About Saint Mary Our Lady of Hope · Manning, South Carolina
Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church (also known as St. Mary, Our Lady of Hope) is a Catholic parish in Manning, South Carolina, in the Columbia Deanery of the Diocese of Charleston. It began in 2002 as a mission church of St. Mary's in Summerton, meeting first in Manning High School and then in a campground, before its current building was constructed in 2005 on land donated by the Ridgill family. In 2014 Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone decreed that the Manning mission would become the territorial parish for Clarendon County, and on May 30, 2015 he formally erected St. Mary, Our Lady of Hope as a parish church. The parish has about 200 registered households and is known for an active Women's Club and Men's Club, a prayer-shawl ministry, faith formation for children, and a striking interior of nineteen stained-glass windows.
- Established
- 2002
- Patron
- Our Lady of Hope (Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Hope / Our Lady of Pontmain)
- Rector
- Rev. Antony Benjamine
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston
Why belong here
Our Lady of Hope is a close-knit Catholic community of about 200 households in Manning, the first Catholic parish ever established in the city, and the territorial parish for all of Clarendon County. It offers weekend and weekday Mass, faith formation for children from preschool through ninth grade, lively Women's Club and Men's Club groups that support parish life, and a beautiful prayer-shawl ministry called Mary's Handmaids that knits comfort for neighbors in crisis. Visitors will find a small but devoted congregation, a pastor and deacon who are deeply rooted in the community, and a stunning interior of nineteenth- and twentieth-century European stained glass.
Mass times at Saint Mary Our Lady of Hope
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before Mass, or by appointment
History of Our Lady of Hope Parish
Our Lady of Hope was established in 2002 as a mission of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Summerton, becoming the first Catholic church in the city of Manning. Its roots go back to 1899, when Lebanese immigrant families settled in nearby Summerton and eventually founded St. Mary's in 1914. The land on which the current church stands was donated to the Diocese of Charleston in 1977 by Herman Ridgill and added to by his widow in 2000. After a feasibility study by Fr. Scott Buchanan in 2000 and a successful capital campaign, Phase One of Our Lady of Hope was constructed and the building is now paid for in full.
- 1899 – Lebanese immigrants (Joseph, Nimmer, Shaleuly families) settle in Summerton
- 1914 – St. Mary's Catholic Church founded in Summerton
- 1917 – Bishop William T. Russell blesses St. Mary's (37 members)
- 1960 – St. Mary's becomes a parish covering all 599 square miles of Clarendon County
- 1977 – Herman Ridgill donates ~1 acre near I-95 for a Catholic church
- 2000 – Mrs. Ridgill donates more land (5 acres total); Fr. Scott Buchanan study recommends a Manning church
- Sept 2001 – First Sunday Mass in Manning High School auditorium
- 2002 – Our Lady of Hope formally established as a mission of St. Mary's, Summerton
- 2003 – Bishop Robert J. Baker approves the name 'Our Lady of Hope'
- 2005 – Current church building constructed on Ridgill land
- 2014 – Bishop Guglielmone's decree makes Our Lady of Hope the territorial parish for Clarendon County
- May 30, 2015 – Bishop Guglielmone formally erects St. Mary, Our Lady of Hope as a parish
Clergy, Staff & Parish Leadership
Our Lady of Hope is served by a pastor and a long-tenured deacon, and is supported in the office by a part-time parish administrator. The parish publishes a weekly bulletin with rotating ministry assignments for lectors, Eucharistic ministers and cantors at both Our Lady of Hope and the sister mission of St. Mary in Summerton.
- Pastor: Rev. Antony Benjamine — Phone 803-485-2925 (Office) / 803-485-2677 (Rectory)
- Deacon: Charles Walsh — has served the Manning Catholic community since its inception in 2001
- Parish Administrative Office: Jan Kessler — Mon/Wed/Fri 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., 803-485-2925
- CCD / Faith Formation Coordinator: Sonya DelRio — 225-0268
- Named lectors, Eucharistic ministers and cantors at OLOH (e.g. Cheryl Sweder, Valera Goff, Ellen Rossoni, Manley Lewis, Jacquie Corbett) and at St. Mary Summerton (Larry Shontere, Bonnie Luther)
Faith Formation (CCD / Religious Education)
The parish runs the Faith Formation program (CCD — Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) for children from Preschool through 9th grade. Classes meet on Wednesdays starting at 5:00 p.m. The program's mission statement is published in both English and Spanish, reflecting the parish's bilingual welcome. Religious education at Our Lady of Hope aims to guide children into a deeper relationship with God and community through Scripture, the Sacraments, and especially the Eucharist.
- CCD classes held Wednesdays, 5:00 p.m.
- Open to children Preschool through 9th grade
- Coordinator: Sonya DelRio — 225-0268
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) mission statement
- Preparation for First Communion and Confirmation
Parish Ministries & Organizations
The parish's 'About Us' page highlights two especially active organizations — the Women's Club and the Men's Club — that support both fundraisers and social activities. The parish also runs Mary's Handmaids, a knit-and-crochet / prayer-shawl ministry, and a wide rotation of liturgical ministries (lector, Eucharistic minister, cantor, altar server) is published in the weekly bulletin.
- Women's Club — supports parish fundraisers and social activities; underwrites Mary's Handmaids yarn
- Men's Club — supports parish fundraisers and social activities
- Mary's Handmaids (OLOH Knit & Crochet Group) — meets 3rd Wednesday of each month, 1:00–3:00 p.m.; makes prayer shawls blessed by the priest
- KnitWits — subset that has donated 323+ baby hats and 36 baby blankets to Clarendon Hospital (Nov 2015)
- Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, Cantors — published in rotating ministry assignments
- Altar servers and other liturgical volunteers
Stained Glass Windows — A Hidden Philadelphia Treasure
The most striking feature of Our Lady of Hope's interior is its collection of nineteen stained-glass windows, installed in July 2009 by Beyer Studios, Inc. of Philadelphia. Twelve of the windows once graced St. Aloysius, a German-immigrant parish in south Philadelphia that served its parishioners from 1894 until 2004, when it was closed due to declining membership and a shortage of priests. Those twelve come from the upper tier (clerestory) of St. Aloysius and were originally commissioned in 1924 in the Gothic Revival style by the famous F.S. Zettler Studio of Munich, Germany, then shipped across the Atlantic. Beyer Studios refurbished and resized them to fit OLOH's frames, and crafted the other seven windows from scratch to designs developed with Fr. David Whitman and a parishioner committee. The windows depict the Mysteries of the Rosary in New Testament chronological order, plus two round rose windows — St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Mary with the Child Jesus.
- Annunciation — Utility Room (Zettler)
- Visitation — Left Wall (Zettler)
- Nativity — Left Wall (Beyer)
- Presentation — Left Wall (Zettler)
- Finding of Jesus in the Temple — Joseph Room (Zettler)
- Baptism of Christ — Joseph Room (Beyer)
- Transfiguration — Joseph Room (Beyer)
- Agony in the Garden — Joseph Room (Zettler)
- Scourging at the Pillar — Mary Room (Zettler)
- Crowning of Thorns — Mary Room (Zettler)
- Jesus Carries His Cross — Mary Room (Zettler)
- Crucifixion — Mary Room (Beyer)
- Resurrection — Right Wall (Zettler)
- Ascension — Right Wall (Beyer)
- Descent of the Holy Spirit — Vestibule (Zettler)
- Assumption — Vestibule (Zettler)
- Crowning of Mary — Confessional (Zettler)
- Rose window: Joseph & the Child Jesus — Joseph Room (Beyer)
- Rose window: Mary & the Child Jesus — Mary Room (Beyer)
Property, Master Plan & Parish Office
Our Lady of Hope sits on land near I-95 that was donated in 1977 and 2000 by the Ridgill family with the stipulation that it be used for a Catholic church. The original Phase One church was built debt-free and has since been paid off in full, and the parish has been able to purchase an additional 11 adjacent acres, giving it more than 16 contiguous acres. A 'Phase I & Master Plan' document is published on the parish website outlining future development of the property. The mailing address for the parish office is in nearby Summerton, the historic home of St. Mary's.
- Street address: 2529 Raccoon Road, Manning, SC 29102
- Parish Office mailing address: 14 N. Cantey Street (also listed as 12 N. Cantey St), Summerton, SC 29148
- Property: 16+ contiguous acres near I-95, including the original Ridgill donation
- Phase I church (built 2005) is paid for in full
- Phase I & Master Plan document available on the parish website
- Phone: 803-485-2925 (Office) / 803-485-2677 (Rectory)
Bishop's Decree — Becoming a Parish
In a decree effective June 15, 2014, Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone of the Diocese of Charleston created Our Lady of Hope as a new territorial parish for Clarendon County, reversing the older relationship in which St. Mary's Summerton had been the parish and Our Lady of Hope a mission. The bishop cited the allocation of the Catholic faithful in Clarendon County, the decline in the worshiping community at St. Mary's Summerton, the fostering of unity, and the enhancement of collaborative ministry as reasons. On May 30, 2015, Bishop Guglielmone formally erected St. Mary, Our Lady of Hope as a parish church; the original decree is published on the parish website.
- Decree effective June 15, 2014 by Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone
- Creates Our Lady of Hope as territorial parish for Clarendon County
- St. Mary's Summerton returns to mission status
- Formal canonical erection as St. Mary, Our Lady of Hope: May 30, 2015
- Reported by The Catholic Miscellany (Charleston diocese) in 2014
Patroness — Our Lady of Hope (Our Lady of Pontmain)
The parish takes its name from the Marian title 'Our Lady of Hope,' associated with the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Pontmain, France, on January 17, 1871, during the Franco-Prussian War. Six children saw a beautiful lady in dark blue covered with gold stars above a house; she smiled, and a message in gold letters appeared in the sky urging the villagers to pray. After communal prayer led by their parish priest, the Prussian advance halted and ten days later an armistice was signed. Devotion to Our Lady of Hope spread from Pontmain and was brought to the United States in 1952 by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The Church celebrates Our Lady of Hope on January 17.
- Apparition: Pontmain, France, January 17, 1871
- Marian title: Our Lady of Hope / Our Lady of Pontmain
- Approved by Bishop Casimir Wicart, Diocese of Laval, February 2, 1872
- Shrine: Basilica of Our Lady of Hope of Pontmain
- Feast Day: January 17
Cluster of Catholic Churches in Clarendon County
Our Lady of Hope is part of a small cluster of Catholic worship communities serving Clarendon and the surrounding I-95 corridor, working together under one pastor. The parish website publishes a weekly Mass schedule for the entire cluster.
- Our Lady of Hope, Manning (the parish church, est. 2002 / parish 2015)
- St. Mary, Summerton (founded 1914; now mission status since 2014)
- St. Ann, Santee (Saturday 4:00 p.m. Vigil Mass; Friday 9:00 a.m.)
- Cluster served cooperatively by Rev. Antony Benjamine
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Carl Kaltreider
One of the early administrators of the Manning mission, serving after Mass began at Manning High School in 2001
- Rev. Vanancio Amidar
Early administrator of the Manning mission church
- Rev. Ernest Hepner
Early administrator of the Manning mission church
- Deacon Charles Walsh2001–present
Has served the Manning Catholic community from its inception in 2001
- Rev. Antony Benjamine
Current pastor