Delaware’s Historic Houses of Worship

“St. Joseph’s Church, R. C., at Middletown. In 1879, the Rev. Charles H. Heichemere, S.J., the pastor of old Bohemia Church in Maryland, began to celebrate Mass in the auditorium of the Old Town Hall in Middletown. He would drive over on alternate Sundays bringing his altar boy with him. At that time, there were only about fifteen Roman Catholics in that neighborhood. Fr. Heichemere was succeeded by the Rev. John B. Gaffney, S.J., and, in 1882, he began urging that a church be built in Middletown. The site of St. Joseph’s Church was purchased by means of a public subscription…”