About Saint Mark · Newberry, South Carolina
St. Mark Catholic Church is a small Roman-Latin parish serving Newberry, South Carolina, in the Greenville Deanery of the Diocese of Charleston. Founded in 1956 and worshipping in a church designed and built by Cannon Construction Company in the fall of 1960, the parish serves roughly 200 households in a single-story building with seating for about 200 (including the choir, cry room, and a small chapel). With both English and Spanish Masses, weekly Eucharistic Adoration on Fridays, and a long-standing Catholic presence in Newberry County, St. Mark functions as the hub of a small cluster that also includes St. Boniface in Joanna and Holy Spirit Mission in Laurens.
- Established
- 1956
- Patron
- Saint Mark the Evangelist
- Rector
- Rev. Cosmus Mutie Wambua (Administrator, Newberry cluster)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston
Why belong here
St. Mark offers a tight-knit Catholic community in a small, historic South Carolina city, with weekly Mass in both English and Spanish, Friday Eucharistic Adoration, and the personal attention that comes with a 200-family parish. As the anchor of the Newberry cluster (alongside St. Boniface in Joanna and Holy Spirit Mission in Laurens), it gives Catholics in the midlands a stable, long-standing home — the parish has worshipped at 928 Boundary Street since 1960 — where newcomers and longtime members alike can be known by name.
Mass times at Saint Mark
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment
Adoration times
- Friday 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Parish Identity & Location
St. Mark Catholic Church sits at 928 Boundary Street in Newberry, South Carolina, in the midlands of the state. The parish is a Roman-Latin parish in the Diocese of Charleston, assigned to the Greenville Deanery. It is one of about 200-household parishes in the diocese, and its church building was completed in 1960.
- Address: 928 Boundary Street, Newberry, SC 29108
- Phone: (803) 276-6446
- Diocese: Diocese of Charleston (Greenville Deanery)
- Founded: 1956
- Seating capacity: 200
History
St. Mark Parish was founded in 1956 by a Nova Scotian priest who served the Diocese of Charleston for 46 years and remained as St. Mark's first pastor until 1965. Four years after its founding, the parish moved into its present home — a church designed and built by Cannon Construction Company in the fall of 1960 — and has worshipped at 928 Boundary Street ever since. Today the parish operates as part of the Newberry cluster, sharing pastoral ministry with St. Boniface in Joanna and Holy Spirit Mission in Laurens.
- 1956: Parish established; founding pastor (a Nova Scotian priest) serves 1956–1965
- Fall 1960: Present church designed and built by Cannon Construction Company
- Current: served by Rev. Cosmus Mutie Wambua as administrator of the Newberry cluster
Architecture & Building
The St. Mark church building was designed and constructed by Cannon Construction Company in the fall of 1960. It is a modest single-purpose Catholic church with seating for about 200 people; that capacity includes seating for the choir, a cry room for families with small children, and a small side chapel.
- Designed and built by Cannon Construction Company (fall 1960)
- Seating capacity: 200
- Includes choir seating, cry room, and a small chapel
Clergy & Staff
The parish is currently led by Rev. Cosmus Mutie Wambua, who serves as Administrator of the Newberry cluster — a group of three parishes that includes St. Mark in Newberry, St. Boniface in Joanna, and Holy Spirit Mission in Laurens. The parish also employs a bookkeeper, Dena Goeckner.
- Administrator: Rev. Cosmus Mutie Wambua
- Bookkeeper: Dena Goeckner
- Cluster: St. Mark (Newberry), St. Boniface (Joanna), Holy Spirit Mission (Laurens)
Visit, Contact & Directions
Parishioners and visitors can reach St. Mark by phone at (803) 276-6446, or by mail at 928 Boundary Street, Newberry, SC 29108. To get there from SC-219, follow the highway into town where it becomes Main Street, turn left onto Nance Street, and then right onto Boundary Street. The parish also maintains a Facebook page for news and announcements.
- Phone: (803) 276-6446
- Email: [email protected]
- Directions: SC-219 → Main Street → left on Nance → right on Boundary
- Facebook: facebook.com/SaintMarksCatholicChurch
- Website: stmarkcathchurch.org
Patron Saint
The parish is named for Saint Mark the Evangelist, the traditional author of the Second Gospel and one of the four Evangelists. Saint Mark's feast day is celebrated on April 25 each year.
- Patron: Saint Mark the Evangelist
- Feast Day: April 25
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Founding pastor (priest from Nova Scotia)1956–1965
A Catholic priest from Nova Scotia who served the Diocese of Charleston for 46 years; founding pastor of St. Mark's Church in Newberry, where he served from 1956 to 1965.