About St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception · Wilmington, Delaware
St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception is a historic downtown Wilmington parish founded in 1858 and dedicated by St. John Neumann. It is the fourth church in New Castle County and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today it is part of the Downtown Catholic family of parishes, sharing a pastoral team with the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Patrick while preserving its own small, close-knit, racially mixed identity. The church continues to offer Sunday Mass and First Saturday Mass in a beautiful Byzantine Revival building at 6th and Pine Streets.
- Established
- 1858
- Patron
- Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception
- Rector
- The Very Reverend Joseph W. McQuaide, IV
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington
Why belong here
A small, close-knit, racially mixed parish rooted in more than 165 years of downtown Wilmington faith, offering historic beauty, reverent Sunday worship, and the shared resources of the Downtown Catholic pastoral team.
Mass times at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception
Weekly Mass schedule
History
St. Mary's was founded in 1858 to serve Irish and German immigrants drawn to industry on Wilmington's East Side. The church was dedicated the same year by Bishop (now Saint) John N. Neumann of Philadelphia. The Very Reverend Patrick Reilly was the principal founder and first priest, serving from 1858 until his death in 1885. A central tower was added in 1871. Originally incorporated as St. Mary's Catholic Church in 1877, it was reincorporated in 1894 as the Church of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception and rededicated on December 8, 1907 after expansion. A school was completed in the parish's second decade and operated until 1975. The church suffered extensive fire damage in the 1960s but was saved, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In 1974 the parish was yoked with Saint Patrick's; it is now the smallest parish in the Diocese of Wilmington.
Architecture
The church is an example of Byzantine Revival architecture and was described at the time of dedication as a 'model of beauty, simplicity, solidity, and economy.' A central tower was added in 1871, and the building was expanded and rededicated in 1907.
Clergy & Staff
- Pastor: The Very Reverend Joseph W. McQuaide, IV
- Deacon Anthony Gallo
- Deacon Roberto Ortiz
- Parish Office Administrator: Maria Dempsey