Category: St Croix

This is a follow up to Father Markoe´s 1953 Journal

From 175th Anniversary Commemorative History of

St. Anne´s Church

Estate Barronspot

1975

By Msgr. Michael Kosak

P.O. Box 1160

Kingshill, St. Croix, Virgin Islands 00851

In the beginning of research into the builder of Barrenspot, we were given one tiny lead, and from it developed the story of a very interesting West Indian Planter, perhaps typical of his age and its opulance, it is also a reflection of the times in which he lived, as even then, world affairs shaped the destiny of the little West Indies.

Christopher McEvoy, Jr. was born on St. Croix in 1760, the eldest son of Maria Markoe and Christo-pher McEvoy, Sr. His mother, 23 years at the time of his birth, was the daughter of Peter Markoe and Elizabeth Cunningham, both prominent families on St. Croix. Her Father’s side were French Hugenots, exiles who first had settled down-island, prospered, and moved up to St. Croix. The Markoes were big land-owners when Maria married Christopher Sr., and her mother’s family were influential in island affairs. Christopher Sr., a newcomer from Scotland, was a Catholic refuge, complete with Coat-of-Arms, on his arrival on St. Croix in 1751. A suitable match for Maria, probably he came with some money, as he soon owned quite a bit. In 1776, when applying for Danish citizenship, he mentioned he had established 10 plan-tations in St. Croix by himself in his 25 years of residence.

Christopher Jr. was not an only child, he was followed by Michael, Ann, Bridget, Peter and Marcella, the last being born in 1776. In that year, his matenial grandmother died. followed by his mother Maria, in 1777. Being brought up as a typical son of a wealthy planter, he received his advanced education in England, and in Denmark’where he studied commerce. He re-turned to the island of St. Croix before 1786, perhaps much before, but census records show him as an indi-vidual in that year for the first time. His father re-married in 1778, one Jane Low of St. Christophers, a spinster, with whom there were no children. She was later to make trouble for young Christopher.

Frequent travel to Europe to conduct business was usual. While we think nothing of trips to Europe today it is amazing, with the length of passage time, that many went so regularly. Most of the planters’ children were educated abroad, it was the “thing to do,” but quite often they were still regarded as “West Indian Planters,” certainly not social equals in the gay capitals of Europe, Money, and the lack of it, was going to change that.

Christopher Sr. and the second wife, Jane, moved to England around or before 1792, and either old age or irritation caused him to cancel his formal marriage contract with Jane, his wife. However, he rewrote his Will and it had nearly the same contents as before, this one was filed in Denmark, in April of 1791. Christopher Sr. died in England towards the end of 1792, and is buried there.

Meanwhile, Christopher Jr. was learning the plantation business, moving from one family estate to another. In 1794, he became owner of Westend Quarter No. 4, and lived there until 1802, when it was called John’s Rest, perhaps for a friend of his who worked it with him and who died there, so a story goes. In 1803 he named it Whim, and today this property, which he sold during the English occupation around 1814-1 5, is a museum. It is believed he built the greathouse there which is one of the main attrac-tions of the museum. In April of 1 804, he bought from his brother Peter, Estate Barrenspot, a place Peter had inherited from their brother Michael (Michael died in May of 1803). The Barrenspot estate had come to them through their mother, whose father had owned it back as far as 1765 and perhaps earlier. Christopher Jr. made many other acquisitions and sold many pro-perties, but we will trouble ourselves no more with those on St. Croix; merely leave it to say he prospered indeed.

Since planters and managers were the only residents considered to be worthy of “society,” and only landowners could sit in council, Christopher, with his wealth, both inherited and made, was probably one of the most sought-after young men on the island–lie was wealthy, and he was a bachelor; We can assume many mothers vied for a chance to entertain him, no matter how many times his estates hit the debtors lists – everyone else’s did too, for the same reason. They were all into sugar cane, and while it had been king of crops for over 60 years, by the mid-I 800’s it was a losing proposition. This had been preceded by years of drought, hurricanes, and other “acts of nature” such as excess taxes, an embargo from the fledgling United States of America, blockades by English ships during the American War of 1812, and other an-noyances.

St. Croix did not do all that badly under English occupation in 1804 and again from 1807 to 1814. Many of the planters and managers were from the British Isles originally or had ties to England – un-like St. Thomas, they fared rather well. Research done by Isidor Paiewonsky of St. Thomas, published in the Daily News of St. Thomas the past several years, mentions that Cruzans enjoyed many privileges of cargoes, which the other Danish isles did not.

Under Christopher Sr.’s Will was a provision that his wife Jane was to share in the profits of Barren-spot. Since Christopher was doing well, Jane (the wicked stepmother), in 1807, from England, petitioned the good Danish King to obtain her rights – the money! She finally went to court in Denmark over the issue, and won. According to the translator at the Danish Archives, Christopher Jr., under all sorts of pretexts, did not pay her(Westindian Journal No.1855).

Christopher Jr., apparently decided to move his permanent home to England around 181 l,.and did go there and buy a house, at Wimbledon. His sister Ann also went to England and became a Nun. Bridget married a William O’Daly; Marcella, who probably went to England with her father, married a James Galway of Ireland. The remaining brother Peter was in England by 1838, before that he married one Anne Bladwell Markoe, his Uncle James’ widow. Peter had at least nine children, but whether they are by Anne or another wife is not known.

[A descendant of Bridget MacEvoy notes she married Peter Daly and that the MacEvoys were Irish, not Scots]

In 1812. Denmark, suffering dearly from the wrong side of the War of 1812 (against the British), went bankrupt. One of the things done to raise money was to declare absentee ownership taxes; that is, an owner of property on St. Croix had to live there or in Denmark, or pay severe taxes. As a result, Christopher packed his bags and moved permanently to Copenhagen. He sold much of his property on St. Croix, perhaps to support the lavish lifestyle for which he would soon be noted. He spent a good deal of time in St. Croix though, as letters from Catholic priests men-tion his worl’ in trying to secure priests for the island from the British Isles and later, in 1815, mentions he is building a chapel on Barrenspot, to be finished about October of that year. So his hand was still in the bus-iness at Barrenspot.

Christopher quickly made a name for himself in Copenhagen, if he was not already well known. Frederik VI was King and had been Regent since 1784 when the previous King was declared mentally incom-petent. Frederik VI had one of the longest tenures of leadership in Danish history, being Regent for 24 years, and King from 1808 to 1839. Christopher became a Court Chamberlain and, in the poverty-stricken court, his wealth must have been welcome. He bought a townhouse called “Trianon” and the magnificent Dehn Palace only a block away from Amalienborg (now known as the Queen’s Palace). Dehn Palace covers half of a huge city block – each way, four stories high:all for a bachelor! He bought a sugar processing fac-tory in Gannelstrand and if his father’s shipping line was still in family hands, he not only grew the sugar, but shipped and processed it as well. He then bought Bernsdorff Castle, just out of the city. When he had bought and decorated the Dehn Palace, near Amalien-borg Castle in 1818, he arranged it so magnificently that the people of Copenhagen thought his wealth to be without limit. He did commit a faux-pas about this time, after he bought Bernsdorff in 18 17. He arranged an effect, to carry himself from his townhouse to his new country palace. He had a carriage, grander than the King’s, pulled by four white horses, highly decora-ted, to transport him. This greatly angered King Frederik, as white horses were a privilege restricted in use to the nobility, and while Christopher might be a Court Chamberlain, and very wealthy, he was not of the royal blood. McEvoy was exiled, and he took a long “vacation” to North America where it is assumed he bought eight rare white mules. When he returned to Copenhagen and next “drove out,” his coach was finer than before, and led by the mules dressed to the hilt with laces and decorations. The King was this time most amused and forgave him his ostentatiousness~

Sugar still continued to decline. A severe fever epidemic in 1817, and a hu’rricane in 1819, was followed by a drought in 1822 that brought near starva-tion. McEvoy returned to St. Croix time and time again, and in 1823, his chapel at Barrenspot was for-mally consecrated with great fanfare and ceremony. It was even written up on the front page of The Avis, very unusual for a Catholic function in a Lutheran stronghold.

Peter Frederik Von Scholten was named acting Governor, in 1827, of the Danish West Indies, but it is not known if Christopher ever entertained this man in St. Croix (This remarkable Dane was to free the slaves completely 2 1 years later). McEvoy seemed to have spent most of his time now in Denmark, not surprising-ly for a 67 year old man in favor with the King. Surely he met and talked to Von Scholten when the latter was in Denmark; they should have had much to dis-cuss. In 1829, the Crucian planters were in debt for 76 0/0 of their holdings, and no matter how capable they or their managers were, the decline could not be stopped. The year 1830 saw more drought and the development of beet sugar as well. Being declared a free port three years later did not help. Christopher did get a crushing station erected on the Barrenspot property in 1836 that might have helped the hopes, but it may be assumed that when he finally died, he was watching the collapse of an empire that had begun with his grandfather, swelled into riches with his father, and became fortunes in his~own hands. Now it was all being drained away. It must have been a hard blow to this 78 year old dynamo.

He died at his Bernsdorff Palace on St. Ann’s Day, July 26th of 1 838, and his body was buried at the Catholic St. Assisten’s Cemetery, in a small plot surrounded by iron railing. His stone states “Under here lies the dust of Planter Christopher McEvoy, died July26, 1838 in his 78th year.”

His heir was his brother Peter, resident of England, who, among other things, also inherited seven iron-bound chests of gold and silver tableware valued (at that time) at $40,000 Danish.

By the end of the 1920 s, in the southern part of the island, a new community was forming that would grow deep roots. In 1992 at Castleburg, we don t know the day nor month, a small group of Catholics got together to celebrate the Eucharist for first time.

This community was born as church should be, a pilgrim, since there was no fixed place to meet. For some time, they meet to celebrate the mass at the Great House in Estate Adventure. Then they changed their location to Estate Big Diamond , where the mass was celebrated at 10:00 a.m. After a period of pilgrimage they met a Estate Lower Love. The mass was celebrated at 9:00 a.m. at Kofresi at the residence of the Rodríguez family who are still living there. During that time the mass was celebrated at both places by the Redentorist fathers of St. Patrick. although on some occasions priests of Holy Cross assisted. This is attested by Mrs., Inez Williams, Mrs. Vicenta Monell, Mrs. Joan Sackey and Mrs. Julia Rodríguez, who are still active members of the community of St. Joseph. It is safe to believe that the origins of our Christian community of St. Joseph goes as far back as the year 1929.

NEED TO CONSTRUCT A CHAPEL

Towards the year 1940, people from adjacent areas fathered to hear the word of God. There were also many Hispanics who participated in the celebration. Mrs. Vicenta Monell tells us that for a period of time she was responsible for preparing the altar for the celebration of the mass, a service she still renders on occasions. The idea to build a new church became stronger as the community grew and did not have an appropriate place to celebrate the Eucharist. Moved by this reality, in January of 1941, the Redemptorist fathers decided to purchase two acres of land at Estate Lower Love for the future chapel. The cost at the time was $100.00 per acre. The project continued, but the purchases land was not the most favorable place for the Catholics that lived in this part of the island. Our Father God, who constantly guides His people, enlightened them to find a solution to the problem. The V.I. Company owned land in Mount Pleasant. Father Knoll, because of his acquaintance with the Gaffney
Ramily, explored the possibility of exchanging the land. The V.I Company accepted. In this way a central location was found for the Catholics of this part of St. Croix to come together to celebrate with great joy their faith in God the Lord.

To ensure that the place was the most appropriate, in November of 1946, the visiting viceprovincial vicar of the Redemptorist fathers came to Mount Pleasant to inspect the proposed site for the construction of the Church. The Redemptorist Journal noted: In November, our viceprovincial vicar is visiting with us. He also visited Mount Pleasant to inspect the site that has been proposed for the chapel, and which has been spoken of for the past 10 years (10 years before 1945-Coulter). Those who are optimists believe that we can have a church very soon. Truly, the work was realized with great speed because seven months later, the construction was completed.

At the beginning of 1946, the dream that began 17 years before had become a reality. The interest of those brothers and sisters blossomed and the project of constructing the chapel began rapidly. Father Knoll assumed the responsibility of this great task and asked Mr. Henry D. Brown (now deceased), carpenter and contractor, to take charge of constructing the chapel.

THE FIRST STONE

In a very emotional celebration with many in attendance, Father Mark Knoll celebrated the Sunday mass on May 5, 1946, and then blessed the first stone. The following day, the construction of the chapel of St. Joseph began at Mount Pleasant, under the direction of Mr. Brown. This was the fourth and last site.

The first time that any newspapers article about the building of our chapel appeared in the St. Croix Avis was on June 3, 1946: A New Catholic chapel, which will become a part of the St. Patrick s Parish of Frederiksted, is begin build at Estate Mount Pleasant, adjacent to the Centerline Highway. The chapel will be about 70 feet by 28 feet and will be built of concrete blocks. The spire will rise approximately 20 feet form above the roof of the building… The chapel is being built from funds donated by parishioners and others, and form the proceeds of programs and entertainment s… Work on the chapel was begun on May 6th and the foundation is now complete.

The blocks used in our chapel were fabricated next to the atrium of St. Patrick s temple. The work moved rapidly that the foundation was completed by the end of May. The completion of the chapel was planned to the month of August, unless delayed by lack of necessary materials. No name has as yet been decided upon.

The foreseen deadline to Finnish the chapel was not met. It was precisely in the month of August 1946 that the construction had to be stopped because the materials did not arrive on time. The boat transporting the aluminum was deleted due to a strike: Progress on the new chapel in Mount Pleasant has been hindered by the serious lack of material. It is very difficult to obtain enough material of any kind. An order of aluminum from New York has been delayed due to the present maritime strike.
(Redemption Journal, August 10, 1946).

After this interruption, the material finally arrived and Mr. Brown immediately continued the work. This time there were no more obstacles stopping the construction. Therefore, the work continued until the chapel was completed. Despite the delay, the chapel was completed in seven months.

CONSECRATION OF THE CHAPEL

By December 0f 1996, the building and the preparations for the blessed of the chapel were almost complete. The Catholics of this southern part of St. Croix were living moments of much illusion and hope, as they saw their dream which flourished 17 years before at Castleburg, now being realized at Mount Pleasant. Their Christian life was lived with promise and fulfillment, animated by the hope and graces of God.

All things belong to God, therefore , we need to offer them to Him. The recently built chapel needed to be consecrated. Father Knoll and the community invited Bishop James Peter Davis who resided in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to celebrate the first mass and to consecrate de chapel. The Redemptorist fathers were also invited. On December 15, 1996 (in 1996, the day coincides with the date exactly 50 years ago), all the preparations were ready. The ceremony for the consecration of the chapel was schedule for 9:00 a.m. to be followed by a solemn mass. It was the third Sunday in advent which is known as the Sunday of happiness, a beautiful coincidence since all were very happy for the new chapel.

The community was assembled and awaited with great joy the arrival of Bishop Davis. Everything was ready for the celebration and the consecration would take place immediately after. By then, if was decided that the chapel would be named after St. Joseph, the spouse of Mary . The community kept waiting for some time, and there was no sight of the Bishop. After the long wait, Father Knoll decided to celebrate the mass, which would be the first to be celebrated in the recently constructed chapel. On that occasion so many people attended, that the chapel was too small to accommodate everyone.

THE PATIENT WAIT

The bishop could not arrive in St. Croix because his flight was stranded in St. Thomas. Meanwhile, the mass had ended and the fateful waited patiently for the bishop to appear. To kill some time, Father Knoll began to relate the history that had brought about the realization of this wonderful project: It has been 17 years since Father Meehan, C.Ss.R. held the first Mass at Castleburg to the time that ground was broken for this building… The bell was donated by the late Thomas Gaffney. The late Sir Arnold Gllden, Papal Night, made a gift of $500.00 toward the building of the chapel, . Father Knoll gave thanks to the benefactors and encouraged everyone by saying. The rejoicing should be all the more significant to those who have kept the faith all these years and now have a place of their own in which to worship Almighty God. (West End News, December 16, 1946) .

At about noontime, Father Knoll announced the arrive of the bishop. At that moment, the faces and hearts of everyone rejoiced and all were favorable disposed to receive the bishop. After greeting the bishop everyone participated in the celebration of the consecration. The chapel was dedicated in honor of St. Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary. (West End News, December 16, 1946). Today, we also celebrate St. Joseph the Worker.

This day of merriment at Mount Pleasant was very special, the West End News tell us: As the Bishop arrived on the ground of the chapel, he was greeted by a band from St. Patrick s School which struck up the hymn To Jesus Heart All Burning . The consecration ceremony was proceeded by a short procession, headed by the acolytes, the Fathers and Bishop Davis… With much solemnity and at the proper time, the blessing of the chapel took place. His Excellent first blessed the outside, then the inside of the building. The remanded of the ceremony took place at the altar .

From that day in 1929 when the first mass was celebrated at Castleburg until November 15, 1946, there wasn t an
appropriate place for Catholics to celebrate their faith, but the time had arrived. The dream had become a reality. The Catholics of the southern part of the island now had a place to come together to celebrate their faith. The Redmptorist fathers of St. Patrick always took care of the Christian community in this southern part of St. Croix.

Since that Sunday, December 15, 1946, the Eucharist has been celebrated every Sunday in this chapel of St. Joseph, spouse of our Blessed Virgin. The chapel remained under the pastoral guidance of the Redemptorist fathers of St. Patrick until 1973.

During that time, the sacrament of baptism, first communion and matrimonial were celebrated. Religious education for first communion was taught at various homes of the parishioners.- The first person to be baptized in the chapel was Mr. Mark L. Milligan in 1947, and shortly after, preparation for first communion began. The life of faith has always been alive and the Christian community has given testimony constantly of its faith and love for its brothers and sisters.

From its origin, the community of St. Joseph has been bilingual. If the priests who celebrated mass spoke some Spanish, they would say some words to the Hispanics. We were, therefore, heirs of a bilingual community tradition.

During 1930 to 1950, many people came to St. Croix from Puerto Rico, mainly from Vieques, Culebra and Fajardo to cut sugar cane, and the eastern coast. Attempts to minister to them were made. In 1950, in St. Patrick, Father Ed Hart gave a great mission in Spanish with great success and with many Hispanics in attendance. In 1957, to continue responding to the Hispanics hunger for God, Father Arthur Donnelly, parochial priest of St. Patrick, established a Sunday mass in Spanish. It is very possible that, at that time, some activities and celebration were held in Spanish at St. Joseph.

The Catholic Community of the Virgin Islands was indeed fortunate when in 1754, the Royal Danish permission was granted to practice religion freely, to build Churches and bring to the Virgin Islands priests to minister to the Catholic community.

There have always been Catholic residents on St. Croix dating back to 1685. This very small Catholic Community made very little progress until the Island was purchased by the Danish Government in 1733.

It was a desire for religious freedom which brought Mr. Nicholas Tuite of Montserrat to settle on St. Croix in 1752, with his family, friends, relatives and servants. He obtained Royal Danish permission and in 1755 built the first Catholic church in Christiansted. From this date onward the Catholic Community started to flourish.

The English Jesuits came for a time to help serve the Catholics of the island. However, they were forced to leave because of political difficulties. Then came the Irish Dominicans who worked zealously for the good of the small Catholic population.

Mr. Tuite approved Fr. Christopher McEvoy, O.P. as plantation Chaplain. When Fr. McEvoy was appointed by the Vatican as Prefect of the territory, he was also asked to be pastor of Holy Cross Church in Christiansted, the Capital of the Danish West Indies. Fr. McEvoy served as Prefect for ten years. He was an excellent organizer, visiting all the Islands and making a thorough report to Rome.

One Irish Dominican, Fr. Hyacinth Kennedy, O.P. writing to his headquarters in Rome, April 2, 1760 stated: The chapel in Christiansted is a large and spacious one, but in no way finished inside as yet. No altar, nothing but a table. I live at Mr. Tuite’s estate about three miles from town.” On July 20, 1760 he continues, “There are no stairs at any of three doors of the Church. In a word, it is roofed, floored and that is all.”

Fr. Matthew Herard, O.P., a French emigre, arrived in St. Croix on July 18, 1793 and two days later was appointed as Pastor of the Catholic Church in Christiansted. At the same time he was also appointed Vice Prefect of the Danish West Indies. During his tenure he did great things for God and the Church on St. Croix.

The Irish Dominicans finally left St. Croix and were succeeded by secular priests of various nationalities both English and French until the Holy See turned to the Redemptorists in 1858.

It was in 1848 that Fr. Thomas E. Butler, Pastor of the Christiansted church, undertook the first renovation and addition to the present church. An addition was built over the cemetery which was on the north side of the Church. Many of the old tombstones, among which is the grave of Fr. Desmond dated 1811, may still be seen under the floor of what is now the main body of the Church. During the enlargement a cornerstone was placed, inscribed in Latin as follows; The Holy Catholic Apostolic Church of the Holy Cross erected in the Year of our Lord 1849.

It was through the recommendations and intercessions of Msgr. George Talbot, a Papal Legate in 1855 that the Holy Father Pius IX joyfully accepted the proposal that the Redemptorists be asked to accept the Mission on St. Croix.

Fr. Joseph Prost, C.Ss.R., one of the early pioneer Redemptorists in America, was the first to arrive on St. Croix in 1858 at the age of 53. Upon his arrival he had to sign an oath promising obedience to the Colonial Government in St. Croix. Christiansted was the Capitol of the Danish West Indies when Fr. Prost was assigned as pastor. He served in this capacity until October 1860; this was the end of the Redemptorist mission in Christiansted. Forty years later the Belgian Redemptorists would return to Christianted to staff Holy Cross Church once again. The year was 1897.

As the years passed various repairs and improvements on the present Church were made. Fr. Joseph De Stoop, C.Ss.R. built the Baptistry on the southeast corner of the Church, and later the altar boys and priests’ sacristy were added. In 1947 a new aluminum roof was installed on the main part of the Church and the exterior painted.

It was during the tenure of Fr. Joseph Hart, C.Ss.R. in 1950 that a new ceiling was installed, the interior painted and asphalt tiles laid in the sanctuary and aisles of the Church.

Suddenly, on Sunday evening, December 2, 1956, shortly after the evening devotions, a mysterious fire swept through the Church. The entire contents of both sacristies, the beautiful murals on either side of the High Altar, the entire ceiling, and the venerable pipe organ were destroyed, and the interior of the Church completely disfigured.

The original estimate of the damages made by the Fire Chief and the Commissioner of Public Works was placed at $60,000. At first, this figure was considered by some to be too high; but the final cost of repairing the damage and replacing lost articles proved the original estimate to be very realistic. Due to lack of necessary funds, work on the restoration of the Church was delayed. In October 1957 the Pastor, Fr. Mark Knoll, C.Ss.R., authorized the contractor to begin the repairs which were completed in 1958. Holy Cross Church was rededicated on September 28, 1958.

The next improvements to Holy Cross Church took place when Fr. John O’Toole, C.Ss.R. was Pastor in 1975. The roof was replaced and new doors and windows installed.

Within a year after becoming pastor of Holy Cross Church, Fr. Joseph Bertrand, C.Ss.R. undertook the most extensive renovation of the Church since its inception with the assistance of Fr. Robert Gaugler, C.Ss.R., the official building supervisor for the Baltimore Province of Redemptorists. This renovation returned the Church to its original impressive dignity while adapting it to the requirements of the revised liturgy.

In 1989 Hurricane Hugo not only destroyed much of the island of St. Croix but also damaged Holy Cross Church, especially the roof. During the tenure of Fr. Al Bradley, C.Ss.R., extensive repairs and a new roof brought Holy Cross Church to its present beauty and dignity. Also the parish rectory and McAlpin Hall were renovated along with the addition of a new Good Shepherd Center.

There are three religious communities of sisters residing in the parish: the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the Missionaries of Charity and the Dominican Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. The major educational apostolate of the parish has always been St. Mary School which still thrives within the parish.

God has truly blessed Holy Cross Parish over the years. May Our Blessed Mother continue to watch over it.