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On August 30, 1927 four IHM Sisters
arrived in Little Washington: Sister M. deChantal McHale, superior,
Sister Sergius O'Donnell, Sister Gertrude Marie Jelley and Sister
St. Ann Quinn. With their arrival, the school, which housed
a chapel and the sisters' residence, became the Catholic Church
of Little Washington. On the eleventh of September 1927, Bishop
Hafey dedicated these areas and reserved the Blessed Sacrament
for the first time in Washington, North Carolina. Although priests
had come from Baltimore, Charleston, South Carolina, New Bern
and Wilmington, North Carolina, to minister to the needs of
a few white Catholics from time to time, provision could not
be had for the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Reverend Charles Hannigan of New Bern was given charge of the
Little Washington mission which consisted of nine persons--four
sisters and five lay persons, all of whom were converts to the
Catholic faith. They were Mr. David Keyes and his wife, Stephen
Bonner and his wife and Mrs. Louisa Little. Father Hannigan
went from New Bern to Little Washington twice a week. Once again,
the deprivation of daily Mass and Holy Communion was the greatest
hardship experienced by the sisters.
In October 1927, Bishop Hafey purchased the Mallison Home on
North Market Street for the convent. The sisters moved into
it on January 10, 1928. Reverend Mark Moislein, CP, a golden
jubilarian in his seventy-fourth year of life, arrived to act
as pastor for both black and white peoples of Washington, North
Carolina. Through his zeal and the dedicated work of the sisters
the school soon had to be enlarged to provide for all of the
students. Not only was their work of education thriving, but
they were also attracting converts to the faith. In one year,
by May of 1928, four of the non-Catholic students were baptized.
Bishop Hafey visited the school frequently and was deeply appreciative
of the work being done. True to IHM heritage in music, the sisters
prepared the children in Gregorian Chant, and on December 8,
1927, the first Gregorian Mass ever sung in North Carolina was
sung by all-black, all-Protestant students of St. Joseph's School
choir in New Bern. Bishop Hafey commented that he wished it
were possible to take that choir to every church and chapel
of the Raleigh Diocese and particularly to the Raleigh Cathedral.
The peak enrollment of 113 students was reached in 1968, but
fell to 69 by 1972. Due to lack of enrollment the elementary
school was closed in June 1973; the high school, which had opened
in 1933, had already closed in 1969. The sisters received great
praise from the bishop and from the people for the 46-year IHM
presence and work in Little Washington. (9)
References:
9. Annals of Mother of Mercy, Little Washington, NC. Archives,
IHM Generalate.
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