Nativitiy of Our Lady Catholic Church, 1945, Darien
McIntosh County has a potentially important claim to fame in Catholic and North American history. Scholars suggest that the first Mass on the mainland of the New World was likely celebrated by a Dominican priest accompanying the colonist Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon on the shores of Sapelo Sound, in 1526. Of equal historical interest, a group of five Spanish Franciscan missionaries attached to Father Pedro de Corpa’s Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Mission (near present-day Darien) were killed by Guale Indians between 13-15 September 1597, and are now being considered for canonization. They are collectively known as the Georgia Martyrs. They were: Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodriguez, Miguel de Anon, Atonio de Badajoz, and Francisco de Verascola. A sixth missionary, Francisco de Avila, escaped the fate of his companions.
http://www.paulthigpen.com/georgiamartyrs/index.html
July 24, 2011 at 12:33 PM
Brian, Thanks for the pictures of the Catholic Church in Darien. I have attended that church many times while staying at the Ridge.The stained glass window nearest the front of the church on the left side was given by my grandmother in honor of her grandmother, Sara McGinely and family, The original Catholic Chapel was at the Ridge where most of the catholic families were. It burded during the late 1930s.