St. Peter Catholic Church

ST. PETER ROMAN CATHOLIC PARISH

In 1752 the first Mass was celebrated by Jesuit Father Ferdinand Farmer, a German missionary based in St. Mary’s in Lancaster, at a farm belonging to Henry Eckenroth, head of the only Catholic household in the area. The Mass was the beginning of the parish that later became St. Peter’s.

As more Catholics arrived, Mr. Eckenroth constructed a log chapel on his property for their use. Although named Assumption of the Blesses Virgin Mary, the chapel became known as the "Donegal Mission". During the last quarter of the eighteenth century, priests from Lancaster visited the mission on a regular basis. In 1798, Bishop Carroll- the first Catholic bishop in the United States - visited the mission, then part of the Baltimore Diocese, to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation.

On May 20, 1799, the congregation gathered with Father Louis de Barth in Elizabethtown to lay the cornerstone of a new church that they would plan and build.

St. Peter’s remained a mission of St. Mary’s until 1832, when it was transferred to St. Patrick Parish in Harrisburg. Two years later the Church was enlarged to accommodate its growing congregation.

In 1840, St. Peter’s was designated a parish in its own right with Father Francis Marshall as its first pastor.

In 1879, Father Jules Foin became pastor. He added a bell tower and leaded stained glass windows to the church and established a school, which is now the "Foin School House".

In 1956 the former Church of the Brethren and its parsonage was purchased for use as a new school and convent. The school opened in 1958.

As the parish continued steady growth, land for new parish facilities was purchased in Mount Joy Township in 1991.

On May 10, 1998, ground was broken for the new church. With completion of the construction of the new Saint Peter Church at 1840 Marshall Drive, Elizabethtown, the laying of the foundation stone and the rite of blessing was held on September 5, 1999.

In 2002 the parish celebrated the 250 anniversary of its founding. It has grown from the single household of Henry Eckenroth in 1752 to more than 2419 parishioners and 837 families.