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

St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church: Mother Church of Black Catholics in Georgia is a Georgia historical marker in Chatham County, dedicated 2008.

At 556 East Gordon Street in Savannah.

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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

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1856 · The City Of Savannah Georgia. (with) The City of Charleston South Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1863 · Sketch of sea coast of South Carolina and Georgia from Bull's Bay to Ossabaw Sound (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1865 · Savannah, Georgia. Charleston, South Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1874 · Plache VII. Sea Islands. (Carolina du Sud). (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1895 · Gen. map IX. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Plache VII. Sea Islands. (Carolina du Sud), 1874, covering the location of St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church: Mother Church of Black Catholics in Georgia, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Plache VII. Sea Islands. (Carolina du Sud), 1874, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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

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