St. Christopher, Chester

Father John Altham, S.J. moved there to serve the Matapeak tribe. Here, he ministered to French speaking natives who had traveled from as far as North as Canada. Sadly, the mission on Kent Island ended abruptly when Father Altham was cut on his foot, developed blood poisoning, and died in 1640. It would be another three centuries before another priest would live on Kent Island to minister to the Catholic population.

A Catholic church on Kent Island was the cherished dream of a small group of Catholics living on the Island. In March 1949, they petitioned the Diocese to have a Sunday Mass on Kent Island; but because of the remoteness of the area, the small number of Catholics, and the shortage of priests, their requests could not be granted.

The group persisted in their efforts and formed weekly rosary meetings and carpools to attend mass at Saint Peter in Queenstown, 14 miles away. In the summer of 1952, a local developer donated three and one half acres of land, and the Most Reverend Edmond J. Fitzmaurice, fourth Bishop of Wilmington, granted permission for Saint Christopher church to be formed. Although the Bishop had given the group permission to organize, they were unsuccessful in finding a priest within the Diocese of Wilmington and contacted the Carmelite Moanstery in Washington D.C. Realizing the desperate need for a priest, they accepted the burden of commuting from Washington every weekend in the fall of 1953. The first Mass was celebrated in St. Martin's Camp Chapel at Love Point, On September 20, 1953. This chapel proved impossible to heat and space was donated for use as a church in a store-front at the Kent Island Shopping Center in October of that same year. The following years were filled with activity and fund-raising which led to the laying of the cornerstone of a new church on November 20, 1955. Saint Christopher continued to be led by the Carmelite priests until 1958, when they were followed by a diocesan priest. In 1961, the Redemptorist Fathers agreed to staff Saint Christopher as a mission church of Saint Mary in Annapolis, Md. The Redemptorists continued to staff the church through 1999. Following their departure in 1999, the Diocese of Wilmington again began staffing the church with its priests.

In 1970, a hall was added for Religious Education classes for the children, along with a permanent apartment for the pastor, and in 1975 a rectory with accommodations for two priests, an office, and a chapel were built. A new Parish Center, with additional classroom space and a conference room were added in January of 1991 to accommodate the burgeoning numbers of families attending Saint Christopher.

Due to continued growth, a new church was built which incorporated sections of the original structure in its architecture. The new church, which can seat over 700 persons, was dedicated on January 18, 2009. The original rectory building has been converted to additional religious education, meeting and office space and a separate building was purchased in 2016 to house the priest.