December 19, 2022

In the 1760s, over 600 Acadian Neutrals exiled in Maryland joined a growing number of “cousins” in Louisiana.  In 1762, that territory passed by treaty into Spanish hands which welcomed colonists to protect their interests against the British.  In 1765 Joseph Broussard led a group from Halifax to New Orleans, with approximately 200 of that group moving on to the Attakapas region along the Bayou Teche.  Maryland exiles were originally settled quite a distance east in Cabanocey (St. James Parish) and St. Gabriel, on the Mississippi and Bayou Lafourche and to the north in Natchez.

Among the first known Marylanders in the Attakapas, however, were the Castilles, listed on the “census” of 1763 in Upper Marlboro (Prince George’s County) with Babins, Marie Brasseu, Forays, Landrys, Richards, and Rivettes. Joseph was not Acadian, but Menorcan.  He had married Osite Landry, widow of Joseph Broussard, in exile, year unknown.  His sole compatriot from Menorca, Dique Landre (Diego Hernandez) and his wife Théotiste Babin, lived nearby in the Upper Marlboro region.  In any case, Castille and Landre/Hernández were such a part of the “Acadian” Neutral community that they left for Louisiana in 1767 and first settled at St. Gabriel.  By 1777, the Castille family moved from the wetlands to the Attakapas prairie; the Hernández family continued to grow while remaining in St. Gabriel.

Steven A. Cormier can best speak to the specifics of Castille history.  What interests me most is the family’s move to St. Martin Parish and the fact that an actual grave marker for son Joseph Ignace (b. 1764) can be seen in the church cemetery in St. Martinville. To see it, cross the Teche in St. Martinville, turn right on Center Street, park alongside the road and enter the cemetery grounds by the first set of steps, turn right on the first sidewalk, and then proceed about nine plots. According to the marker, young Joseph was born in Baltimore, not in Upper Marlboro: “Git Joseph Ignace Castille né à Baltimore Amérique du nord Le 22 Janvier 1764 décédé à son habitation dans la Paroisse St Martin Le 10 Aout 1833.” Of course, Joseph Ignace was not yet born as his parents sought relief from the Duc de Nivernois in London in 1763 because he was not noted on the census.

Joseph Castille the Younger married Scholastique Borda, a 15-year-old resident of the Attakapas, on 29 March 1785. Her father was a surgeon. When Joseph died, his age was apparently overestimated by the local curé in the St. Martin de Tours registry. Do the math: he was still a few years from reaching 75 – “l’an mil huit trente trois le dix aout a été inhumé dans le cimetière de cette paroisse par moi curé soussigné le corps de Joseph Castille natif de cette paroisse décédé ce matin sur son habitation à la pointe agé d’environ soixante et quinze ans en foi de quoi j’ai signé Marcel Borella Curé” (Sépultures, Book V, p. 31, No. 70).  [*La Pointe is near the community of Parks, between Breaux Bridge and St. Martinville.]

Nearly three years later, spouse Scholastique died.  Her marker is affixed on the same slab of cement as her husband, and again age is estimated or mischiseled: “Sous cette pierre repose Scholastique Borda veuve de Joseph Ignace Castille décédée à son Habitation dans la Paroisse St. Martin le 3 Juin 1836 dans la 61eme [sic, 66eme] année.” We do know that 66 is the correct age because two documents attest that she was born on 18 February 1770 (St. Martin de Tours Church, Folio A-1, p. 8; and Vol. 1, p. 19).  There was no pastor as yet at St. Martin, so her baptism a year later was officiated by Father Irénée, a Capucin priest from Pointe Coupée.

To those reading this, I offer a challenge to photograph any early markers of Maryland exiles that may have survived weather and decay to this day.

December 17, 2022

It has been nearly two months since the Grand Réveil Acadien took place in Louisiana.  My wife and I were present for all nine days of the much-delayed celebration, and I could write quite a bit about our car trip from Maryland south and include interesting stops going and returning in Abingdon (VA), Jackson (MS), Baton Rouge, Laurel (MS), Birmingham, Atlanta, and Raleigh.  A mixture of friends and notable places in covering some 3300 miles of road!  The highlights of Jackson were the Eudora Welty House and Museum and the positively overwhelming Civil Rights Museum. Atlanta once again won the “worst traffic award,” with the constant Petersburg (VA) to DC Beltway mess garnering honorable mention. In this blog, however, southwestern Louisiana will be the main focus.

Weather was perfect in Louisiana in early October – 80s and blue skies, with only one stifling afternoon in the low 90s.  Though the national midterms were just around the corner, conversation centered comfortably around history, genealogy, music, and food.  New and old acquaintances kept popping into our lives.  Acadians enjoy life and never miss an occasion to speak about their past, present, and future.  Of course, Maryland played a major role in the settlement of early Acadiana and that story is always open for further research. While my Morin Acadian ancestors were not a part of the Louisiana narrative, I have found more than enough satisfaction in the last half-century documenting the journey of other exiles from the Maritimes southward and to have been included as an honorary Guidry.

Normally our many trips to the Pelican State center on lodging in Lafayette, but this year’s séjour involved both country and city.  Our friends the Perrins invited us to first enjoy their family farm in Henry, where we spent five nights amid rice and cane fields.  The once-extensive property is now limited to a comfortable elevated ancestral house, outbuildings, live oaks, and some gardens, with many personal mementos, photos, and books inviting guests to relax in appropriate reverence to the region.  Henry has no more than its small Catholic parish and is just a few miles from historic Erath, Abbeville, and Delcambre, the Vermilion Parish shrimp capital.  Erath is known for its jam-packed Musée Acadien and two deceased icons, politician and entrepreneur Dudley LeBlanc and musician D. L. Menard.

Abbeville is a most remarkable city, with an impressive Catholic church, Magdalen Square, and older structures, as well as an enthusiastic tourist bureau staff.  It was just the right venue to open the GRA on Saturday, October 1.  Magdalen Square, with its oaks, fountain, and constant shade was perfect for food demonstrations (oyster shucking, jambalaya, cracklins), local tents, a cameo by Abbeville’s famous Giant Omelette chefs, and entertainment involving immersion students and professional musicians. Activities lasted from early morning to mid-evening, capped by a theatrical presentation of Warren Perrin’s The Birth of Cajun Culture and a musical performance by Steve Riley, David Greely, and friends. The “play” allowed me to relate how Marylanders complemented Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil’s settling in the Attakapas in the 1760s. A first for me: donning late-eighteenth-century clothing to “perform” with Warren Perrin, Marty Guidry, Brenda Trahan, Natial d’Augereau, Earlene Broussard, Michael Vincent, Richard Landry, Barry Toups, two Donalds (Arceneaux and Landry), and Melissa Bonin. What an honor and lot of fun!

Sunday the 2^nd was more or less a quiet day to attend religious services, walk the streets of New Iberia, have lunch at the Church Alley Café Bistro, and then examine Delcambre’s shrimp fleet.

I had greatly anticipated my presentation in St. Martinville at the Longfellow-Evangeline State Park on Monday, October 3.  For technical reasons, the folks at the Acadian Memorial could not use the upstairs of their facility downtown, so the park was an excellent substitute. Its main building has wonderful historical displays and a hall for my power point talk that led off St. Martin Parish’s assigned day of festivities.  I had more than enough time and opportunity to interact with the friendly audience. Lynn and I were then treated to a fine lunch at the local St. John Restaurant, an establishment that has continued to be an excellent go-to.  The afternoon brought us back to the state park and a tour of the grounds and its Creole house.  By late afternoon, we were again downtown on the church lawn for a free community jambalaya and other treats.

New Iberia had its turn to share its heritage on Tuesday, October 4.  At this city on the Bayou Teche, we were treated to interesting speakers en plein air. Gumbo and homemade potato salad were prepared for visitors at the old Evangeline Theater down the street.  Later, I could not forego exploring the parish cemetery back in St. Martinville and I tracked down the tombstone of Martin Castille Jr., said to have been born in Baltimore in 1764.  It was also time to end our rural stay and move on to the city of Lafayette.  Shane and Anne, the farm’s caretakers, delightfully shared some of their experiences with us as we readied ourselves for the transition.

Early on Wednesday, October 5, we set off on a 100-mile-plus trek to Thibodaux, via Morgan City. The day’s activities took place at the National Park Service’s Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center there, under the auspices of the Center for Bayou Studies at Nicholls State University.  The symposium ran all day and featured a number of well-known speakers (Glen Pitre, Nathalie Dajko, Windell Curole, John Doucet, Gary LaFleur, Shana Walton, and Patty Walton, among others) addressing environmental, cultural, and linguistic aspects of the Terrebonne-Lafourche area.  Lunch was purchased at Gina’s at the Legion across the street.  Alas, just spaghetti and meat balls this time around, although an Acadian fricot made a quiet appearance just outside the center!  The ride back to Lafayette provided everchanging skyscapes and a great bit to ponder as to southern Louisiana’s ecological future.

Thursday, October 6, was technically a free day from formal GRA activities, but it served us well to return to St. Martinville to visit with one of our newest acquaintances, Jason Vidrine, pastor of St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church.  We had met Father Vidrine on Monday at the state park, and he had invited us to continue our adventures by visiting the parish archives and the historic presbytère (rectory).  Father Vidrine is himself a historian – author of two books (La Famille de Vidrine at 275 Years and The Religious History of the Vidrine Family).  As thanks for his gracious tour and assistance, we again shared a noon meal at the St. John Restaurant and then stopped by the local library to visit Patty GuteKunst, an archivist who so welcomed me in July 2018 at a Saturday morning presentation and also helped make this year’s visit possible. She was generous in pulling up microfilm of the Attakapas Gazette, which was established by a Maryland native and Acadian descendant, Theodore De Valcourt.

The community of Broussard, just south of Lafayette, showed off its best on Friday, October 7.  The Valsin Broussard home on Main Street is becoming the town’s cultural center, so people were on hand to visit the structure and witness the twinning ceremony with the town of Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick.  The Canadian community’s mayor, Serge Léger, and others were present as a band, a mini-parade of family signs, and good conversation filled the morning before Lynn and I found Cajun lunch entrées at Ton’s Restaurant down the street.  The pleasant morning out on the lawn gave way to some overwhelming fall heat in the afternoon, a visit to the famous Borden’s Ice Cream shop on Johnston Street in Lafayette (always on our schedule), and a first visit to Billy’s Boudin, up the road on the way to Carencro.

On Saturday, October 8, the Guédry-Petitpas/Hébert Family Reunion took place in Rayne, about 20 miles west of Lafayette on I-10.  The all-day event was very much in full swing by 9 am and gave Marty Guidry and me a second chance to dress à l’acadienne and tromp around in sabots (wooden shoes) for several hours.  By all accounts, this family reunion attracted the most attendees of the week – some 200 assembled in the Civic Center for a Cajun band in the morning, jambalaya, white beans, and cracklins prepared by chefs Barry, E.J., and Jay Guidry, short talks by Art Guidry and myself, awards, displays, and book signings. Many Guidrys and Héberts generously furnished a wide assortment of desserts.  So many special moments thanks to herculean efforts of Marty, Allie Guidry, Rachel and Jeff Killingsworth, and the chefs.  My brother John and wife Michelle were also able to drive over from Montgomery, Texas, for the reunion, dinner in Breaux Bridge, and activities the next morning. So, a great day for all!

One last day of celebration took place in Lafayette on Sunday, October 9.  A French mass was celebrated at St. John’s Cathedral at 9 am.  Then many gathered for a tintamarre through the city streets (and escorted by the local police) to the Warehouse 535 on Garfield Street, where music, another version of the Abbevile play, and final remarks were offered to guide the GRA through its final hours. Afternoon coffee with Donald Arceneaux, historian and ardent researcher, capped another wonderful day.  We are ever so thankful to have spent several hours during the week especially with such fine friends and associates as Donald and Marty.  It was also a pleasure renewing acquaintances with talented Cajun activists Earlene Broussard and Jolene Adam and archivists Ann Boltin and Amy Simon in Baton Rouge after so many years. 

A big shoutout to Randy Menard, Ray Trahan, Michael Vincent, and others from Louisiane-Acadie; Elaine Clement and board members of the Acadian Memorial who invited me to St. Martinville for perhaps the fourth time; Warren and Mary Perrin; Marty Guidry; and local officials who made this year’s GRA a success!

For those visiting the area in the future, note that there are many restaurants serving delicious fare in all the communities.  Other than those mentioned above, our current favorites include Duke’s, just south of the interstate in Denham Springs; Frank’s, on Airline Highway in Prairieville (excellent breakfasts); and Sydnie Mae’s, in Breaux Bridge.  Crawfish pie and étouffée, shrimp, catfish, boudin, jambalaya, and various gumbos are sure winners most anywhere.  A stop at the Coffee Call in Baton Rouge for beignets and café au lait will be just as satisfying as going to the French Market in New Orleans; full breakfasts can be found at the old, reliable Dwyer’s Café in downtown Lafayette; and lunch with abundant po’boys is recommended from the Olde Tyme Grocery, just a few blocks north of the U-L campus in Lafayette.

I cannot count the times that the Lafayette area has beckoned us since the mid-1970s. Tastes and musical groups have changed over those years; some friends have retired, with newer folks standing tall in their stead.

September 18, 2022

I was in correspondence with Terry McCormack several weeks before his presentation (see above) and was able to add a little more to his Renaudet research.  I had not considered that Elizabeth Seton might have had students of French background, although a reading of her pre-Emmitsburg correspondence would have made that so obvious.  Mea culpa for the misidentification of Louise Elizabeth Aglaë DuBourg in Becoming 2:354. 

After Terry’s talk, I found a great book on the Bringier line in Louisiana, examined further Elizabeth’s letters, and explored the genealogy of the DuBourg family.  

Aglaë (or Aglaé) DuBourg was the daughter of Pierre François DuBourg de Sainte-Colombe (born in Saint-Domingue on 30 December 1767) and Élisabeth Stéphanie Étiennette Bonne Charest de Lauzon (b. 1782, Saint-Domingue-d. 12 May 1811, New Orleans).   Aglaë’s paternal grandparents, Pierre DuBourg (1715-Sep 1793, d. Mont-de-Marsan, France) and Marguerite Armand de Voglusan (1742-1786, d. Artibonite, Saint-Domingue), had at least seven children – Patrice dit La Loubère (1761-1792), Françoise Victoire (1763-1825), Marie (1763-), Louis-Guillaume-Valentin (1766-1833), Pierre François (1767-1830), Louis Joseph dit Le Beau (b. 1768; Chevalier de Saint-Christaud), and Paul Lacour (b. abt. 1783).  Pierre also had two children in the 1750s with his first wife, Jeanne-Eulalie Rateau.  

[Sources: posts by Pierre de Laubier, https://gw.geneanet.org and on the Harrison Vignes Family Tree, Ancestry.com] 

We know that three of Pierre and Marguerite’s children – Françoise Victoire, Louis-Guillaume-Valentin, and Pierre François – were living in Maryland at various times.  Louis-Guillaume-Valentin is whom we know as the Rev. William DuBourg, well known Sulpician involved with Georgetown College, St. Mary’s College, the Sisters of Charity, and administration of the Church in New Orleans, St. Louis, and France. More will follow on Françoise Victoire later in this section. 

Aglaë’s parents were married in Jamaica on 23 or 28 February 1797.  The firstborn, she arrived in this world on 4 January 1798, in Kingston, Jamaica, and would have been ten years old when she started school with Elizabeth Seton in Baltimore.  Aglaë was followed by Mary Louisa Frances (b. 1 Jul 1799), Aloysius Joseph (b. 21 Jul 1800), Jeanne Charlotte Victoire (b. about 1801 according to one source or in 1809 on her father’s findagrave.com post, ID 15083508), Antoinette Charlotte Noémie (b. 23 Sep 1804), Louise Eliza Marie (b. 6 Jul 1806), Jeanne (b. 1809), and Adèle (b. 1810). The baptisms of Mary Louisa Frances (12 Dec 1799) and Aloysius Joseph (21 Jul 1800) were actually recorded at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Baltimore. Mary Louisa was six months old when baptized, and Aloysius received those rites the same day as his birth and then died the next day. Pierre was not living in Baltimore while Aglaë was a student.  

The portraits of many distinguished American residents in that era were done by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, and father Pierre was not denied his moment in 1800 [National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Object No: S/NPG.74.391.34]. 

Pierre François and his family wound up as residents of New Orleans before 1804. In 1810, DuBourg and Noel Auguste Baron Jr., spouse of Laure Bringier, formed a partnership, DuBourg & Baron, which represented planters’ interests.  Like many notable Maryland Catholic refugees described in my recent work, Pierre was a Freemason, serving from 1812 to 1814 as grand master of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, even as his brother William began serving as apostolic administrator of the diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas. This is a very similar situation to the Carroll family in Maryland, with Daniel and John divided on the issue of Catholic participation in Freemasonry. 

Aglaë was in Baltimore in 1808 under the general supervision of her Aunt Françoise Victoire (DuBourg) Fournier. Known by her middle name, she was apparently the widow of Antoine Fournier dit L’Hermitage, whom she had married at Cap-Français, Saint-Domingue, on 24 April 1786. Antoine was commandant of Le Bataillon de Milices du Quartier de Jacmel in the 1780s. Victoire made quite an impression on Elizabeth Seton as the latter began her educational ministry in Baltimore.  In an older edition of Elizabeth Bayley Seton: Collected Writings, Volume II (2002) edited by Regina Bechtle, SC, Judith Metz, SC, and Ellin M. Kelly, we find these references: 

(p. 9) 5.2, Letter to Catherine Dupleix, 20 Jun 1808, APSL 1-3-3-7:63: 

“. . . all those little dear attentions oh human life which I was intirely [sic] weaned from are now my daily portion from the family of Mr. Dubourg, whose Sister and Mother [latter misidentified by Elizabeth; actually deceased] are unwearied in their care of us, the little nicities [sic] which I cannot afford are daily sent to us as a part of their family . . .” 

(pp. 11-12) 5.2, same letter on p. 9: 

“Madame Fournier . . . assists me in all the little cares for my children, if there is a finger ach [sic] she watches over us . . .” 

(p. 14) 5.3, Letter to Julia Scott, 4 Jul 1808, APSL 1-3-3-6:73: 

“Mr. Dubourg’s sister who conducts the regulations of the establishment [Seminary or College reference] is a most amiable affectionate character and tho’ beyond forty a very elegant woman.  She arranges my affairs for me such as cloathing [sic] my dear boys, placing and providing necessary furniture, provisions etc etc with an ease and gaiety of manner as if the favour was all on my side.” 

(p. 19) 5.4, Copy to Antonio Filicchi, 8 Jul 1808, AMSJ A 111 049: 

“. . . immense happiness of living in such a Society as here surrounds us. . . [with] the sweet company and friendship of one of the most amiable Women in the World, the sister of the Rev. Mr. Dubourg, who suffers me also to call her Sister. . .” 

(p. 22) 5.5 Letter to Cecilia Seton, 8 Jul 1808, APSL 1-3-3-8:151: 

Reference to “our Gentlemen [Sulpicians] and My Sister [Victoire]” leaving soon for a six-week vacation.  

(p. 30) 5.8, Letter to Cecilia Seton, 26 Aug 1808, APSL 1-3-3-8:152: 

While Rev. DuBourg is away, Elizabeth writes that “here I am Alone with God. . . [and] only my Sister Madame Fournier remains of my most intimate. . .” 

(p. 163) 6.63 Letter to Françoise Victoire DuBourg Fournier, n. d. (probably in 1810), APSL 1-3-3-3:23: 

« My dear Friend, 

     How happy I should be to answer your amiable letter in your own sweet language, but since I left you the imperfect Knowledge I had of it has not been improved and you must now, Ma chère Soeur, take your lesson of English.” 

(p. 719) A-6.3a, APSL 7-2-1. Sister Rose White’s Journal.  [Journey to Emmitsburg, Summer 1809]: 

“We began to make our arrangements and by the morning of the 30^th [Jul 1809] we were ready to start at half past two o’clock [for Emmitsburg].  We drove through College yard and Madame Fournier, Rev. Dubourg’s sister, opening the casement of her window, waved her hand to bid us adieu.” (Aglaë’s presence was no longer noted and she did not continue her studies in Emmitsburg.) 

First perceived (wrongly) by Elizabeth Seton as being a cousin of classmate Celanire Delarue in Baltimore, Aglaë did have something in common with the South Carolina-born classmate: Celanire had a younger sister also named Louise Elizabeth Aglae, who was born in New Orleans on 19 August 1807! While Celanire later married Francis Bernoudy, her Delarue sibling wed a physician, John Moore White Picton, in 1829. 

Elizabeth Seton spoke lovingly of little Aglaë during her brief year in Baltimore. She referred to her as “Sweet Agli” in a letter to her sister-in-law Cecilia (5.9 – APSL 1-3-3-8:157, 5 Sep 1808), in which she wrote about her daughter Anna and Aglaë devoutly wearing Agnus Dei necklaces. In another letter to Cecilia on 6 October, she described the eldest DuBourg child in this way: “Agli is the fairest most perfect child you can imagine, diligent and faithful in every duty, always remembering our dear Lord’s eye is upon her.” (5.10 – APSL 1-3-3-8:153).  In correspondence with her friend Julia Scott in Philadelphia on 6 December (5.13 – APSL 1-3-3-6:75), Elizabeth continued to praise how well Anna and Aglaë were getting along with one another: “. . . they are two lovely beings and very much united.” Several months later, in another letter to Julia, date 2 March 1809, student Becky Nicholson of Baltimore was mentioned as well as part of Anna’s (or Annina’s) “invaluable society,” which would not hold together much longer because plans for the move to Emmitsburg were rapidly developing (5.20 – APSL 1-3-3-6:76). 

Aglaë managed to marry well: at age fourteen, she wed Michael Doradou Bringier at St. Peter’s, Baltimore, on 17 June 1812, further uniting two business families just one day before Madison declared war on Great Britain.  

By midsummer 1813, Pierre (or Peter F., as he was also known) was expressing his appreciation for having been named collector of customs for the District of Mississippi by President James Madison. [“To James Madison from Peter F. DuBourg, 30 August 1813 (Abstract),” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-06-02-0558].  He resigned that position a year later.  On 29 Jan 1830, he passed away in a rented house on St. Louis Street (between Chartres and Royal Sts.) in New Orleans, even though he then owned a house on Dumaine Street (between Royal and Bourbon Streets). A son-in-law (husband of Elsa), Seaman Field, was designated executor of his estate [Louisiana Wills and Probate Records, 1756-1984, 1 Feb 1830; Will Book, Orleans, LA, Vol. 4, 1824-1833]. He was buried in St. Louis Cemetery, No. 2, there. 

Not to spoil Aglaë’s story in Louisiana, I highly recommend reading Craig A. Bauer’s Creole Genesis: The Bringier Family and Antebellum Plantation Life in Louisiana (Lafayette: University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2011). She lived a long life, passing away on 11 June 1878, in her 81^st year. 

September 7, 2022

On Saturday, June 18, my wife and I attended a wonderful celebration at St. Mary’s Spiritual Center and Historical Site, 600 N. Paca Street, Baltimore, in honor of Elizabeth Seton’s 214^th anniversary of taking her religious vows. There, in 1808, that ceremony took place in the chapelle basse of the Sulpician seminary designed by Maximilien Godefroy. 

This year’s event began with a Corpus Christi feast day mass in that very basement chapel and was followed by a power point presentation given in Maréchal Hall by Terry McCormack, an associate at the center.  Terry spoke extensively about the nine students studying in a house on the grounds where Elizabeth started her first school.  Among the children were three from Francophone families – Louise Elizabeth Aglaë DuBourg, Celanire Victoire Delarue, and Marie Caroline Victoire Renaudet – and three Seton daughters – Anna Maria, Catherine, and Rebecca.  

The Seton House now has a renovated balcony.  It is well worth touring the entire structure to examine the space and furnishings.  Before planning an excursion there, consult the Center’s website for days and hours open to the public. 

This little Baltimore school was only in session for one academic year (1808-09) before Elizabeth was afforded the opportunity to create something greater and more adventurous in Emmitsburg, in Frederick County. It may take some by surprise that the widow Seton had her own children to care for on her religious journey. One of the earliest to join the sisterhood was Rose Landry White, a young Baltimore widow with a son Charles, who would be eventually placed under the care of Rev. John Dubois at Mount St. Mary’s, across town from that new northern Maryland mission. 

By the way, the Paca Street site, now under the direction of Deacon Vito Piazza, has an attractive visitors’ center, with several displays and plenty of signage documenting the early Sulpicians, Elizabeth Seton, and Mother Mary Lange, cofounder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence.  Engage Deacon Vito or one of the docents in a conversation about the delights available at Trinacria, the nearby Italian deli at 406 N. Paca. 

For anyone in the Baltimore-Washington area interested in Terry’s talk, please contact me and I will pass on that request to him. There are also many fantastic videos on the St. Mary’s website (http://stmaryspacast.org), which can easily be found right here on my website (Resources˃Specialized Libraries˃St. Mary’s˃Our History˃More Videos).