closure of the St. Catherine Convent adjacent to St. Anne Catholic Church. The former convent was renovated for educational offerings and used for daily Mass.

In 1989, Hurricane Hugo hit Sumter, causing widespread destruction to the St. Anne school and church. In the church, the nativity stained glass window was damaged. A portion of the rectory roof broke loose of the rectory and broke out the glass with the Madonna and Christ child. The school building survived, but the library trailers, classrooms, and faculty offices were destroyed. The damage was so substantial that it took two years to obtain permission and funding to build a new parish center, including a large hall, a school library, and a computer classroom. Construction began on November 14, 1991, and Bishop David Thompson dedicated the new center on May 26, 1992.

In 1996, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate left Sumter and were replaced by the Redemptorists (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer). In 2015, The Redemptorists left Sumter and were replaced by the Adorno Fathers (Clerics Regular Minor), who continue to serve St. Anne and St. Jude Parish today.

St. Anne’s Elementary School was renamed Holy Angels Academy in 2020 and closed in 2022 due to declining enrollment.

The origin of St. Jude Church dates back to 1938 when the Oblates of Mary Immaculate came to Sumter to serve the African American community’s needs and share the Catholic faith. The first building was the rectory which housed a chapel for worship. In 1941, the original church building was completed, known later as Atkinson Hall. Church services were held in this building until the construction of the present church in 1948.

The first elementary school was built in 1948. The Sisters of St. Mary of Namur arrived from Buffalo, NY, to administer the school.

The first Catholic high school in Sumter was built on St. Jude property in 1958, and the first class of ten seniors graduated from St. Jude High School in 1962. The Sisters of St. Mary formed the faculty’s core, teaching academic and religious education classes.

A boarding school was opened in 1964 for young ladies who attended high school. The boarding school created a home for the girls and promoted their intellectual and spiritual growth. In 1966, a nursery for infants and young children opened in the “Red Building” at the rear of the property.

In 1971, St. Jude Catholic Church sponsored a program for mentally and physically challenged children, which became the Sumter Developmental Learning Center.

In 1986, the diocese reorganized the educational system by relocating grades one through six to St. Anne’s School. St. Jude retained the seventh and eighth grades and the high school.

Through the late 1980s, St. Jude High School improved its academic qualifications and formed the Padres basketball team. In 1994, the high school was renamed the Sumter Catholic High School and served the Catholic families of the three counties. When diocesan funding ended in 1997, the SCHS became a private Catholic high school and relocated to School Street.

Since the arrival of The Redemptorist Fathers in 1996, the ministry to the area’s Hispanic community has been formalized with a regular Sunday Spanish mass and outreach programs to both permanent and migrant Spanish-speaking populations.

-Union with God –
“That they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us,”
– John 17:21-

A proposition was presented to combine St. Anne Church and St. Jude to become one family and one church that serves all. Dr. Mary Elizabeth Blanchard was instrumental in this process when she returned from a diocesan-wide Synod in the mid-1990s. She presented St. Anne’s parish with the Synod findings and the implications for our parish. As a result, the parish council established a long-range planning committee headed by Dr. Mark Crabbe in the late 1990s.

St. Jude’s Church was invited to join the long-range planning process. The joint long-range planning committee evaluated our facilities, the projected growth of our Catholic population, and other factors, such as a predicted priest shortage.

During this time, a real estate opportunity was offered regarding 192 acres on Beckwood Road just off Highway 521. Under the leadership of Jim Rogers, The 521 Farm Partnership was formed. Approximately a dozen parishioners from St. Anne and St. Jude Churches purchased this property for $535,000.00. Most donated their respective shares to the Diocese for a possible location for our new church campus.

There were multiple town hall meetings to gather input and discuss options concerning the future of our Catholic Community, specifically whether to stay in town at or near our existing campuses or go to Beckwood Road or any other remote location. Then, a formal written vote was held at St. Anne and St. Jude Churches during Masses. Finally, the decision was made to build a new church or other building for worship on our property on Beckwood Road.

The pastors of St. Anne’s and St. Jude’s Catholic Churches formed a joint committee called the Future Catholic Community Committee (FC3) with members from both parishes to evaluate the merging of the parishes and long-term construction needs. J Seth headed the FC3. Permission was sought from the Diocese to raise funds, begin preliminary plans and design.

Fr. Daniel Carboy, CSsR, Pastor of St. Anne, Fr. Alistair McKay, CSsR, Pastor of St. Jude, and Fr. Aschmann, CSsR, Parochial Vicar, led the parish through initial planning stages to include raising funds for construction options.

Parishioner Jim Field worked tirelessly on the collection of demographic and financial data. He then worked closely with the architect for the feasibility drawings of the land use planning, church design, possible church hall, and future schools.

Nearly twenty years ago, on May 30, 2003, Bishop Robert Baker dedicated our property on Beckwood Road as the future site for St. Anne and St. Jude parish communities.

In 2005, a new group of Redemptorist Fathers came to Sumter. Fr. Thomas Burke, CSsR Pastor of St. Anne, Fr. Charles Donovan, CSsR Pastor of St. Jude, and Fr. James “Pablo” Burke, CSsR Parochial Vicar.

The “One Faith, One Family” campaign was launched in 2005 for both parishes to raise funds to build one Church. As a result, 2.4 million dollars was raised over five years, which exceeded our goal.

On May 30, 2010, the Most Reverend Robert E. Guglielmone, Bishop of Charleston, announced a Decree of Suppression for St.

Anne and St. Jude Parishes. Instead, the two parishes would merge and consolidate to form a new parish and establish The Catholic Community of Sumter.

Since then, both parishes have shared a bulletin, ministry programs, religious education, a Youth Group, an RCIA program, a First Holy Communion program, and a Confirmation program. In addition, the finances are shared. One St. Anne and St. Jude parish have two separate but shared campuses.

Fr. Tom Burke, after due consultation with the Parish Council and the FC3 Committee, placed the plans for the new construction on hold. Central to funding the construction was selling one or both of the current parish sites. In 2008, the great recession began and significantly depressed the real estate market in Sumter.

The Diocese of Charleston accepted the request of The Redemptorist Fathers to withdraw from Sumter after nearly 20 years of parish ministry in 2015. The Adorno Fathers (Clerics Regular Minor), a religious Order of priests, began their church for the Sumter Catholic Community that same year. Fr. Frank Palmieri, CRM, was the new Pastor, and Fr. Noly Berjuega, CRM, was the parochial vicar.

In October 2015, historic rainfall and flood significantly damaged St. Anne Church’s roof, which flooded the structure’s interior. After the roof was repaired over six months, mold started posing health and safety risks to parishioners. As a result, mold remediation had to be conducted before the services could be held in the church. Unfortunately, there continue to be water damage and mold issues with the church today.

In 2016, Fr. Frank Palmieri, CRM, was granted his request with a decree to change the parish’s name from “The Catholic Community of Sumter” to “St. Anne and St. Jude Roman Catholic Church.” Fr. Frank Palmieri, CRM, retired from active ministry the following year, and Fr. Giovannie Nuñez, CRM, came to St. Anne and St. Jude as the Parish Administrator. Fr. Gio was installed as pastor in the Fall of 2018, with Fr. Rufino Madridejos, CRM as parochial vicar. Fr. Madridejos was appointed by the Adorno Fathers to another ministry and was replaced by Fr. Gerry Coquilla, CRM. Also, Fr. Ronie Lorcha, CRM, came to assist in the parish and is the Parochial Vicar.

At the request of the Parish Pastoral Council, the master plan for St. Anne and St. Jude Campus was revisited in the summer of 2017. Dr. Mark Crabbe and Andrew Williams headed the planning committee. Several town hall meetings were held, including a meeting attended by Bishop Guglielmone, who recommended we first build a formal church instead of a worship hall or school building on our new property. Joey Duggan, Scott Bell, and Leslie Bruner joined the planning committee to form the executive building committee. In addition, an Artifact Committee was formed under Alan Mossell to catalog and decide which artifacts from St. Anne and St. Jude Churches should be placed in our new church.

In February 2018, Bishop Guglielmone approved the request of Fr. Nuñez to build our new St. Anne and St. Jude Roman Catholic Church on Beckwood Road off of Highway 521 property. The “It’s Time Campaign” was launched in 2019, raising $2.2 Million in received donations and pledges. The “One Faith, One Family” capital campaign in 2005 raised about $2.6 million in received donations to date. The Diocese of Charleston approved our 6 million dollar project plan and has granted a financial loan of $1.2 million.

Mr. Rob Montgomery has been involved with our building project as an architect since 2007. The church building bidding process began in the spring of 2021. Dave Pfrommer, a Diocese BRAC representative, came to help with the bidding and has been with us throughout the building process. Three construction companies submitted a bid and were interviewed; the building committee selected Mashburn Constructions, based in Columbia, SC, to build our new Church.

Over 100 hundred parishioners have tirelessly dedicated their time and efforts through ten committees to reach this point. In addition, we have welcomed parishioner input through multiple town hall meetings and our website and have had oversight by the Parish Pastoral Council, Finance Committee, and the Diocese of Charleston.

On January 22, 2022, the ground was broken for our new St. Anne and St. Jude Roman Catholic Church in the presence of the then Most Reverend Robert E. Guglielmone, Bishop of Charleston, and the parishioners.

The official work for this building began in March 2022. We had an on-site beam signing ceremony in August 2022. This past December, $300,000 was raised through a matching donor program to fund the finishes, including trim work and acoustic panels. The total price for our new church is 6.4 million dollars.

The last mass celebrated at St Anne’s Church was on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The reredos (back altar) was dismantled after that mass and was transferred to our new St. Anne and St. Jude church. We plan to move the stained glass windows once funds are available. Artifacts from St. Anne’s church and St. Jude’s church are being placed in our new church. Our new church has the character and culture of both old churches.

The New St. Anne and St. Jude Catholic Church was completed in Easter 2023. The New Church and Altar were dedicated on June 2, 2023 under the leadership of the Most Reverend Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS, Bishop of Charleston, in the presence of Bishop Emeritus Robert Guglielmone, the Adorno Fathers, The Order of Mary Immaculate, the Redemptorist Fathers, the Presbyterate of the Diocese of Charleston, Sisters of St. Mary of Namur, Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy and all the parishioners of St. Anne and St. Jude who have stood firm and united, endured the challenges and difficulties, generously shared their time, talent and treasure to build the new place of worship.

The new chapter in the history of St. Anne and St. Jude Church begins.

O God, our Heavenly Father,
We praise and worship You, and we acknowledge
Your loving presence in our Parish Community.
You have given St. Anne and St. Jude to us to imitate
their faithfulness and zeal to love You and to serve
our brothers and sisters in need.
We come before You, O loving God, to bless all our
efforts and commitment to fulfilling our mission, that
everything we do may be in accordance with your Holy Will and for the building of your reign in our Parish Community, for
the salvation of souls and Your greater glory.
Through the prayers of our beloved patrons, St. Anne and St. Jude, may we gain wisdom and strength that we are
Your stewards and servants,
always ready to share our gifts and talents with
Your people and Your Church.
Grant this prayer through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

St. Anne, pray for us!

St. Jude, pray for us!

Our New Church