Home History & Politics The Epic Southeast Baltimore Christmas Church Tour

History & Politics

The Epic Southeast Baltimore Christmas Church Tour

A photo and history tour inside Canton, Highlandtown, Fells Point and Little Italy's oldest immigrant Catholic churches.

By By Ron Cassie | Photography by Anthony Monczewski |

We tagged along on the Southeast Baltimore Christmas Church Tour for a glimpse inside seven of the city’s oldest immigrant Catholic churches. Organized by the parish communities, with Christmas decorations in full swing, we also picked up a little local history.

These photos were shot by Anthony Monczewski, 70, also along for the tour. A retired Department of Defense employee, Mr. Monczewski is the grandson of a Polish immigrant butcher and grew up in Fells Point near Holy Rosary Church in the neighborhood once known as “Little Poland.”

Open the images below to enlarge and read more about the history of these immigrant churches.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, Highlandtown

Church Sacred Heart Main — Founded to serve the growing number of German-speaking Catholic immigrants arriving in Highlandtown, Sacred Heart of Jesus celebrated it’s first mass on Dec. 28, 1873. – Photography by Anthony Monczweski

Church Sacred Heart Exterior — Since 2011, the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been officially designated Sacred Heart of Jesus-Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, in recognition of its newer arriving Spanish-speaking congregation. – Photography by Anthony Monczeswki

Full Size Render — A shrine to the Blessed Mother inside the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Highlandtown. The Solemnity of Mary, celebrated on January 1, is an annual Catholic feast day. – Ron Cassie

Holy Rosary Church, Upper Fells Point

Church Holy Rosary Organ — By the late 1870s, a significant population of Polish immigrants had begun to form in Fells Point. The first Polish parish in Southeast Baltimore had been St. Stanislaus, founded in 1880 on South Ann Street, but closed in 2000. The cornerstone of Holy Rosary, located in the 400 block of S. Chester, was laid in 1927. – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

Church Holy Rosary Main — In 1993, Holy Rosary Church was designated as the Archdiocesan Shrine of Divine Mercy. Holy Rosary received even greater notoriety when the Vatican recognized the healing of Father Ronald Pytel’s heart condition as a miracle through the intercession of Blessed Faustina Kowalska, which led to the Polish nun’s canonization in 2000. – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

Church Holy Rosary Exterior — The congregation peaked at Holy Rosary in the 1920s and 1930s when the church served some 2,500 families. Masses are still performed in Polish several times a week. – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

St. Leo the Great, Little Italy

Church St Leo Organ — St. Leo the Great, located on South Exeter Street in Little Italy and established in 1881, remains the center of neighborhood life in the historic Baltimore community. – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

Church St Leo Mass — Small, but steady numbers of Italian immigrants began arriving in Baltimore in the early 19th century, settling around the former President Street rail station (now the Baltimore Civil War Museum) near the area today known as Little Italy. By 1870, between one-third and one-half of that area’s population was Italian, according to St. Leo’s website. – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

Church St Leo Altar — St. Leo’s hosts two annual festivals, the Feast of St. Anthony in June, which dates back to 1904, and the Feast of St. Gabriel in August. – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

St. Casimir Parish, Canton

Church St Casmir Organ — St. Casimir’s Church, located in the 2600 block of O’Donnell Street in Canton, was dedicated in 1926 to serve the growing Polish community. The main altar is a modified reproduction of the main altar of the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy and contains some 15 tons of Tuscan marble. – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

Church St Casmir Glass — The interior of St. Casimir’s is decorated with a series of mounted murals that were begun in 1939. – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

Church St Casmir Exterior — In the 1930s, the church had an estimated 5,300 members. Today, with a smaller but still significant number of 800 parishioners, St. Casimir’s remains one of the anchor institutions in the Canton community – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

Our Lady of Pompei, Highlandtown

Church Pompei Pews — Our Lady of Pompei, founded in 1923, is located at Conkling and Claremont streets in a section of Highlandtown sometimes referred to as ‘little’ Little Italy to distinguish the neighborhood from the original Little Italy, situated closer to the Inner Harbor. – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

Church Pompei Altar — In 2014, Father Lou Esposito, an Italian immigrant, celebrated the 50th anniversary of his priesthood as well as 50 years of continuous service to Our Lady of Pompei. As the parish notes on its website, the anniversary was somewhat of a bittersweet moment—it proved to be the last event celebrated in the former school hall before the school building’s sale. – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

Full Size Render 2 — Our Lady of Pompei, which still celebrates daily Mass as well as Saturday and Sunday services, celebrates its annual feast day on the first weekend in October. – Ron Cassie

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Patterson Park

Church Hungary Exterior — Located in the 2700 block of E. Baltimore St. and facing Patterson Park, the original St. Elizabeth of Hungary church building was founded in 1895. The large stone Romanesque church building pictured was built in 1912 to serve the growing parish community and earned a listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1894. – Photography by Anthony Monczewski

Church Hungary Organ — In the 1930s, St. Elizabeth School had the largest enrollment of students, more than 1,500, in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and for decades afterward was known for its top amateur soccer teams. – Photography by Ron Cassie

Church Hungary Mural — St. Elizabeth, a Hungarian princess of royal descent, was born in 1207. After her husband’s death, she gave her all her earthly possessions to the poor and founded a hospital for the sick and impoverished. According to a Catholic Review biography, there are more than 80 churches named after St. Elizabeth of Hungary in the U.S., most founded by European immigrants in the 19th century. Her feast day is celebrated Nov. 17. – Photography by Ron Cassie

St. Brigid’s Parish Hall, Canton

Church Brigid Altar — The parish at St. Brigid Roman Catholic Church, located in the 900 block of S. Ellwood St. in Canton, was established in 1854 as a mission of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Upper Fells Point. – Photography by Ron Cassie

Church Brigid Main — As Canton developed around the port of Baltimore shipping and canning industries, Irish immigrants moved into the area in greater numbers. A son of one of those Irish immigrants, Cardinal James Gibbons—then Father Gibbons—became the first pastor at St. Brigid. – Photography by Ron Cassie

Church Brigid Nativity — In addition to his duties at St. Brigid, Father Gibbons was in charge for a period at St. Lawrence Church, now Our Lady of Good Counsel, in Federal Hill, and rowed across the harbor on Sundays to perform services at both churches. – Photography by Ron Cassie