About St. Francis de Sales · Newburg, Maryland
St. Francis de Sales is a small Catholic mission chapel serving the Rock Point peninsula in Charles County, Maryland, on a secluded wooded site overlooking the Wicomico River. Canonically established in 1908 as a mission of Holy Ghost Parish in nearby Issue, it is one of the historic mission churches that grew up to serve Charles County's late-19th-century maritime communities. The chapel is staffed by the pastor of Holy Ghost and is open for a limited number of Masses throughout the year, including a Saturday morning Mass on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays and a seasonal Sunday Mass during the summer.
- Established
- 1908
- Patron
- St. Francis de Sales
- Rector
- Rev. William F. Wadsworth
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Washington
Why belong here
St. Francis de Sales is a small, beautifully preserved mission chapel in a tranquil woodland setting overlooking the Wicomico River — a unique place of prayer for Catholics in the Rock Point and lower Charles County area who want a more intimate worship experience rooted in a historic 1908 building. Because it is a mission of nearby Holy Ghost Parish in Issue, parishioners are welcomed into a single Catholic community served by the same pastor and staff, with weekend Mass options across both chapels, the sacraments of reconciliation and anointing of the sick available by appointment, and the rosary recited after weekday Masses.
Mass times at St. Francis de Sales
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment (call the parish office at 301-259-2515)
Parish Identity & Mission Status
St. Francis de Sales is canonically classified as a mission of Holy Ghost Parish in Issue, Maryland, and was established in that capacity in 1908. It is listed by the Archdiocese of Washington under its mission directory and is owned by the Archdiocese. The chapel is staffed by the same pastor, deacon, and administrative team who serve the parent parish at Holy Ghost, and is one of several small mission chapels that have historically served the Catholic families of the lower Charles County peninsula.
- Type: Catholic Mission (Mission of Holy Ghost Parish, Issue)
- Established: 1908
- Parent parish: Holy Ghost, Issue, MD
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Washington
- Pastor: Rev. William F. Wadsworth
History of St. Francis de Sales Chapel
The chapel was built in 1908 on land that S. Spearman and Verlinda E. Lancaster sold that same year to the Charles County Board of Education, carved out of the historic Rock Point Farm. The site also hosted a school that served local children until 1945. Local tradition holds that the chapel was built for the 1908 wedding of S. Spearman Lancaster's daughter, Jennie, to Francis Roach. The mission was created under the direction of Holy Ghost Parish, just four years after the Cobb Neck peninsula was separated from the Newport district in 1904 and given its own priest. The chapel's history parallels that of the now-vanished St. Francis de Sales mission at Benedict, Maryland (est. 1903, chapel burned 1924) and a similar mission at Solomon's Island, Calvert County — all founded to serve the late-19th and early-20th-century Catholic maritime communities of southern Maryland.
- Established 1908 as a mission of Holy Ghost Parish
- Built on land from Rock Point Farm (Lancaster family)
- Local tradition: built for the Lancaster–Roach wedding of 1908
- Site also included a school until 1945
- Mirrors the history of St. Francis de Sales, Benedict (1903) and the Solomon's Island mission (by 1903)
Architecture & Historic Site
The chapel is a small front-gable frame structure, exceptionally preserved and listed in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (CH-663) as an excellent example of early-20th-century sacred architecture in Charles County. The building retains its original German siding and sits on brick piers infilled with concrete block. Its most distinctive features include an open belfry at the crest of the steeply pitched roof sheltering a large iron bell and capped with a simple wooden cross pinnacle, a centered covered entry with double 6-panel doors, a large transom lancet window, narrow double-hung lancet windows flanking the entrance, a round stained glass window above the porch, and a round stained glass compass window on the rear (sanctuary) elevation. Rear additions — a cross-gable room and a smaller front-gable and shed extension — are deliberately diminutive.
- Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties: CH-663
- Front-gable frame chapel, original German siding
- Open belfry with large iron bell and wooden cross pinnacle
- Round stained glass windows (porch and sanctuary)
- Lancet windows and transom lancet over entry
- Set on a two-acre wooded peninsula overlooking the Wicomico River
Mass & Worship Schedule
As a small mission chapel, St. Francis de Sales offers a limited but regular worship schedule coordinated with the parent parish of Holy Ghost in Issue. The chapel is the site of the 8:30 a.m. Saturday Mass on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month, and hosts a 8:00 a.m. Sunday Mass during the summer months from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. All other weekend and daily Masses are celebrated at Holy Ghost Church in Issue.
- 1st Saturday: 8:30 AM Mass at St. Francis de Sales Chapel
- 3rd Saturday: 8:30 AM Mass at St. Francis de Sales Chapel
- Sunday (Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day): 8:00 AM at the chapel
- Saturday Vigil (5:00 PM) and additional Sunday Masses at Holy Ghost, Issue
- Weekday Masses Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri at 8:30 AM at Holy Ghost, Issue
Sacraments & Devotions
Confessions at the mission are scheduled by appointment; visitors should call the parish office. The rosary is prayed after weekday Masses (at Holy Ghost), and a communal Sunday rosary is recited at 9:45 a.m. The parish also observes a novena from Ascension Thursday through Pentecost, and Eucharistic Adoration is offered on First Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at Holy Ghost Church in Issue.
- Confession: by appointment (call 301-259-2515)
- Rosary: after weekday Masses at Holy Ghost, Issue
- Sunday Rosary: 9:45 a.m. at Holy Ghost, Issue
- Novena: Ascension Thursday through Pentecost
- Eucharistic Adoration: 1st Fridays, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. at Holy Ghost, Issue
Parish Staff
The mission is served by the pastor and staff of Holy Ghost Parish, Issue, in keeping with its mission status. The current pastor is Rev. William F. Wadsworth, and retired Deacon Walter G. Rourke also assists the community. Cindy M. Pilkerton serves as administrative assistant / business manager for the combined parish community.
- Pastor: Rev. William F. Wadsworth
- Deacon: Walter G. Rourke (Retired)
- Administrative Assistant / Business Manager: Cindy M. Pilkerton
Visiting & Location
St. Francis de Sales Chapel sits on a secluded two-acre wooded peninsula overlooking the Wicomico River in the Rock Point community of Charles County, Maryland. The mailing address is 13675 Furbush Road, Newburg, MD 20664, although the chapel is locally considered part of Rock Point. Visitors approach by a private drive cut through woodland; parking is on the chapel grounds. The mission is approximately 10 minutes from Holy Ghost Church in Issue, where most of the parish's ministries and activities are based.
- Address: 13675 Furbush Road, Newburg, MD 20664 (Rock Point, Charles County)
- Phone: 301-259-2515
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: holyghostissue.org
- Setting: secluded wooded peninsula on the Wicomico River