Dennis Cahill was an Irish missionary priest working in western Maryland, USA, in the late 1700s, where he founded several Catholic parishes in the Potomac River valley area.[1]
History
editCahill was involved in the founding of several Catholic parishes in the Potomac River region. He was probably initially based at the Conewago Chapel. In 1786, he served Catholics in the area of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where, in 1792, a log structure was built called "Christ's Church".[2] Cahill was an acquaintance of another missionary, Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin.
In 1790, he attended Catholics settled in and around Cumberland, Maryland, and celebrated the first Catholic mass in Allegany County.[3] In the following year, a log chapel was constructed dedicated to Mary, the mother of God. This was later replaced by a larger church dedicated to St. Patrick.[4]
Cahill had charge of the mission at St. Mary's in Elizabethtown (later known as Hagerstown) from 1790 to 1806.[5] St. Patrick's in Little Orleans was a station of the Hagerstown mission.
In 1806, Cahill returned to Ireland, where he died in 1817.[6]
Cahill is known for his role in the legend of the Wizard Clip.
References
edit- ^ Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia. Vol. 35–36. American Catholic Historical Society. 1924. pp. 126, 206.
- ^ "The Growth of Catholicism in Our Area". The Diocese of Harrisburg. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ Dichtl, John (May 2008). The first Mass was celebrated in Allegany County by Father Dennis Cahill.
- ^ "St. Patrick Church", Our Lady of the Mountains
- "On This Site 1791". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved August 11, 2021. - ^ Lafort, Remigius (1914). The Catholic Church in the United States of America. Catholic editing Company. p. 95 – via Google Books.
- ^ Stanton, Thomas J. (1900). A Century of Growth, Or, The Church in Western Maryland. Vol. 2. Heritage Book. p. 127. ISBN 9780788421280 – via Google Books.