Go to the audioslide show to see a selection of photos from the celebration and for excerpts from the comments of Bishop J. Kevin Boland and Father Gabriel Cummings.

   “We gather on holy ground,” proclaimed Bishop J. Kevin Boland as he began his homily at the dedication of Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Saint Marys on April 16. The statement acknowledged the 484-year-old heritage of the Spanish Franciscan Martyrs who established missions on the barrier islands just off the coast from the current parish. The architectural design of the new church is reminiscent of Spanish missions.

The English drove out the Spanish and their missions in 1686. French speaking Acadians, along with their Catholic faith, came to Saint Marys in the early 1800s. In 1826, the city of Saint Marys deeded land to the Acadians for a church. The first Our Lady Star of the Sea Church formed in an old bank building 24 years before the establishment of the diocese of Savannah.

The previous church built in 1958 served a parish of 150 families. The new church, built to accommodate the needs of the 562 families currently registered with the parish, filled to standing room only capacity during the Friday evening dedication. Quoting from the readings the bishop said, “Amen, Amen this is our house, our table in the midst of God’s people.” Father Gabe Cummings, pastor, Our Lady Star of the Sea Church spoke at the end of Mass saying, “We finally made it after all these years. . . . We are all able to fit.