Whereas on June 1, 1976, St. Mary Mission, Hampton, South Carolina, was removed from the pastoral care of St. Anthony Parish, Waterboro, South Carolina, and reassigned as a mission of St. Anthony Parish, Ridgeland, South Carolina; and
Whereas on June 18, 2012, St. Mary Mission, Hampton, was returned to the pastoral care and canonical jurisdiction of St. Anthony Parish, Walterboro, for reasons of spiritual necessity; and
Whereas the availability of priest personnel at St. Anthony Parish, Ridgeland, in conjunction with its proximity to St. Mary Mission, Hampton, now necessitates the return of St. Mary Mission, Hampton, to the care and canonical jurisdiction of St. Anthony Parish, Ridgeland; and
Having sought and heard the counsel of the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of Charleston on May 16, 2017, and by testimony of this document;
I HEREBY DECREE St. Mary Mission in Hampton will once again be assigned as a mission of St. Anthony Parish, Ridgeland.
The registers of St. Mary Mission containing the records of Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Marriage, and deaths as well as all parish records and historical documents are to be transferred to St. Anthony Parish, Ridgeland, where they will be faithfully maintained and preserved in accord with canon 535 §1-5.
As the entities involved have maintained separate and distinct accounts, no transfer of funds is envisioned in these changes and none is prescribed in this decree.
I direct that this decree be published on the website for the Diocese of Charleston, www.sccatholic.org, which will be presumed the official notification of this action. I further direct that this decree be given to the pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Ridgeland and be communicated at all Masses of obligation on the weekend of Saturday, November 25, 2017, and Sunday, November 26, 2017, at both St. Anthony Parish in Ridgeland and St. Mary Mission in Hampton.
This Decree has an effective date of December 1, 2017, nothing the contrary withstanding. The time limit for a written recourse against this administrative act and decree is ten canonical days from the publication of the decree in accord with canon 1734 §2.
Given at Charleston, South Carolina, on the 20th day of November 2017.