About Our Church
Welcome to St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church !
What a beautiful place God has provided us here on the shore! Whether you’re just visiting us for a brief time, looking for a new parish home, or are returning to the practice of your Catholic faith we are happy to have you. We invite you to browse our website and come visit in person as you find your home within our growing community!
Our Mission
We, the members of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, experience our faith as a worldwide community. Through our Baptism in Jesus, we are called to be ministers of the Gospel, to become Eucharistic people, and to be people of service through the stewardship of time, talent and treasure.
Our Parish History
In 1890 the Right Reverend Alfred A. Curtis, D.D. appointed Reverend Edward "Ned" Mickle as Pastor of the St. Charles Borromeo Church on Randolph Ave. in the town of Cape Charles. "Go to the peninsula south of Delaware," the bishop challenged Father Ned, "live there among the people, make your own tracks through the woods and gather what stray Catholics you may find."
On August 14, 1928 he is tickled when one Catholic moved to Onancock. "Wife of the new Health Officer, Dr. Campbell," he wrote, "has arrived in Onancock. She is Catholic. Met her husband last Saturday at the opening of the Nassawadox Hospital. Very pleasant fellow. Big thing to have a good Catholic at Onancock."
In May of 1930 he writes about the Pennsylvania Railroad bringing in many Catholics and then adds, "Much needed as we have been going backward. "He summarized as he wrote, "Great friendliness of all the people throughout the peninsula. A few conversations were made, but the main effect has been to make friends, and the violent prejudice which existed for forty years ago is much abated. Catholics here stand high, and are very much respected, especially in Northampton County."
Two nicknames caught on during his 40 years here. First, he was known as the "Apostle of the Eastern Shore" to applaud his pioneer type of work and the other was "The Great Destroyer" giving gratitude for the advances he made in putting down bigotry.
Following Fr. Mickle's death, although he was immediately succeeded by Father John J. Foley, it would be another 18 years (1948) before a second Catholic Priest would be building the second Catholic church on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, the first being in Cape Charles City.
In the hands of Pastor Father Rinaldi and an enthusiastic council, major additions to the church were initiated and became reality. A fund drive to finance these undertakings was launched and the response was overwhelming. On September 1, 1977 construction began on a vestibule overlooking a meditative garden, an office, restrooms, a meeting room, a parish hall, and a completely equipped kitchen. On October 4 of 1979 a letter from Walter F. Sullivan, Bishop of Richmond, to the Oblate Pastor stated that he was "impressed with your leadership in the parish and the spirit among the parishioners." And, in the following year, Mark Paranzino, an architect, designed a new rectory that was built to the side and slightly back of the church.
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The people and the pastors of St. Peter's have been and are holy people. Each one through his or her individuality strives to please God. They are saints---not canonized saints imaged in a stained glass window; no one names any churches after them. They are saints, nevertheless, by the same definition that makes each flower, each tree, each bird, and all such beings living saints. That is, they spend their lives simply doing what they were created to do---God's will for them. They all demonstrate God's presence and pleasure in their lives. Together they form a bright microcosm of Christianity. Together, they are the Church.