About Saint Mary · Hampton, South Carolina
St. Mary Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission church located at 703 5th Street East in Hampton, South Carolina, serving roughly 42 households of the local Catholic community in Hampton County. Founded in 1955, it is canonically and pastorally attached to St. Anthony Parish in nearby Ridgeland, both of which are administered by Rev. Luis E. Serrano Carrero within the Diocese of Charleston. The mission has seating for about 100 worshippers and celebrates one Sunday Mass each week at 9:00 a.m., making it one of the smaller but faithful rural outposts of Catholicism in the Lowcountry.
- Established
- 1955
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Rev. Luis E. Serrano Carrero (Administrator; pastor of St. Anthony Parish, Ridgeland)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston
Why belong here
St. Mary Mission offers the small Catholic community of Hampton a regular Sunday Eucharist close to home, with the spiritual care and stability of the larger St. Anthony Parish family in Ridgeland. It is an intimate, mission-sized congregation (about 42 households) where members know one another and where the parish records and sacramental life are faithfully kept by the Diocese of Charleston. Visitors and returning Catholics can worship at a single, predictable weekly Sunday Mass (9:00 a.m.) and can reach parish administration directly through the St. Anthony, Ridgeland, offices.
Mass times at Saint Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment only
About St. Mary Mission
St. Mary Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission church at 703 5th Street East in Hampton, South Carolina, in the Diocese of Charleston (Beaufort Deanery). Founded in 1955, it seats about 100 people and serves approximately 42 households. Because it is a mission rather than a parish, it is pastorally administered by St. Anthony Parish in Ridgeland, and shares that parish's pastor, Rev. Luis E. Serrano Carrero.
- Founded: 1955
- Seating: 100
- Households: 42
- Type: Mission of St. Anthony Parish, Ridgeland
History & Canonical Status
The mission was originally established in 1955 as a Catholic outreach to Hampton County. Diocesan records and a 2017 decree from Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone document a long-running canonical relationship with St. Anthony Parish in Walterboro and, later, St. Anthony Parish in Ridgeland. On June 1, 1976, the mission was reassigned from the Walterboro St. Anthony to the Ridgeland St. Anthony. In June 2012 it was returned to Walterboro for reasons of 'spiritual necessity,' but in late 2017 it was once again placed under Ridgeland — a move that has governed its pastoral care ever since.
- 1976 (June 1): Reassigned from St. Anthony, Walterboro, to St. Anthony, Ridgeland.
- 2012 (June): Temporarily returned to St. Anthony, Walterboro.
- 2017 (Dec. 1, per decree of Nov. 20, 2017): Permanently reassigned to St. Anthony, Ridgeland, by Bishop Guglielmone.
- All sacramental registers (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Marriage, death) and parish records were transferred to Ridgeland under canon 535 §§1–5.
Clergy & Staff
Because St. Mary Mission is not an independent parish, it does not have its own resident pastor. It is administered through St. Anthony Parish, Ridgeland, where the administrator and finance officer also oversee the mission's day-to-day life.
- Administrator: Rev. Luis E. Serrano Carrero
- Finance: Carol Darmer
Parish Identity & Diocese
St. Mary Mission belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston and is located in the Diocese's Beaufort Deanery. Its mailing address is given as 'Mission of St. Anthony Parish, Ridgeland,' reflecting its canonical dependence on St. Anthony. Parish inquiries and sacramental requests route through the St. Anthony, Ridgeland, parish office and website.
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston
- Deanery: Beaufort
- Mailing designation: Mission of St. Anthony Parish, Ridgeland
Visit, Contact & Directions
Visitors can reach the mission easily from US-278: turn south onto 5th Street and continue four blocks; the church will be on the left. Phone and email contacts are handled through the St. Anthony, Ridgeland, parish office.
- Address: 703 5th Street East, Hampton, SC 29924
- Phone: (803) 943-4019
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.stanthonyridgeland.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stanthonyridgeland/
- Directions: From US-278, south on 5th Street, four blocks on the left.