Item 6 - The History of the Baltimore and Washington Foundations

3 pp; typescript

A report chronicling the Irish Capuchins’ struggle to establish a permanent presence on the American East Coast between 1928 and 1930. The Irish friars sought a foundation in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. However, the Pittsburgh Province claimed exclusive rights to the territory, despite the Irish friars having the personal support of Archbishop Curley. They initially looked at properties in Baltimore but found the market ‘too high’. After being ‘frozen out’ of Baltimore and Harrisburg, the friars eventually looked toward Wilmington, Delaware. The history concludes with the acquisition of a property in Silverside, Delaware (later St. Patrick’s Friary), which offered 22 acres of ground for roughly $15,000. This site was strategically chosen because it was outside the immediate contested jurisdiction but still accessible to their mission work.