About St. Ann · Baltimore, Maryland
St. Ann is a historic Roman Catholic parish in the East Baltimore–Midway neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Founded in the 1870s by Captain William Kennedy in thanksgiving to St. Ann for saving his clipper ship in a storm, the parish is anchored by a restored ship's anchor that still stands near the cornerstone. Once a predominantly Irish congregation, St. Ann is today a mostly African-American Catholic community served since 2018 by the Josephites (Society of St. Joseph) as part of a tri-parish pastorate with St. Francis Xavier and St. Wenceslaus. In September 2024 the Archdiocese of Baltimore decreed that St. Ann would be merged into St. Francis Xavier effective December 1, 2024, though parishioners have explored purchasing the Gothic church building.
- Established
- 1873 (cornerstone laid); parish served from 1873, church completed 1874
- Patron
- St. Ann (patroness of seafarers, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Father Xavier Edet, SSJ (Josephite; shares pastorate with St. Francis Xavier and St. Wenceslaus)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Baltimore
Why belong here
St. Ann is a small, close-knit worship community that carries a remarkable 150-year story — from Captain Kennedy's vow at sea to a present-day congregation active in racial and social justice. Worshipping here means joining a parish whose members have put their faith into action on major Church questions, including a national campaign for the canonization of the first African-American saints, and whose historic Gothic church and treasured ship's anchor make every visit distinctive.
Mass times at St. Ann
Weekly Mass schedule
Our Story: A Vow at Sea
St. Ann's life began with a storm and a prayer. In 1833, Captain William Kennedy, master of the Baltimore clipper ship The Wanderer, was caught in a violent storm off the coast of Cuba. He vowed to St. Ann — patroness of seafarers and mother of Mary — that if he and his crew survived, he would build a church in her honor. After a safe return to Baltimore, Kennedy and his wife Mary Ann Jenkins purchased land in northeast Baltimore for that church and opened their home on Homewood Avenue and York Road as a temporary place of worship. The cornerstone was laid in 1873, the year both Kennedys died; the completed Gothic church opened the following year, and the Kennedys were laid to rest under its main aisle. The Wanderer's anchor sits near the cornerstone to this day — rescued from a dump and restored in 1925 — as a permanent reminder of the parish's origin in thanksgiving.
- Clipper ship: The Wanderer
- Storm year: 1833 (also reported as off Vera Cruz / Gulf of Mexico)
- Cornerstone laid 1873; church completed 1874
- Anchor restored and re-set near the cornerstone in 1925
Mission, Community and Demographics
The parish's stated mission calls St. Ann to be a family of believers who teach, proclaim, celebrate, witness and manifest — five verbs structured around the Gospel. Once a predominantly Irish-Catholic congregation, St. Ann is today a largely African-American Catholic parish. Even as membership has aged and shrunk — about 45 regular weekend Mass attendees and roughly 70 families in recent reporting — parishioners emphasize that the parish's sacramental reach is far broader.
- Mission pillars: TEACH, PROCLAIM, CELEBRATE, WITNESS, MANIFEST
- Currently a predominantly African-American Catholic community
- Home parish of Cardinal Lawrence Shehan (Archbishop of Baltimore, 1961–1974)
Schools and Faith Formation
St. Ann's religious-education program has long offered faith formation for all ages, with discussion, formal instruction and study of Catholic tenets. The parish once ran its own school and an adjacent convent; both have since closed, but the old school building gained a new mission in 2009 when Mother Seton Academy — a Nativity-Miguel middle school offering full scholarships to a low-income student body of more than 80 children — took up residence there, extending the parish's educational legacy into the present.
- Religious education for all ages
- Mother Seton Academy (Nativity-Miguel model) housed in the former parish school since 2009
- Old convent and rectory preserved; a neighboring house once owned by Baseball Hall of Famer John McGraw was sold by the parish around 2020
Clergy and Pastoral Leadership
Since 2018 St. Ann has been pastored by the Josephites (Society of St. Joseph), the Catholic congregation historically dedicated to ministry with African Americans. Father Xavier Edet, SSJ, serves as pastor of all three churches in the pastorate — St. Ann, St. Francis Xavier and St. Wenceslaus. Strong lay leadership has been a hallmark of the parish, especially during the 150th-anniversary celebrations and the later 'Seek the City to Come' realignment process.
- Order: Josephites (Society of St. Joseph)
- Pastor: Father Xavier Edet, SSJ
- Tri-parish pastorate with St. Francis Xavier and St. Wenceslaus since 2018
Social and Racial Justice / African-American Sainthood Campaign
St. Ann's Social and Racial Justice Committee has been a driving force in campaigns to name the first African-American saints. On All Saints Day, November 1, 2021, parishioners from St. Ann, St. Francis Xavier and St. Wenceslaus joined Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, CSsR, urban vicar for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and Father Xavier Edet, SSJ, for a Mass launching a letter-writing campaign to Pope Francis urging use of the 'santo subito' process to advance the causes of Pierre Toussaint, Henriette DeLille, Augustus Tolton, Julia Greeley, Mother Mary Lange and Thea Bowman. Permanent icons for each of the six were installed after Mass. The effort has been covered by the Black Catholic Messenger, the Catholic Review and the Baltimore Afro-American.
- Campaign launched November 1, 2021 (All Saints Day)
- Co-led by Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, CSsR and Father Xavier Edet, SSJ
- Six causes featured: Mother Mary Lange, Pierre Toussaint, Henriette DeLille, Augustus Tolton, Julia Greeley, Thea Bowman
Seek the City to Come and the 2024 Merger Decree
In May 2024, after years of planning and three packed listening sessions, Archbishop William E. Lori released the final 'Seek the City to Come' plan, which folds St. Ann, along with St. Wenceslaus and St. Ignatius, into nearby historic St. Francis Xavier Church. On September 28, 2024, the Archbishop issued the formal canonical decree setting the merger for December 1, 2024. Parishioners responded with an eight-page counter-proposal and a plan to purchase the Gothic church and adjacent rectory themselves — using more than $920,000 the parish held in its bank account — so that Sunday Mass could continue under retired-priest support. As of the most recent public reporting, the building's future remains undetermined.
- Final 'Seek the City to Come' plan released May 22, 2024
- Decree of merger issued September 28, 2024
- Effective date of merger: December 1, 2024
- Parishioner counter-proposal and building-purchase effort reported by The Baltimore Sun (August 2024)
150th Anniversary (2022–2023)
St. Ann's sesquicentennial kicked off in October 2022 and concluded with an anniversary Mass on October 22, 2023, at which Archbishop William E. Lori presided. The year featured social events, community prayer, monthly history tours (led by parish historians including Jerome Wooden and Delores Moore) and Friends and Family Days — all built around the parish's long-running metaphor of being 'anchored in faith.'
- Sesquicentennial opened October 2022
- Closing anniversary Mass with Archbishop Lori on October 22, 2023
- Sesquicentennial committee chair: Jerome Wooden
Records and Archives
St. Ann's sacramental registers are preserved on microfilm at the Maryland State Archives (collection MSA SC 2672, films SCM 2931–2935). The collection covers baptisms 1873–1968, marriages 1873–1967, interments 1874–1959, deaths 1960–1982 and first communions 1873–1979. Post-1940 baptisms are restricted and require written permission from the church to access.
- MSA SC 2672 / SCM 2931–2935
- Baptisms 1873–1968; marriages 1873–1967; interments 1874–1959; deaths 1960–1982; first communions 1873–1979
Visit and Contact
St. Ann is located at 528 East 22nd Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (corner of Greenmount Avenue and East 22nd Street), in the East Baltimore–Midway neighborhood. The phone number is (410) 235-8169. Parishioners and visitors are encouraged to call before any visit given the active merger transition.
- Address: 528 East 22nd Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
- Phone: (410) 235-8169
- Website: stannsofbaltimore.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Xavier Edet, SSJ2018–present
Josephite pastor sharing leadership of the tri-parish pastorate with St. Francis Xavier and St. Wenceslaus under the Archdiocese of Baltimore's 'Seek the City to Come' realignment.