St. Theresa, Port Deposit

And so, in 1859, the Reverend Lawrence Malloy moved into a newly purchased residence so that he could minister to the local Catholics. In 1862, he was succeeded by the Reverend George Steinhauser. Using local granite, a church was built dedicated to the honor of St. Teresa of Avila with the cornerstone being lain in 1866. Its first recorded baptism took place in 1871 and the church received its first resident pastor in 1893 in the Reverend Peter Arnd. During World War 2, with the opening of the Bainbridge Naval Training Center, the Catholic population swelled. Sadly, in the 1980s, the church was slated to close, and so the faithful of St. Theresa's came together and formed The Friends of St. Theresa's Guild. They tasked themselves with bringing many families back to attend Mass at the church along with raising funds for its continued maintenance. Happily, they were successful and the church remains open as a Mission of Good Shepherd. In fact, St. Theresa's is known as the Mother of Good Shepherd Parish. It celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2016 with A Mass by the Most Reverend W. Francis Malooly, the 9th Bishop of Wilmington.