St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church: Mother Church of Black Catholics in Georgia

Chatham County · dedicated 2008 · At 556 East Gordon Street in Savannah.

In May 1874 two Benedictine priests arrived in Savannah to work with the city's African-American community, and constructed a church four blocks north of here. In 1889 a new building was constructed at this site. The Society of African Missions staffed the parish from 1907 to 1968. Staffed by Franciscan Sisters, St. Benedict's day school operated from 1907 until its closure in 1969 due to integration. The school's alumni include U. S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The sisters also staffed the orphanage established by Mother Matilda Beasley, the first African-American woman in Georgia to belong to a religious order. The current building was constructed in 1949.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

This marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program, administered by the Georgia Historical Society. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

Beach Instituteunder 1 mi
Massie Common School House: Savannah's Cradle of Public Educationunder 1 mi
Flannery O'Connor Childhood Homeunder 1 mi
Capture of Savannahunder 1 mi