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Historic Maryland church opens doors to visitors 320 years after closing down

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Historic Maryland church opens doors to visitors 320 years after closing down

Visitors have been able to step into a reconstructed 17th-century Catholic church in Maryland for the first time – an opportunity over 320 years in the making.

Historic St. Mary’s City, an archaeological organization, opened up its Brick Chapel on April 12. The building was originally constructed in 1667. St. Mary’s City is a colonial town located in St. Mary’s County, off the western shore of Chesapeake Bay.

Fox News Digital spoke to Henry Miller, Ph.D., a senior research fellow at Historic St. Mary’s City, about the opening, the result of multiple excavations since 1988. (See the video at the top of this article.) 

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While a wooden chapel was first built on the site in 1645, the structure burned down when Maryland was attacked by troops from the English Parliament.

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“But in the 1660s, things had settled down, and the Brick Chapel, the first major brick building in Maryland, began to be constructed,” Miller said. “It was a very significant architectural achievement for the time and place.”

The church was “the center of Catholic worship in Maryland” until 1704, said Henry Miller, Ph.D., when a Protestant governor closed the church down. (Historic St. Mary’s City)

In the colonial era, it was generally forbidden by law for Catholics to have any churches, but Maryland offered a notable exception.

“It was only because of Lord Baltimore’s policy of liberty, of conscience and freedom of religion that [the church] could be erected,” the expert said. 

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“So [the church] is really an important statement about the beginnings of religious freedom in what is now the United States and beyond.”

The Brick Chapel was the center of Catholic worship in Maryland until 1704, when the colony’s Protestant governor shuttered the building’s doors, Miller said. The sheriff “locked the door, [took] the key with him, and never again allow[ed] that building to be used for worship.”

Historic St. Mary’s City, an archaeological organization, opened its reconstructed Brick Chapel on April 12 after decades of historical work. (Historic St. Mary’s City)

“The freedom of belief, the freedom of religion that Lord Baltimore had championed totally ended at that time period,” the archaeologist said. 

“A few years later, the building was demolished, and it basically disappeared from view and memory for over 200 years.”

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“That building could not have been constructed anywhere else in the English-speaking world at this time.”

The church was entirely forgotten about until 1938, when an architectural historian spotted peculiar remains of a cross-shaped brick building. 

Today, the Brick Chapel – rebuilt between 2004 and 2009 – has a recently finished interior that accurately captures what a 17th-century Catholic church would have looked like at the time.

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Miller recreated the building’s interior through several means, such as researching similar churches and obtaining art that was commonly used in Jesuit churches, he said. Not many artifacts survive at the site, thanks to Jesuits who dismantled their church and reused the materials elsewhere.

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“The Jesuits were some of the first recyclers … They took everything above ground away and reused it,” Miller said. 

“What we found were lots of fragments of plaster, of mortar and the five-foot-deep, three-foot-wide brick foundation.”

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“We actually let visitors see some of that original brickwork,” Miller added. “There was weird stone we found there in pieces, [and] we now know that they imported 14 tons of stone from Europe to pave the floor of this building.”

But the church still retains some original features. Miller also noted that the original tabernacle of the church survived, along with 17th-century lead coffins that visitors can view under a glass floor.

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The chapel required extensive construction work and research to determine what a 17th-century Catholic church would have looked like. (Historic St. Mary’s City)

“The graves are both all around and inside the chapel,” Miller said. “There’s maybe 60 or 70 graves in the chapel, but there’s 300 to 400 outside.”

He added, “This was the largest 17th century cemetery in Maryland. So the grave distribution showed us also where the altar area, the formal area, began.”

Still, the process has been challenging – and Miller was only able to find one written description of the chapel, dating back to the late 1690s.

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“A Protestant governor, Francis Nicholson, was very anti-Catholic,” the archaeologist said. “And he said in a report, ‘The Catholics have several chapels in Maryland, including a good brick chapel at Saint Mary’s.’” 

“We want you, as a visitor, to walk in and have a sense of what a 17th-century person would have seen.”

Miller joked, “Oh, how we wish he was a verbose kind of guy who would have given us more information. But for him to even say it was ‘good’ was probably a significant clue there.”

He added, “So it is based on lots of different information. It is as accurate as we can come up with.”

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Still, the historian emphasized that no formal worship will take place in the new building – instead, it will exist as an exhibit on the history of religious freedom in Maryland.

“The seeds of faith planted there … grew the church and the first diocese that was established in Maryland in the year 1790,” Miller said. “So it truly is the founding place of the modern Catholic Church in the United States.”

The Brick Chapel is an accurate reconstruction of the original 1667 structure on the same site (foundation seen here) — and it has taken historians decades to recreate the church. (Historic St. Mary’s City)

“But it’s also a symbol, and this is what’s important,” he said. “That building could not have been constructed anywhere else in the English-speaking world at this time.”

Visitors may be surprised by the elegance of the church’s interior. Instead of a classic colonial New England church filled with wooden pews, the Brick Chapel has no pews at all. 

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Miller noted that, in colonial-era Catholic churches, worshippers either stood or knelt.

“The pews are more of a Protestant innovation,” Miller added. “If you had a two-hour-long sermon, seating would be very helpful there. Catholic sermons were probably considerably shorter.”

Visitors will be able to view original 17th-century lead coffins through a glass pane in the chapel. (Historic St. Mary’s City)

Miller said that decades of work have created a “unique exhibit.”

“We also want you, as a visitor, to walk in and have a sense of what a 17th-century person would have seen,” the archaeologist said. “We’ve hidden the exhibits in the arms of the building, where you don’t see them until you get right up on top of them.”

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“It’s one that we have worked on for over 37 years, but I am delighted that it will finally be completed and we can start more effectively telling this significant American story.”

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Curto and Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.

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Maine

Maine Celtics stumble against Windy City

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Maine Celtics stumble against Windy City


Max McClung scored 12 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, and the Windy City Bulls went on a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 121-106 win over the Maine Celtics in an NBA G League game Friday night at the Portland Expo.

Kevin Knox II added 30 points, 21 in the second half.

Amari Williams led the Celtics with 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Jalen Bridges made six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points, but the Celtics dropped to 2-8 in their last 10 games. Maine has lost four straight games at the Expo.

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Massachusetts

Eight takeaways from Friday’s high school playoffs action, including four 1,000-point scorers – The Boston Globe

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Eight takeaways from Friday’s high school playoffs action, including four 1,000-point scorers – The Boston Globe


Find the full scoreboard here, along with everything we wrote Friday night:

Not seeing your team’s highlights in Takeaways? Here are all the ways to submit scores and stats to Globe Schools via phone, email, and social media.

▪ Cathedral senior Keyona Raines scored 15 points, including the 1,000th of her career, as the No. 5 Panthers handled No. 28 Hudson, 60-43, in the first round of the Division 4 girls’ basketball tournament.

▪ Sutton junior captain Ava Carroll netted her 1,000th career point during a 29-point effort in a 49-31 Division 4 first-round win over Easthampton.

▪ With a layup in the waning seconds of the first half, Anna Freeman became the 10th Medway player, and first since Riley Childs in 2018, to score 1,000 career points. She finished the 55-24 Division 3 first-round win over St. Paul with 17. Her father, Matt Freeman, scored 1,000 points at Bishop Feehan.

▪ Burlington boys’ basketball senior Matty Gray reached 1,000 career points during a 25-point performance in a 95-58 Division 2 first-round rout of Holliston. He reached the mark on a first-quarter layup.

▪ Falmouth boys’ hockey senior Kody Pokraka rode two assists to 100 career points during a 5-4 Division 2 first-round win over Plymouth South.

It was a chalky day, with only one significant upset: No. 22 Greater Lawrence girls’ basketball easily handling No. 11 Hamilton-Wenham, 65-45, in the Division 4 first round thanks to 13 3-pointers as a team and a combined 47 points from Serenity West (24) and Maliah Caban (23).

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The only other lower seeds to win were No. 18 Marshfield boys’ basketball, which took out No. 15 Cambridge, 66-63, in overtime in the Division 1 first round, and No. 34 Arlington Catholic boys’ basketball, which survived No. 31 Duxbury, 64-60, in Division 2 preliminary-round action.

The finish of the night came in No. 17 South Hadley’s 61-60 win over No. 16 Madison Park. Trailing 60-59 and inbounding with 10.3 seconds left, the Tigers got an off-balance 3-pointer, but junior Noah Hambley crashed the boards and in one fell swoop secured the rebound and put it back up off the glass for the winning bucket as time expired in a boys’ basketball Division 4 first-round matchup.

The Oliver Ames boys got four free throws from Jacob Lok in the final 26 seconds to squeak past Canton, 45-42, in the first round of the Division 2 bracket. The Acton-Boxborough girls also needed overtime to complete a 53-49 Division 1 first-round triumph over Brookline.

The only overtime hockey game of the night saw the Diman boys net an equalizer in the final minute of regulation before Marlborough’s Ethan Guo supplied the heroics just 2:08 into the extra frame, propelling the No. 8 Panthers into the Division 3 second round with a 6-5 victory. Anthony Tramontozzi and Chace Lozano each scored twice for Marlborough

Caroline Arruda, Marshfield — The sophomore poured in 32 points to push the Rams to a 68-63 preliminary-round win over Westborough.

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Gaby Bassett, Nauset/Monomoy — The senior capped her hat trick with the winning goal in a 4-3 Division 2 opening-round win over Burlington.

Brody Bumila and Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan — The seniors took control of an 85-67 Division 1 first-round victory, with Bumila providing 32 points and 14 rebounds and Webster going for 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Avery Gamble, Oliver Ames — The senior’s 3-point shot wasn’t falling, but she didn’t let that get in the way of a 34-point performance, 2 off her career best, during a 59-50 Division 2 first-round win over Bedford.

Eileen Lowther, Hingham — The junior controlled the glass, pulling down 15 rebounds and blocking six shots to go with 12 points in a 54-43 Division 2 first-round win.

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan — The senior from Dighton delivered 21 points, 9 steals, and 5 assists as the No. 2 Shamrocks rolled to a 71-30 Division 1 first-round victory over Peabody.

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Maura Quirk, Acton-Boxborough — The sophomore was cleaning the glass to the tune of 17 rebounds while adding 13 points in a 53-49 overtime win in the first round of the Division 1 bracket.

Senior Sophia O’Donnell made history, becoming the first St. Mary’s athlete to sign to become a Division 1 rower. O’Donnell will row for Merrimack.

Milton Academy graduate Cormac Ryan signed a two-way NBA contract with the Bucks on Thursday, making him the fourth former member of the Middlesex Magic AAU program currently in the NBA, along with The Pistons’ Duncan Robinson, Hornets’ Pat Connaughton, and Knicks’ Tyler Kolek.

Ryan, who hails from New York, was a three-time All-NEPSAC selection at Milton Academy before playing at Stanford, Notre Dame, and North Carolina. He spent the last two seasons in the G League with the Oklahoma City Blue and Wisconsin Herd. He played with the Thunder’s Summer League team in 2024.

Quinnipiac junior Anna Foley, a 6-foot-3-inch Andover graduate, was celebrated for reaching 1,000 points during a ceremony Friday. She passed the mark on Feb. 12 in a 62-40 victory over Siena. A two-time All-MAAC second team selection, she’s averaging 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

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8. Basketball leaderboard

Avery Gamble, Oliver Ames, 34

Caroline Arruda, Marshfield, 32

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 32

Weston Bunnell, Stoneham, 29

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Joe Baraky, Duxbury, 28

Zach Georges, Pioneer Charter I, 27

Kelsi Lanza, Silver Lake, 27

Josh Roux, Andover, 26

Ava Bailey, Newburyport, 25

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Allie Danis, Newton North, 25

Angie Djoko, Danvers, 25

Noah Feldman, Marshfield, 25

Matty Gray, Burlington, 25

Jackson Hines, Arlington Catholic, 25

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Connor Houle, Attleboro, 25

Katelyn Troilo, Mansfield, 25

Alex Ste. Marie, Manchester Essex, 24

Serenity West, Greater Lawrence, 24

Noah Bayersdorfer, Winthrop, 23

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Maliah Caban, Greater Lawrence, 23

Josh Jenkins, Barnstable, 23

Reagan Maniscalco, Tewksbury, 23

Colin Trimble, Foxborough, 23

Eva Andrews, Needham, 22

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Alaysia Drummonds, Foxborough, 22

Trevor Manning, Ipswich, 22

Gia Porazzo, Foxborough, 22

Sarah Powers, Wayland, 22

Ryan Tullish, Middleborough, 22

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Chase Gara, Sutton, 21

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 21

LaDainian Rodrigues, Attleboro, 21

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 21

Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan, 21

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Aboubakar Nimaka, Malden Catholic, 20

Dylan Raffle, Milton, 20

Maeve Horsman, Oliver Ames, 18

Eva Andrews, Needham, 17

Maura Quirk, Acton-Boxborough, 17

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Tony Dean, Stoneham, 15

Eileen Lowther, Hingham, 15

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 14

Angie Djoko, Danvers, 12

Camden Strandberg, Bridgewater-Raynham, 11

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Avery Teixeira, Bishop Feehan, 11

Sophie Gallivan, North Reading, 10

Shannon LaMorticelli, Bishop Feehan, 10

Aboubakar Nimaka, Malden Catholic, 10

Zarah Ochi, Burlington, 10

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Ashley Varnum, Bridgewater-Raynham, 10

Lila Polansky, Bridgewater-Raynham, 8

Duke Cherry, Malden Catholic, 7

Sophie Gallivan, North Reading, 7

Erin Reilly, Burlington, 7

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Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan, 7

Caroline Connors, Millis, 6

Egan Gill, Bishop Feehan, 6

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 6

Marcus Tayag, Pioneer Charter I, 6

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Rayana Laurent, Pingree, 5

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 9

Reagan Maniscalco, Tewksbury, 6

Ella O’Keefe, Oliver Ames, 5

Dylan Raffle, Milton, 4

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Ava Sicari, Burlington, 4

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 3

Eileen Lowther, Hingham, 6

Maeve Horsman, Oliver Ames, 5

Zarah Ochi, Burlington, 4

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Gaby Bassett, Nauset/Monomoy, 3

Griff Callahan, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Max Cronen, Monomoy/Mashpee, 2

Addy Harrington, Duxbury, 2

Jaxon Hoey, Norwell, 2

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Chace Lozano, Marlborough, 2

Mackenna Metell, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Christos Rogaris, Dover-Sherborn/Weston, 2

Mark Trahon, Norwood, 2

Anthony Tramontozzi, Marlborough, 2

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Bryce Campanale, Norwell, 3

Maeve Turner, Falmouth, 3

Violet Cox, Falmouth, 2

Ryan Heidt, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Cam Long, Norwell, 2

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Kody Pokraka, Falmouth, 2

Bailen Darack, Martha’s Vineyard, 22

Sammie Precourt, Dennis-Yarmouth, 16


Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.





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New Hampshire

Sen. Denise Ricciardi & Jeff Rogers: Stopping super speeders can save lives in New Hampshire

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Sen. Denise Ricciardi & Jeff Rogers: Stopping super speeders can save lives in New Hampshire





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