About Charleston, South Carolina:
The original settlement was established by English colonists here in 1670 and named for King Charles II. One of the significant factors that facilitated its growth was that it is situated on a peninsula between the estuaries of the Ashley and Cooper rivers with a deep water harbor.
The history of the Catholic Church in Charleston, South Carolina:
In 1820, the Catholic Diocese of Charleston was established, and Bishop John England arrived from Ireland. His new diocese encompassed North and South Carolina, Georgia and, for a time, Haiti. Bishop England wrote that “sometime about the year 1786, a vessel bound to South America put into the port of Charleston. There was a priest on board; as well as can be recollected, he was an Italian. The few Catholics, who now began in the city to be acquainted with each other … invited him to celebrate Mass, which he did in the house of an Irish Catholic for a congregation of about twelve persons.” This might be marked as the introduction of the Catholic religion to the present Diocese of Charleston.
St. Mary of the Annunciation Church on Hasell Street in Charleston was the first Catholic church in the Carolinas and Georgia, an area now comprising five dioceses. It was permanently established on August 24, 1789, by the Rev. Thomas Keating. It was incorporated by an act of the legislature of South Carolina in 1791, and was well established when the Diocese of Charleston was created by a Papal brief, and when Bishop England arrived in December of that year.
Prior to the establishment of the Diocese of Charleston and the coming of Bishop England, the Catholic Church of the Carolinas and Georgia was part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Baltimore.
Note: We included the cruise port of Charleston on the map below. As of now, there are only a few local cruises offered, as the city is in the process of upgrading their port facilities.
Credit: the official website of the Diocese of Charleston:
Catholic places of interest in Charleston, South Carolina:
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist
Saint Clare of Assisi (Daniel Island)
Saint Mary of the Annunciation
Traveling to Charleston, South Carolina:
By plane: Charleston International Airport (CHS) is served by several major airlines. The term “international” may be misleading, the only international flights are those to and from Canada.
By train: Amtrak operates daily to Charleston from various cities across the U.S. Most travelers arrive at North Charleston Station, which is the main Amtrak station serving the Charleston area, and from there, it’s a short transfer to downtown Charleston.
By car: Charleston is centrally located on the coast of South Carolina between Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head. Interstate 26 has its terminus in Charleston and connects with Interstates 20, 85, 40, 77 and 95 from the North. Hwy 17 runs through Charleston and connects with Interstate 95 from the South.
By ship: Charleston’s historic Union Pier Terminal, which served as the city’s primary cruise port for decades, officially received its final cruise ship, the Norwegian Jewel, on June 30, 2026, marking the end of large-scale cruise operations at this downtown waterfront location. Large cruise ships that previously embarked from Charleston now operate from other ports, such as Norfolk, Virginia, or Jacksonville, Florida.