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A book of reminiscences by parishioners tells the story of the original St. Mary Catholic Church at 706 Princess Anne St. in Fredericksburg. By Kathleen McCabe Mahoney Date published: 7/8/2006
By Kathleen McCabe Mahoney
WHEN THE CALL went out Arm-twisting, albeit gently in the case of our octogenarians, did eventually work, and the reunion committee was able to produce a book of reminiscences in time for the homecoming picnic Sunday, June 11, held on the grounds of Holy Cross Academy in Stafford County. While the collection of first-person accounts and interviews from both natives and "come heres" serves to tell quite a lot about being Catholic in mid-20th-century Fredericksburg, the committee considers it merely an appetizer. In 2008, St. Mary will celebrate its sesquicentennial, and plans an expanded publication with a formal history and additional recollections. Many of the submissions were fond tributes to the Rev. James Widmer, who served as pastor from 1942 to 1959, when he died suddenly shortly before Christmas. His was the longest tenure for a pastor at St. Mary. Generous, gregarious and unbelievably energetic, he had great rapport with both the youth of the parish and the adults. Nancy DeBruyn Burton, now of Spotsylvania County, remembered how Widmer would go over to Stafford's Chatham Heights section to pick up her and her sister, Mildred DeBruyn Haynes, and their dear friend to this day, Margaret Staples Moore. Continuing his rounds, he would head out to Kings Highway to pile in some of the nine Barrett children. Once back in the city, the priest taught them and the townies who had walked to religion classes and then transported them all back home again. The DeBruyn sisters, just preteens at the time, marveled that they often were allowed to steer the pastor's car.
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