Taking up residency in Burlington.
Vermont gets its first very own Catholic priest.

Reverend Jeremiah O'Callaghan moved to Burlington on this day in 1830. He was Vermont's first resident Catholic priest.

Traveling priests from Boston or Canada visited Catholic families in Burlington and along the Canadian border, but there was no church or regular services.

In 1830, St. Mary's Church was founded in Burlington, which today is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Burlington area had about a thousand Catholics, and nearly half were French speaking.

O'Callaghan remained in Burlington until 1854, when he moved to Montpelier and became the capital city's first resident priest.

Image courtesy of the Vermont Historical Society and a Vermont Book Of Days photo.

August Archives | August 28