About Harpers Ferry National Park:
The park, run by The National Park Service, is located in Virginia and West Virginia and encompasses over 200,000 acres, just a short drive from Washington, D.C. It has abundant wildlife and many attractions…including a very old Catholic Church….Saint Peter’s Catholic Church.
About Saint Peter’s Catholic Church in Harpers Ferry National Park:
Saint Peter’s Catholic Church, as it was known originally, was constructed in 1830 in the Archdiocese of Baltimore to serve Irish and Italian immigrants working on the nearby C&O Canal. It remained a fully operating parish until 1995, when it was designated a chapel.
“It was the first Catholic church in the wilderness of Virginia,” said Patricia Cowan, docent and parishioner of St. James Church in Charles Town, W.Va., which oversees the chapel, now in the diocese of Charleston-Wheeling. “Catholics were able to establish themselves here, and after getting a foothold, were able to expand.”
Churches in the Arlington diocese initially established as missions of St. Peter’s include Sacred Heart of Jesus in Winchester and St. John the Apostle in Leesburg.
John Brown’s Raid and Saint Peter’s Church:
Just months after arriving in Harper’s Ferry from Ireland in 1859, Father Michael Costello played a role in one of the most dramatic events in American history, in what became known as John Brown’s raid, leading to the Civil War. Two U.S. Marines under the command of Col. Robert E. Lee (yes, that Robert E. Lee…he was a U.S. soldier before siding with the Confederacy in the Civil War) were wounded in the attempt to dislodge Brown and his abolitionist insurgents after their attempt to seize the federal arsenal, as described by Father Costello in a letter he wrote to another priest in 1860.
“As both were Catholics, I was summoned to attend them,” wrote Father Costello. “As Private Luke Quin fell, pierced through with a ball, his first exclamation was to Major Russell, of the United States Marines, who seeing him fall, went up to him. In pitiful accents he cried out, ‘Oh Major, I am gone, for the love of God will you send for the priest?’ I administered to him the holy rites of the Church. He died that day and was buried with military honors in the Catholic graveyard at this place.”
During the Civil War. Harpers Ferry changed hands between the North and South 14 times, and most buildings and homes were destroyed or badly damaged. But Saint Peter’s remained open and intact throughout the war thanks to the ingenuity of the young Irish priest.
Father Costello nailed a British flag to the steeple. The Union didn’t want to give the British any reason to side with the South, and the South wanted British recognition; and so, by the grace of God, the Saint Peter’s Catholic Church was the only building in town that didn’t suffer any damage. Not even a window was broken.
The natural beauty of Harpers Ferry, and the grandeur of the sandstone and granite chapel inspires awe and reverence. Visitors are struck by the “Gothic Fantasy” ceiling — a common Victorian Era design with pillar-less columns — and the altar, made of Carrara marble taken from the same quarry used by Michelangelo.
Saint Peter’s Catholic Church was remodeled to its present appearance in 1896. The church property is under the auspices of the National Park Service.
Mass is offered here every Sunday.
Traveling to Saint Peter Catholic Church in Harpers Ferry National Park:
Saint Peter Catholic Church is within the Harpers Ferry National Park and is open for tours on Saturdays and Sundays and Federal Holidays from Memorial Day through October, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday Mass at 9:30 a.m. We suggest that you confirm these dates and times as they are subject to change.
Address: 12762 Lee Hwy, Washington, Virginia 22747
Tel: +1 540-675-3432
Click here for the official website of Saint Peter Catholic Church in Harpers Valley National Park, Virginia
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