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Some History Notes ... Did you know ...
- That on July 1, 1955, the Archdiocese of Washington,
D.C. purchased 11.417 acres of land on Livingston Road in Oxon Hill as the site
for the building of Saint Columba Church and school?
- That Archbishop O’Boyle decreed the “canonical
erection” of the parish as of June 18, 1960?
- That St. Columba was formed from St. Ignatius Parish
and had a population of about 322 families at that time?
- That more than a century prior to the establishment of
St. Columba Parish, Catholics in the Oxon Hill area were served by the same
clergy who served St.Ignatius Church?
- That one of the principal fundraisers for the church
was Mary Surratt, a convert, who later became the first woman hanged by the
federal government because of her involvement in the Lincoln assassination?
- That
Father Milton A. Schellenberg was the first pastor of St. Columba who served
from 1960 to June 1974?
- That by arrangement with the Prince George’s County Board of Education, the
auditorium of the Oxon Hill Junior High School was used for Sunday mass until a
church could be built? Father Schellenberg
said the first two Masses on June 19, 1960.
- That a private home at 6738 Prentice Street served as the parish rectory?
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