About Most Precious Blood · Baltimore, Maryland
Most Precious Blood is a small Roman Catholic parish in Baltimore, Maryland, serving the Armistead Gardens neighborhood from its building at 5010 Bowleys Lane. Founded in 1948, it is one of several parishes created during the post-World War II boom to serve Baltimore's growing working-class communities, and for decades it was a parish of the Archdiocese of Baltimore with its own school. By the 2020s the parish had found a fresh identity as an intentionally intimate worship community — roughly half its members are recent immigrants from the Republic of Congo and other African nations, with the remainder drawn from the original neighborhood. On December 1, 2024, Most Precious Blood was formally merged by Archbishop William E. Lori's decree into St. Matthew Parish in Northwood as part of the 'Seek the City to Come' pastoral plan.
- Established
- 1948
- Patron
- The Most Precious Blood of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. Patrick Carrion (Pastor of the merged pastorate as of July 2024; Most Precious Blood merged into St. Matthew on Dec 1, 2024)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Baltimore
Why belong here
Most Precious Blood has long been described as an intentionally intimate parish where everyone knows each other — when someone gets sick, the whole community knows within hours. It welcomes a striking mix of longtime Armistead Gardens families and newer arrivals from the Republic of Congo and other African nations, and visitors will hear that diversity reflected in its worship and hospitality. Beyond Sunday Mass, the parish campus functions as a genuine neighborhood hub, hosting a Head Start program, citizenship classes, and English-language courses that serve northeast Baltimore every day of the week.
Mass times at Most Precious Blood
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:45–4:15 PM (at Most Precious Blood / pastorate)
Parish Identity and Community
Most Precious Blood was the Catholic parish established in 1948 for the Armistead Gardens community, the apartment-complex neighborhood in northeast Baltimore built largely in the late 1930s to house workers for the city's World War II industries. The parish has long been described by its own members as 'a tiny church, but a mighty family' — an intentionally intimate congregation where, as longtime parishioner Ann Collins put it, 'if someone gets sick, everyone knows within hours.' By the 2020s its roughly 60–75 weekly Mass-goers were split almost evenly between original Armistead Gardens families and recent immigrants from the Republic of Congo and other African nations, a diversity the parish has actively embraced.
History and Founding
Founded in 1948, the parish held its first Masses in the Fox Mansion community center in Armistead Gardens while its own building was being prepared. In 1960 the parish moved into a new two-story brick building on Bowleys Lane, built on land donated by the developer of much of the surrounding apartment stock. The building combined the parish school and the worship space, and there were plans for a separate church, rectory, and convent on an adjoining lot — plans that were never realized as the post-war Baby Boom faded.
- 1948 — parish established; first Masses in the Fox Mansion community center
- 1960 — move to current two-story brick building at 5010 Bowleys Lane
- 1988 — parish school closes; worship space renovated into a more intimate setting
- 1995 — twinned with St. Anthony of Padua in Gardenville
- 2023 — celebrated 75th anniversary under Father Ty Hullinger
- Sept. 28, 2024 — Archbishop Lori issues decree merging MPB into St. Matthew
- Dec. 1, 2024 — Most Precious Blood formally merged into St. Matthew Parish, Northwood
Architecture and Facilities
The parish has worshipped in the same two-story brick building since 1960. Originally designed to house both the parish school and the worship space, it survived intact through the closure of the school in 1988. After that, the worship space was renovated into a cozier, more modern setting more appropriate to the actual congregation size — a change that helped give Most Precious Blood its later identity as an 'intentional' parish. A separate church, rectory, and convent on an adjoining lot were planned but never built.
Worship, Hospitality, and Community Life
Liturgy at Most Precious Blood was consistently described as more intimate than at larger parishes — a setting where attendees see the same faces weekly and newcomers are visibly welcomed. After Sunday Mass, the hospitality team serves donuts and coffee, a tradition that doubles as a social mixer for the parish's culturally mixed congregation.
- Hospitality team and post-Mass donuts-and-coffee
- Volunteer church decorators
- Volunteer launderers for altar linens and vestments
Outreach: Head Start, Citizenship, and ESL
Beyond Sunday worship, Most Precious Blood is a genuine neighborhood hub. The parish building serves as a Head Start early-childhood site and hosts citizenship and English-language classes for the surrounding Armistead Gardens community — services that reflect and serve the same immigrant population that has reshaped the parish's own pews.
- Head Start program on campus
- Citizenship / civics preparation classes
- English as a Second Language (ESL) courses
Pastorate and the Seek the City Merger
In the years before the merger, Most Precious Blood was part of the Epiphany Pastorate along with St. Anthony of Padua in Gardenville, St. Dominic in Hamilton, the Shrine of the Little Flower in Belair-Edison, and St. Francis of Assisi in Mayfield. The five parishes shared pastoral leadership and adopted a combined pastoral council under the name 'The Epiphany Pastorate of St. Anthony, St. Dominic and Most Precious Blood.' As part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore's 'Seek the City to Come' plan, Archbishop William E. Lori issued a decree on September 28, 2024 merging Most Precious Blood into St. Matthew Parish in Northwood effective December 1, 2024, with parishioners given a formal appeal window ending October 11, 2024.
- Twinned with St. Anthony of Padua, 1995
- Joined multi-parish Epiphany Pastorate
- Seek the City to Come plan released May 2024
- Decree issued Sept. 28, 2024 by Archbishop William E. Lori
- Merged into St. Matthew Parish effective Dec. 1, 2024
Contact and Location
Most Precious Blood sat at 5010 Bowleys Lane in northeast Baltimore's 21206 ZIP code, in the Armistead Gardens neighborhood between one of the nation's largest urban parks and a collection of high-density housing. The parish office could be reached at (410) 488-0401 and by email at [email protected]; the listed website was www.sapmpb.org. After the December 1, 2024 merger, parishioners were directed to St. Matthew Parish for the most up-to-date Mass times and pastoral information.
- Address: 5010 Bowleys Lane, Baltimore, MD 21206
- Phone: (410) 488-0401
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.sapmpb.org
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Baltimore
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Ty Hullinger2010–c. 2024
Long-serving pastor who led Most Precious Blood through its 75th-anniversary year; described the parish as 'intimate' and served it from the Epiphany Pastorate until his reassignment to Southwest Baltimore in 2024.
- Rev. Patrick CarrionJuly 2024 – December 1, 2024 (final months)
Pastor of the Epiphany Pastorate (St. Anthony, St. Dominic, Most Precious Blood, Shrine of the Little Flower, St. Francis of Assisi) named pastor of the new St. Matthew / Blessed Sacrament pastorate effective July 1, 2024, continuing to oversee the MPB pastorate until the December 1, 2024 merger.