The 60th anniversary edition of The Dialog published Sept. 19, 2025, included a review of Catholic news from 1965-2025. This is the first of 10 parts.
1965
The first issue of The Dialog was published on Sept. 3, 1965, and cost 10 cents. The front page was exclusively news about the Second Vatican Council, with one local story. That concerned Bishop Michael Hyle sailing to Rome for the fourth session of the council.
Inside the paper, there is a column about the challenge of starting a new newspaper by the first editor, John O’Connor, and a story about how the Delmarva Dialog came to be. The author of that piece was Msgr. John H. Dewson, the organizing editor.
Early issues of the paper covered race relations and civil rights issues, fair housing, birth control and ecumenism. There also were movie and book reviews, along with other articles on “the leisure arts.” I
n October, Bishop Hyle published a letter about the restoration of the distribution of Communion in both bread and wine form, but “only on certain special occasions.”
The Delmarva Datebook, covering a small portion of a page, appears as a spot for local parishes and organizations to announce their events. It continues to appear in The Dialog to this day.
An article in a December issue about changes in Catholic education in the diocese noted that there were 12 high schools and 37 elementary schools, with 67 percent of eligible children in the diocese enrolled in Catholic schools.
The war in Vietnam and protests against it garnered increasing coverage as the year progressed.
Finally, Bishop Hyle penned a column asking Catholics in the Diocese of Wilmington to pledge to use good judgment when deciding which movies to see.
1966
For the first time in diocesan history, the diocese invited Protestant clergy to participate with their Catholic brethren in a series of worship services.
Bishop Hyle extended the invitation in conjunction with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This is the third year that Protestant and Catholic clergy would take part in the program, but the first time it would be held in a Catholic church, Christ Our King in Wilmington.
An article about the changing demographics around St. Peter Cathedral noted that most white families who could afford to do so had left the city for the suburbs. Enrollment at the school had dropped but was boosted by suburban students from areas not served by Catholic schools. Classes were kept deliberately small — “35 in the first grade and 30 in the other seven grades.”
Pope Paul VI announced in February that abstinence from meat would be in effect only on Ash Wednesday and Fridays of Lent, and that the age when that would start would rise from 7 to 14. Also, the only days of fasting would be Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and that would be for people 21 and over. Workshops were held to explain changes in the Mass following recommendations from the Second Vatican Council.
Bishop Hyle approved the use of more English at Mass, and there was talk of receiving Communion while standing, experimenting with folk song Mass and forming parish liturgical commissions.
Bishop Hyle issued guidelines regarding mixed marriages, where one of the parties is not Catholic, although he explained some of the reasons why “clergymen of all faiths exhort their people” to marry within their own faith. Chief among those guidelines was a promise to baptize and educate any children in the Catholic faith. The bishop created a diocesan finance council in July comprised of two priests and nine laymen.
A committee of clergy recommended the diocese form a lay advisory committee to weigh in on diocesan programs. The diocesan liturgical commission, chaired by Msgr. Roderick Dwyer, studied the possibility of having Mass in places other than church buildings. It also considered the possibility of having special children’s Masses, geared to those under 12 years old.
Msgr. Dwyer died in October 1966. Father James T. Delaney was appointed principal of the unnamed new Catholic high school that was scheduled to open in 1968 on Kirkwood Highway. The diocese also announced that four congregations of religious women would teach at what would become Saint Mark’s High School, and six priests would help staff the school.
Msgr. Paul J. Taggart was named the new vicar general in December, replacing Msgr. Dwyer. A sampling of priests from the diocese told The Dialog they’d be in favor of the entire Mass being celebrated in English.
1967
After a survey by the National Catholic Reporter found that 62 percent of priests asked believed that celibacy should be optional, The Dialog put the question to several local priests, whose opinion on the issue was mixed. The local clergy also recommended to Bishop Hyle that he reestablish a permanent married diaconate and encourage church authorities to return to the ancient Latin-rite custom of having both a married and celibate priesthood. Six Catholics — four laymen, a woman and a religious sister — talked to The Dialog about the need for more consultation by the diocese with laypeople. All six were in favor of establishing a parish council at each church.
Sculptor Charles Parks was profiled in the Feb. 3 issue. Decades later, Parks would create the Shrine of Our Lady Queen of Peace that sits on the grounds of Holy Spirit Parish in New Castle.
The Dialog published a series of articles on the vocation crisis. The Diocese of Wilmington, like other dioceses around the country, was “hurting” for candidates for the priesthood, according to Father James P. Eckrich, director of vocations.
The Inner City Council, representing eight Wilmington parishes, initiated studies on three of the church’s most pressing urban problems: school facilities, ministry on the East Side of the city, and ministry to Spanish speakers.
Oblate Father J. Francis Tucker, the former pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, returned to Wilmington for the groundbreaking for the new Padua Academy.
Bishop Hyle reaffirmed his commitment to the Catholic school system after some people had suggested that such institutions be phased out.
IHM Sister Martin Mary taught reading at Richey Elementary School in Newport. She was believed to be the first religious to teach in a Delaware public school. The program that took her to Richey was a collaboration between Catholic and public schools. She was there for several weeks.
In June, Bishop Hyle granted permission for resort-area parishes to hold Masses on Saturdays in order to accommodate the large number of visitors who could not get into the overcrowded Sunday services. Parishes also were allowed to hold Masses in “special facilities,” such as church halls. Other parishes were allowed to make similar requests.
Two Wilmington priests moved into federal housing in the city’s northeast as part of an experiment to get to know the needs of the poor.
Bishop Hyle directed that Mass with the priest facing the people would be mandatory. He also wanted to ensure that the congregation was engaged through prayers, hymns and responses.
Bishop Hyle was said to be improving at St. Francis Hospital following a possible minor heart attack. He died, however, on Dec. 26 at the age of 66.
1968
Msgr. Paul Taggart began the year as the diocesan administrator following Bishop Hyle’s death. Four funeral Masses were held, with Bishop Hyle buried out of Christ Our King Church, where he had served two years as pastor while coadjutor for Bishop Edmond J. FitzMaurice.
The new St. Mary Magdalen Church building in north Wilmington held its first official function, an annual exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, in February. Members of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church blessed the ground where their new church would be built.
The building at Lea Boulevard and Miller Road replaced a church in downtown Wilmington. Bishop Thomas J. Mardaga, an auxiliary in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, is named Wilmington’s sixth bishop. He was installed on April 6 at St. Elizabeth Church in Wilmington, selected because of its size and facilities. One of the first public events he attended was a vigil in Wilmington following the murder of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.
Pattee C. Kilday, a member of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, became the first “nun-lawyer” admitted to the Delaware bar. Members of that religious order did not wear a habit or take religious names.
Bishop Mardaga announced plans to form a Council of the Laity. Each parish in the diocese would be represented.
Father Richard Gardiner was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Wilmington. At 51, he was the oldest man to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders in the diocese.
Bishop Mardaga asked students at Immaculate Heart of Mary School to pray for Massachusetts Sen. Robert F. Kennedy the day after he was shot in a hotel in Los Angeles. The bishop requested prayers for Kennedy’s recovery, but the wounds proved fatal.
Bishop Mardaga traveled to Smyrna for the dedication of the new St. Polycarp Church. The building had opened in January with an informal blessing.
A law signed by Delaware Gov. Charles Terry allowed state-supported driver’s education to be taught in nonpublic schools. A lack of qualified teachers, however, was expected to cause a delay in implementation.
The diocese celebrated its centenary in October at Christ Our King Church in Wilmington. The celebration had been delayed from earlier in the year until a new bishop had been installed.
The Sisters of the Visitation marked their 100th anniversary in Wilmington with a Mass at the cloistered convent near St. Ann Church.
1969
The diocese announced that its new diocesan high school would be named after Saint Mark. Bishop Mardaga said he wanted the school “under the patronage of a saint,” and Mark is often portrayed as a young man, which the bishop felt would appeal to the young men and women who would attend.
The priests at St. Paul Parish in Wilmington discussed with The Dialog the challenges the parish faced serving three distinct populations: aging whites, low-income Black families, and Puerto Rican immigrants. Even 10 years prior, St. Paul’s parishioners were largely Irish.
The diocese marked the redemption and rededication of the Diocesan Development Program, with Bishop Mardaga outlining the various projects that would benefit from the funds raised. Separately, Saint Edmond’s Academy launched a $250,000 development drive. Women were granted the right to lector and commentate at Mass, with restrictions.
Two parishes, St. Catherine of Siena and Holy Cross, had hired full-time coordinators of religious education to help with the growing number of children entering Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) classes. Other parishes were studying doing the same.
The first Mass at St. Michael’s Chapel in St. Michaels, Md., was held in early April. Previously, area Catholics traveled 10 miles to Easton for Mass at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish, or they attended Mass held at St. Michael’s Fire House, which hosted them since 1963.
Patricia Marie Becker makes her perpetual vows as an Oblate Sister of St. Francis de Sales in early September, a few weeks before her brother, Joseph, is ordained as an Oblate priest. They became the fourth brother-sister duo from the diocese serving as Oblate religious concurrently.
Bishop Mardaga established six deaneries in the diocese. He acted on a recommendation made by the diocesan priests’ council. Initially, there were six deaneries; today, there are seven.
Saint Mark’s opened for students in early October. Three hundred freshmen were enrolled.
1970
The Redemptorist Fathers were placed in charge of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Seaford. They would remain at the parish until 2019, then returned in 2024.
Bishop Mardaga joined the cardinal archbishops of Baltimore and Washington, D.C., in denouncing legislation passed in Maryland that would repeal that state’s abortion laws. The bill was eventually vetoed by Maryland Gov. Marvin Mandel.
The Latin American Community Center, founded in late 1969, provided translation and transportation services to serve the influx of Puerto Ricans, Cubans and other Spanish-speakers in Wilmington.
The late Father Thomas Hanley was one of the initial board members. An effort to increase offertory giving in the diocese results in a bump of $1.2 million from 1969 to 1970.
F. Eugene Donnelly joined the diocese as the director of public relations. Donnelly remained with the diocese until 2000 and died in 2024 at age 87.
The diocese announced plans to build a Newman Student Center on Lovett Avenue in Newark for the University of Delaware campus. It was completed in early 1971. The building is the home of St. Thomas More Oratory.
The diocese receives permission from the Vatican to have extraordinary ministers of Communion “where there is a real need,” when a priest was not available or could not reasonably serve a large number of communicants. The extraordinary ministers also could give Communion to the sick or homebound. Each pastor would determine the needs of his parish with regard to this issue.
