Father Blaine Burkey’s new book aims to get history right

When Father Blaine Burkey, O.F.M. Cap., began researching the history of Catholicism on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, he quickly discovered that much of the record had been left incomplete — or worse, misrepresented.

The result of his years of painstaking archival research is a new book that he hopes will correct the historical record and shed light on the often-overlooked Catholic communities that flourished along the Chesapeake Bay from the colonial era through the twentieth century.

“There were so many stories that simply hadn’t been told,” Father Burkey said during an interview at the friary in Cumberland. “People were doing remarkable things for the faith in very difficult circumstances, and nobody had bothered to write it down properly.”

The 312-page volume, published by the Catholic University of America Press, draws on previously untapped parish records, personal correspondence, and diocesan archives to reconstruct the spiritual lives of Catholic families in Dorchester, Somerset, and Wicomico counties.

Father Burkey, who has spent more than three decades in the Capuchin Franciscan order, said the project began almost by accident. A parishioner handed him a box of old photographs and letters that had been stored in a church basement for generations.

“I started reading them, and I realized these were extraordinary accounts of faith, hardship, and community,” he said. “I knew I had to do something with them.”

The book includes chapters on the integration of Catholic schools on the Eastern Shore, the role of women religious in building educational institutions, and the experience of African American Catholics who maintained their faith under conditions of profound social injustice.

Local historians and theologians have praised the work as a landmark contribution to Maryland Catholic history. Dr. Sandra Yocum of the University of Dayton called it “meticulous, moving, and long overdue.”

Father Burkey will speak about the book at several upcoming events in the archdiocese. Details are available through parish offices and the Catholic Review website.