| Summary: | A history of an important urban Catholic parish (founded in 1841) that has survived radically changing demographics, decades of civic, mercantile, and industrial encroachment, and urban blight. The first half of the book (Spalding) tells the social history of the parish and the changing ethnic groups thai have been its congregations: Irish, Italian, and African-American, and how the church has adapted to their needs. The second half (Kuranda) is an architectural history of the church, whose Georgian lower is one of the most important landmarks in the mid-Atlantic region. St. Vincent's is nationally famous for its midnight primers' masses (held after newspapers in the area went to press). The heroic story of St. Vincent's, now under the direction of the dynamic Father Dick Lawrence, will inspire Catholic clergy and laity in all urban areas.
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