Draft:St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church (Aiken, South Carolina)

The origins of St. Mary Help of Christians trace back to February 1840, when Count James Achille de Caradeuc, a French army engineer, purchased over 400 acres near present-day Montmorenci, about five miles east of Aiken. Priests from regional missions occasionally celebrated Mass at his estate. Recognizing the potential growth of Aiken's Catholic population, Bishop Ignatius A. Reynolds purchased land in 1853 to establish the Aiken Missions, covering nearly 6,500 square miles across Barnwell, Calhoun, Edgefield, Lexington, Orangeburg, and Saluda counties.The first church, a clapboard structure on brick piers, was built in 1867 but was destroyed by a storm.{{cite web|url=https://www.scpictureproject.org/aiken-county/st-mary-help-of-christians-church.html|title=St. Mary Help of Christians Church|work=SC Picture Project |access-date=April 22, 2025|date=June 5, 2012 |last1=Project |first1=SC Picture }}

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In 1879, Celestine Elizabeth Eustis, a winter resident and aunt of Louise Eustis Hitchcock (of Aiken's Winter Colony founding family), funded the construction of St. Claire Chapel, also known as the Church of St. Claire of the Holy Cross. Designed by James Renwick Jr., renowned for St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, the chapel features a steeply pitched gabled slate roof, a rosewood altar, and three stained glass windows crafted by Nicolas Lorin of Chartres, France. The chapel, built to replace the storm-damaged church, is a significant example of Early English Gothic Revival architecture.

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By 1903, the growing Catholic community necessitated a larger church. Old St. Mary's, dedicated in 1905, was designed by McMurphy and Story in the Gothic Revival style, featuring a 120-foot white spire, pointed arches, and buttresses. The church includes a bronze Madonna and Child statue by Gustave Doré, donated in 1947 by Beatrice Kinney Lamantagne, and four tower bells cast in Annecy, France, blessed in 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.theclio.com/entry/125873|title=Old St. Mary's Church|publisher=Clio|access-date=April 22, 2025|date=May 21, 2021}} Old St. Mary's served as the main parish church until 2015.

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To accommodate the expanding parish, a new church was completed in 2015 at 138 Fairfield Street SE, designed by McCrery Architects. Inspired by Renaissance architecture and Aiken's historic buildings, the cruciform church features a limestone facade, a custom Italian altar, and a ciborium with faux marble paint. The interior includes shrines to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, with statues by Gustave Doré and Susie Chisholm, respectively, and roundel paintings by parishioner Alice Marie Judd depicting titles of Mary from the Litany of Loreto.{{cite web|url=https://www.mccreryarchitects.com/st-mary-help-of-christians|title=St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church|publisher=McCrery Architects|access-date=April 22, 2025}}

The St. Mary Help of Christians campus is architecturally significant, showcasing two phases of Gothic Revival architecture in St. Claire Chapel and Old St. Mary's, and Renaissance Revival in the new church. St. Claire Chapel's stained glass and Old St. Mary's spire and bells are notable, while the new church's shrines and roundel paintings add artistic distinction. The campus, including the rectory (c. 1930), forms a cohesive historic complex listed on the National Register in 1982.

The parish offers numerous ministries, including the Legion of Mary, Stephen Ministry, Rosary Makers, and youth programs. It supports social outreach, such as providing blankets for the ill and Christmas gifts for children in need, and hosts events like the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest.{{cite web|url=https://www.stmarys-aiken.org/events|title=St. Mary's Events & Announcements|publisher=St. Mary Help of Christians Church|access-date=April 22, 2025}} The affiliated St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School, founded in 1904, educates students of all faiths, with nearly 30% non-Catholic enrollment.{{cite web|url=https://excelatstmarys.com|title=Saint Mary Help of Christians Catholic School|publisher=St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School|access-date=April 22, 2025|date=September 27, 2022}}

The parish offers Mass:{{cite web|url=https://www.stmarys-aiken.org/mass-times|title=St. Mary's Mass Times|publisher=St. Mary Help of Christians Church|access-date=April 22, 2025}}

• Weekend: Saturday 5:00 PM (New Church); Sunday 8:30 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM (Spanish), 5:00 PM (New Church)
• Daily: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 5:30 PM (Old St. Mary's); Wednesday 8:20 AM (New Church), 7:00 PM (Old St. Mary's, Spanish); Saturday 8:00 AM (Old St. Mary's)
• Confessions: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 4:45–5:15 PM; Wednesday 6:15–6:45 PM (English and Spanish)

St. Claire Chapel and Old St. Mary's were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for their architectural significance and role in Aiken's Catholic history. The nomination highlights the Gothic Revival style and artistic elements like the Doré statue and Lorin stained glass.

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston
• Gothic Revival architecture
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Aiken County, South Carolina

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://www.stmarys-aiken.org}}
• [https://excelatstmarys.com St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School]
• [https://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/aiken/S10817702014/S10817702014.pdf National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form]

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