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HISTORY OF SAINT MARGARET CHURCH
and
SAINT MARY MAGDALEN MISSION CENTER

On November 19, 1900, Fr J. Alphonse Frederick, the first pastor of St. Margaret Church, purchased three acres of land in Bel Air, Maryland for the sum of $3000, using money which was bequeathed to him by his mother, Anna Margaret (Hild) Frederick. Five years later, this land became the location of the Church of Saint Margaret.

Following are some facts and significant events in the
History of St. Margaret Catholic Church,
and the development of 
St. Mary Magdalen Mission Center as
a mission church of St. Margaret.

• Fr. J. Alphonse Frederick was ordained a Priest, December 18, 1874.

• May 1, 1905 the cornerstone was laid and volunteers helped build the
  Church. The Church was named in honor of Fr. Frederick's mother's
  patron saint, St. Margaret, a 3rd Century martyr. Mass was first
  celebrated in the Chapel on October 1, 1905. This was the first
  known Celebration of a Catholic mass in Bel Air. The original
  church, presently our Adult Education Center, was used for
  Eucharistic celebration until 1969 when the new Church was finished.

• The original Church was remodeled to provide offices for the staff of
  St. Margaret until 1995 when the new two story building (with the
  clock tower) was completed. The new building now provides staff
  offices and Pre-school and Kindergarten facilities on the first floor.

• The original Church now also houses the Archbishop William D.
  Borders Library. The Adult Education Center was dedicated on
  May 13, 1995 by His Eminence William Cardinal Keeler.
  The Library was dedicated in the Fall of 1995. 

• A Mass of Dedication was celebrated on April 20, 1969, by His
  Eminence Lawrence Cardinal Shehan to consecrate the present
  house of worship for the Church of St. Margaret.

• The altar is a five ton piece of marble carved in the shape of a table.
  Within the altar is the relic of Pignatianus, a holy Roman martyr of the
  third century. The tabernacle of the Blessed Sacrament is locate in the
  Chapel at the rear of the Church.

• On May 13, 1995, ground was broken for the new Mary Magdalen
  Mission Center on Churchville Road, which has become the
  temporary mission church of St. Margaret. It was dedicated on
  April 12, 1997 by William Cardinal Keeler. It consists of a single
  multi-purpose building which seats 600 for Mass and 300 for
  banquets. Future plans include a Church to be built adjacent to
  the Mission Center. The complex also includes a new middle
  school which was completed in the Spring and which opened
  in the Fall of 2001.

• On September 20, 2001 the St. Mary Magdalen Education center
  was dedicated by Bishop William C. Newman, Eastern Vicar
  of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The education center consists
  of nine classrooms, a library/multimedia center and a 
  gymnasium. The building houses St. Margaret Middle School
  (grades 6-8) during the day and Religious Education and
  Continuing Education classes at other times.
  
  

A detailed history of St. Margaret Catholic Church may be found in the 2005
Commemorative Centennial Book celebrating 100 years of Catholic Ministry.
This book may be purchased at the Parish Office.  A copy may be found in
the Archbishop Borders Library located in the Adult Education Center on the
St. Margaret Campus, and at the Harford County Historical Society located
on Main Street in Bel Air.