The Story of the St. Inigoes Mission 1634-1994
Fr. Francis Michael Walsh's book The Story of the St. Inigoes Mission 1634 – 1994 published by the Historical Society, is an account of the St. Inigoes Mission from Maryland’s founding in 1634 to the late 20th century. Importantly, Fr. Walsh recounts the struggles over segregation, civil rights, and harmony among Catholics in St. Mary's County.
In a review of Fr. Walsh’s book, Professor Garrey Dennie of St. Mary's College of Maryland wrote:
"Woven then into the fabric of the story Father Walsh tells is an enduring optimism. For a very long time, race did indeed overcome faith as the marker of Catholic identity in St. Inigoes. But the possibility of positive change, the idea that within the faith itself Black and White Catholics could arrive at shared understanding of how to pursue their best lives, Black Catholics never abandoned that goal. Neither did Father Walsh. That is the message of this work."
Professor Laura Masur of the Catholic University of America said of the book, “through it emerges the powerful and largely untold stories of the Black Catholics whose devotion to family, community, and God is an important legacy of the St. Inigoes mission during the late 19th and 20th centuries.”
Fr. Walsh was ordained in 1967 in the Archdiocese of Washington. Following several pastoral assignments, he served as Pastor of St. Peter Claver Church in St. Inigoes, MD, from 1977 to 1986. He holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Rome and served as Professor of Dogmatic and Moral Theology at Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Theology Institute in Guam. Fr. Walsh is currently Spiritual Director at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.