St. Cecilia Parish in St. Mary’s City, Maryland celebrated a milestone in its history on Nov. 23, marking its 50th anniversary with a Mass that also included the installation of Father Patrick Agustin as pastor. Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar, who presided at the liturgy, offered both gratitude and gentle humor as he led the parish into a new chapter of its life.
Bishop Menjivar began the Mass by conveying greetings from Cardinal Robert McElroy, who had intended to celebrate the liturgy but was recovering from surgery. “I’m very sorry that you ended up just getting the auxiliary bishop,” he said, drawing laughter from the congregation. A moment later he teased Father Agustin for forgetting to mention “two very important guests”— his parents. “Thank you for raising Patrick very well,” the bishop added.
Founded in 1975 during a Jubilee Year, St. Cecilia is among the youngest parishes in St. Mary’s County, the birthplace of Catholicism in the English colonies. Bishop Menjivar noted that he arrived early to visit Historic St. Mary’s City but found the reconstructed chapel closed.
“I still took a picture,” he said. “It is wonderful to be here where everything started, where the first Catholic colonists landed, seeking freedom to worship.”
Throughout his homily, the bishop reflected on fidelity, community, and the parish’s patron, St. Cecilia, whom he described as a courageous witness in a culture that did not always welcome the Gospel. Tradition, he said, teaches that St. Cecilia sang to the Lord even as she faced death.
“Not because she was not experiencing pain,” he said, “but because her faith had become the melody of her soul, a song of trust in the God who never abandons His people.”
Smiling toward the altar servers, he referenced a lighthearted exchange before Mass, saying one young server admitted he sometimes struggled to love his neighbors at school – the classmates seated near him.
“It is easier to love our neighbor when we have no neighbors,” Bishop Menjivar joked about the parish in rural St. Mary’s County. “Father Patrick has it very easy, he has no neighbors.”
The bishop also acknowledged the complex but beautiful nature of parish life.
“A parish is a family of families,” he said. “Even the best families have differences. Sometimes there are frictions. But where there is genuine love, we always find a way, with kindness, patience, and openness.”
Turning to Father Agustin, he urged him to lead “as a loving father, a gentle shepherd and a wise teacher,” and reminded him that no pastor leads alone.
“A parish becomes vibrant and missionary when priest and people walk together as one body in Christ,” he said.
The Rite of Installation followed, during which Father Agustin publicly renewed the promises he made at his ordination and professed obedience to Cardinal McElroy and his successors. Bishop Menjivar then asked the pastoral and finance councils, parish staff, and finally the entire assembly to stand, presenting them to their new pastor. Father Agustin later called that moment “deeply moving,” seeing the people he would be shepherding rise together in unity.
The Prayers of the Faithful commemorated the parish’s founding, honored its deceased members, and asked for God’s continued blessing for the next 50 years. “May this community be renewed in gratitude, strengthened in unity, and generous in love,” the lector prayed, “so the next 50 years may bear even greater witness to the goodness of God.”
Before the final blessing, Father Agustin offered words of thanks and gratitude.
“I am so blessed to be your pastor now, no longer your administrator,” he said. “Please pray for me, and know that you are all in my daily prayers.” With characteristic humor, he closed by saying, “I won’t say much more, because I’m already hungry,” prompting another round of laughter.
He also introduced the priests who came to support him, including longtime friends, classmates, and former pastors of the region. Among them were Father Joe Cwik, the newly installed pastor of Our Lady’s Church in Leonardtown, Maryland;Father Gary Villanueva, the pastor of St. Columba Parish in Oxon Hill, which is Father Agustin’s home parish; Father Andrew DeRouen of the Diocese of Lake Charles; Monsignor Karl Chimiak, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Washington; and Father David Beaubien, the pastor of St. Aloysius Parish in Leonardtown, Maryland.
After his installation as the pastor of St. Cecilia Parish, Father Agustin – who also serves as the pastor of nearby St. Peter Claver Parish in St Inigoes, Maryland – reflected briefly on the character of the two parishes he now leads.
He described St. Peter Claver Parish as “a vibrant, welcoming, spirited community where the joy of the Lord truly is their strength.” St. Cecilia, he said, carries “a deeply holy and spiritual” character, marked by “a genuine love for the Lord and for one another.”
Inside the church, history and devotion remain deeply visible. A large hand-woven tapestry which was created in 1975 by St. Mary’s College students under the direction of artist Earl Hoffman, depicts the Ark and the Dove on the St. Mary’s River, recalling the arrival of the first Catholic settlers in Maryland in 1634. The white marble Stations of the Cross, bright against the red brick walls, frame the worship space as a reminder of the faith of those who built the parish and those who continue to carry its mission forward.
Bishop Menjivar acknowledged that legacy during the homily. “The founding members of this parish, who have died, now stand with St. Cecilia in the heavenly choir,” he said. “Their sacrifice and perseverance built the foundation on which you stand today.”
As the parish looks toward its next 50 years, Bishop Menjivar urged the community to remain faithful, hopeful, and united. “May this parish always be a place where Christ is loved, where faith is alive, where those in need find support, and where every person knows they belong,” he said.
