Virginia

Servant of God Francis Parater's cause was opened by the Diocese of Richmond. He died while a seminarian studying at the North American College in Rome. He was baptized at St. Patrick Church in Richmond, VA. Read the blog post here. 

More to come about these Spanish Jesuit missionaries, martyred near Williamsburg, VA decades before the British colony of Jamestown was formed.

Mother Drexel's first home for black girls was near Richmond, VA. It was called St. Francis de Sales School for Girls. It is now abandoned as well as the school nearby that was started by her sister, St. Emma's Military School for Boys. The schools were closed in the 1970s after desegregation. The buildings are historic landmarks, but having fallen into disrepair. The property was sold by the Sisters and is now privately owned. More to come about this school created found by St. Katharine Drexel.