St. James the Greater Catholic Church

2025-2026 Bill 864: St. James the Greater Catholic Church - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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S. 864
STATUS INFORMATION
Senate Resolution
Sponsors: Senator Matthews
Document Path: SR-0414KM-VC26.docx
Introduced in the Senate on January 29, 2026
Adopted by the Senate on January 29, 2026
Summary: St. James the Greater Catholic Church
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

1/29/2026

Senate

Introduced and adopted (
Senate Journal-page 3
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
01/29/2026

A
senate
RESOLUTION

TO CONGRATULATE St. James the Greater Catholic mission
UPON THE OCCASION OF ITS two hundredth ANNIVERSARY AND TO COMMEND the church
FOR ITS Legacy of Faith and Resilience and its MANY YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE
TO THE colleton county COMMUNITY AND THE PEOPLE AND THE STATE OF SOUTH
CAROLINA.

W
hereas, the members of
the South Carolina Senate are pleased to recognize St. James the Greater
Catholic Mission as it celebrates this important milestone; and

W
hereas, St. James the
Greater Catholic Mission's origins began in 1826. The church constitutes a rare
example of a rural, southern, African American Roman Catholic parish in
continuous existence from its antebellum origins to today. The site is
remarkable for possessing a complete, historically intact campus containing a
church, a school, and a cemetery; and

W
hereas, constructed by
Irish plantation owners to worship with enslaved African Americans, the first
church building of the mission was dedicated in 1833 by the first Bishop of Charleston,
Bishop John England. When slavery was abolished near the end of the Civil War,
many planters abandoned their land and fled. Vincent de Paul Davis, a formerly
enslaved man, served as the local catechist and played a vital role in teaching
and guiding the community in their faith. The parishioners often think of the
many ancestors of faithful Catholics who preserved their faith without a priest
or sanctuary for forty years; and

W
hereas, in 1897, word
reached a traveling preacher, Father Daniel Berberich, who came to the area to
help re-establish the congregation. A new church was built in 1909 with the
help of Father Berberich, but a tornado tragically destroyed the building in
the early 1930s. The current structure was built in 1935 with leftover
materials from the previously ravaged church; and

W
hereas, in 1901, a
schoolhouse was constructed next to the church, where over a hundred African
American students were educated regardless of religious affiliation. Classes
were taught at the schoolhouse until the 1960s, when schools in South Carolina became
integrated; and

W
hereas, members of St.
James still use the church and schoolhouse, lovingly referred to by locals as
"The Hill." Throughout the years, after the confinement of slavery, through the
trials and tribulations of natural disasters and life, the members of this
congregation held strong to their faith and persevered; and

W
hereas, the Saint
James African Americans are particularly extraordinary. Parishioners today
trace their roots to ancestors who were enslaved by Irish Catholic planters in
the 1820s and 1830s. A graveyard adjoins the churchyard and contains the loved
ones of the congregation's past and Irish settlers alike, with the earliest
decipherable headstone dating to 1835; and

W
hereas, the rich story
of Saint James the Greater Catholic Mission, its numerous hardships, and the
resilience of the parishioners' faith are hereby congratulated. The members of
the South Carolina Senate greatly appreciate the dedication and commitment of St.
James the Greater Catholic Mission to serving the people and the State of South
Carolina. Now, therefore,

B
e it resolved by the
Senate
:

T
hat the members of the
South Carolina
Senate
, by this resolution,
congratulate St. James the Greater Catholic Mission upon the occasion of its two
hundredth anniversary and commend the church for its legacy of faith and
resilience and its many years of dedicated service to the Colleton County community
and the people and the State of South Carolina.

B
e it further resolved
that a copy of this resolution be presented to the pastor of St. James the
Greater Catholic Mission, Reverend Bruce C. Barnett.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on January 29, 2026 at 11:10 AM