![]() ![]() All of this has culminated in a strong, dedicated, diverse group of Catholics who look forward with confidence to the next 50 years. Over these years, the present community of 1,300 Catholic households has seen strong parish institutions established in the religious, educational, outreach and social activities carried out by dedicated clergy, religious and lay people. Pius X parishioners see its beginnings as a new enthusiastic parish come to life with the large influx of families to the new Levitt homes in Bowie. (In 1955 Sacred Heart became a separate parish, making Sacred Heart the newest and oldest parish in the Archdiocese of Washington.) Looking back over the past 50 years, St. Sacred Heart, at that time, was transferred as a mission from Ascension to St. Nelson, still pastor at Ascension Parish, was charged by Archbishop O'Boyle to equip the new church/hall, school, rectory and convent. The Archdiocese purchased a house on Spangler Lane for a rectory and another on Kinder Place as a residence for the Sisters of the Presentation from Aberdeen, S.D., who would staff the school. The parish by this time numbered 261 families. The Archdiocesan Office of Education held school registration in the Levitt model homes center on Sussex Lane for the September school opening. In May the Archdiocese of Washington announced that the name of the new Bowie parish would be St. Work began on the church/hall and eight classrooms at a cost of $450,000. In early 1962, there were 134 families registered and men's and women's organizations were formed. Twenty-two Catholic families were registered. By September, the first families were moving into Belair at Bowie and attending Mass at Ascension and Sacred Heart. Nelson was appointed pastor of Ascension Parish with Sacred Heart continuing as a mission. This was the Catholic Church situation in Bowie until the 1960s. In 1903 the Jesuit fathers moved from White Marsh to Ascension and served both Sacred Heart and Holy Family parishes. When the town of Bowie became a stop on the Baltimore & Washington Railroad Line, Ascension Catholic Church was built near the railroad in 1893 and was served by the priests at White Marsh. White Marsh remained a rural, isolated mission throughout the 19th century. At that gathering John Carroll was elected the first Catholic bishop in America. The first meeting of the Catholic clergy of Maryland took place at White Marsh in 1783. The Jesuits, as early as 1728, owned the White Marsh property on which the original Sacred Heart Church was built in 1741. Thus began a new chapter in the long history of Catholicism in the Bowie area. So he offered 10 1/2 acres of land to the Archdiocese of Washington with the stipulation that a church and school would be built by September 1962. With a keen eye to planning and marketing, Levitt realized that a Catholic church and school would be an important selling point for his new houses. had purchased the Woodward Estate for a new development. This Mass will open a year of celebration for the parish with many events, including the 2012 Music Revue presented by the SPX Youth Players Sept. The Mass will be followed by a reception in Father Nelson Hall. The presider will be His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington. Pius X Parish of Bowie will be celebrating its 50th anniversary year opening with a Mass at St. ![]()
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