Dear Parishioners,

This is not our first epidemic. In October 1918 Cardinal Gibbons ordered the closure of the Churches in Baltimore. Here is an excerpt from the Baltimore Sun from that time:

Tuesday, October 15, 1918
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: The city’s leading Catholic clergyman continued to question why local churches were closed “while the stores, saloons, markets and the like remain open.” While recognizing public health concerns, James Cardinal Gibbons argued that “it would be a much-needed relief to our church-going population if they could be allowed to attend brief morning services… I am told that a number of calls upon our physicians are simply the result of nervousness, or the consequence of alarm. This might be considerably allayed by the reassurance of religion, and discreet words from our priests given the people in church.”

It is not clear whether the closure was just for Churches in Baltimore city or whether all the Churches in the Baltimore Archdiocese, including St. Mary’s in Upper Marlboro, also had to close. I found a news item that talked about the closure of churches in Hyattsvile. Maybe one of our parish historians has some record of St. Mary’s in the Spanish Flu epidemic.

In any event: Happy Easter. Christ is Risen, He is truly Risen!

Have a Blessed and Peaceful Easter Sunday, Fr. LaHood