The earliest reference to the Church’s name appears in the records of 1885.  But the appellation, “star of the sea” dates back to antiquity.  And its choice as a title for the first Catholic Church in Ocean City was more than picturesque.  The tiny cluster of camps and rooming houses that would become Ocean City was not a boardwalk of lights.  For the sailors and watermen who plied these waters, the dangers were real.

The Lighthouses that dotted the Mid-Atlantic coast were both a welcome and a warning.  Early Lifesaving Stations were first of all in the business of rescuing ships and cargos and seamen – only later for bathers from “the beach”.  Sand, sea, and sky.  What with the treachery of those shifting sands, and the relentless power of that sea, often it was only the shining of a star in the blackness of that sky that meant the difference between shipwreck and salvation.  No less the need of light, of guidance, of hope, of harbor – so the Scriptures remind us – of those “on life’s tempestuous seas.”

Even so, looking at the myriad of buildings which form Ocean City’s skyline today, it is hard to imagine a time, back in the 1880’s, when there were only three non-residential buildings, lightly balanced on a thread of sand facing the borders of sea and sky.  St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church was one of them.

Bishop Thomas A. Becker, the Bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington at that time, had been here several times in the summer for retreats and sensed the likelihood of the area’s growth, and, if that were to happen, its future spiritual needs.  So in 1975, he bought three lots, for $100 a piece.

The Church itself was built in 1877, as duly (and modestly) attested by the official Catholic Directory for 1878: “Ocean City, Sinepuxent Beach, new chapel, attended by Rev. Ignatius Taylor, pastor of St. Mary’s, Salisbury.”  Some rebuilding work was done to the Church in 1882: markings on a board found during a later renovation refer to “Jack Stack, builder, Baltimore, Maryland, March 1, 1882”.

In 1905 the rectory was built where it stands today, on a plot of land adjoining the Church.  During this year, Bishop John H. Monaghan had the Church enlarged to accommodate the increasing number of Catholic vacationers.  Built it would be decades before there would be a Pastor-in-Residence.

In 1910, St. Mary’s became a “Mission Church” of the newly created parish of St. Francis de Sales in Salisbury.  Reports of Fr. J. Jacquie, its first year-round pastors, show that resident Catholics were very few.

More tourists were beginning to come into Ocean City, however, owing in part at least to the new railroad which connected Ocean City with Baltimore and “all points”.  The train station and bridge were swept away by the mighty Nor’easter of 1933, leaving the Inlet which ever since forms the southernmost boundary of Ocean City.

On the other side of that same Ocean other winds, the Winds of War, had earlier raged across the continent of Europe.  In 1914, Fr. Jaquier was recalled to his native France for military service in World War I.  Fr. Walter Knight, his assistance, took over as Pastor until 1923.  His successor, Fr. Mahoney, is remembered both as a devoted Pastor and as an ardent follower of Isaac Walton, the author of The Compleat Angler.

From 1927 until 1938 Msgr. Edward A. Dougherty served an ever-increasing number of visitors.  A man of exceptional community spirit, Msgr. Dougherty donated land on Dorchester Street to the Volunteer Fire Department for a station still very much in use today.

The pastorate of Msgr. Eugene T. Stour (1938-1974) was remarkable both for his duration and his achievements.  He was the guiding force behind a continuing series of construction projects and improvements, beginning with the renovation and expansion of St. Mary’s in 1939 (doubling the seating capacity); the installation of a new pipe organ and the replacement of stained glass windows in 1946; a new lighting system; an addition to the Rectory; and the continual beautification of the property and grounds.

By 1949 the parish had grown to 120 parishioners.  Off-season, there were two masses and catechism classes for the children.  But in the summer, seven to nine Masses were scheduled each Sunday, two of them in a local high school auditorium.  So that by 1967, when St. Mary Star of the Sea was officially established as a full-fledged parish, it already had a “Mission Church” of its own.  With the benefit of foresight, Msgr. Stout had long since purchased nine lots between 17^th and 18^th Streets, and in 1954 oversaw the building of Holy Savior Church with an eventual seating capacity of 1200.  Adjacent buildings gradually expanded to house the parish office, classrooms, meeting rooms, with the hall itself hosting an ever-increasing number of various parish activities.

In 1974, Rev. Stephen Connell was appointed Pastor.  Along with a growing anticipation in community, interfaith, and civic projects, Fr. Connell initiated a project to restore the historic Church.  The families of many well-known parishioners served on the committees.  As planned, the renovation was indeed completed in time for the Church’s Centennial Celebration: 1877-1977.

When Centennial Day finally came, there, in the Church, stood the American flag with the correct number of stars for the United States of 1877.  The music played and sung predated that historic year.  At the Mass, the very vestments and chalice of Bishop Thomas A. Becker, who a hundred years before had come with fellow priests for vacation and spiritual renewal; that had seen something: something, when in truth there was little there to see but sand, and sea, and sky.  And now, outside of the Church, at the neon hour, out over that sand, out over that sea, and through that sky, rang the bells of the neighboring Churches – 100 times.

The Bells of St. Mary’s continued to ring out too, as if accompanying the continuing growth both of Ocean City itself and of the Catholic parishes of Delmarva.  Fr. Connell’s successors, the Rev. L. Philip McGann and Msgr. Paul J. Schierse, brought continual growth to the parish. 

Under its current Pastor, Rev. John P. Klevence, St. Mary's - Holy Savior Parish continues to flourish.  With pride in the past, with thanksgiving for the blessings, the labors, the generosity that have made it all possible, the parish, led by the Star, looks forward with hope to the next millennium.