* You’re invited to First Saturday Mass at St. Francis Xavier Shrine (Old Bohemia) on April 1st

First Saturday Mass will be celebrated at St. Francis Xavier Shrine (Old Bohemia Mission) on April 1 at 11:00 AM. Rev. Ronald Anton, SJ from Georgetown University will be the presider. The rectory museum will be open at 9:00 AM for tours. The Shrine is located at 1690 Bohemia Church Road, Warwick, MD  21912. Email [email protected] or call 302.545.2126 for additional information. First Saturday Masses will continue through the end of the year.

Georgetown University, founded in 1789 by Bishop John Carroll, SJ, has its origin at the Mission (founded 1704), where Bohemia Academy was established in 1745 by Fr. Thomas Pulton, SJ. The Jesuit priests assigned there secretly educated young Catholic boys for about 10 years. Bishop Carroll, the first bishop and then archbishop of the original Thirteen Colonies, was a student at the Academy, along with his cousin, Leonard Neale, who became the second Colonial archbishop. Another cousin, Charles Carroll, also attended Bohemia Academy and was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence.