#52 Ancestors 2022 Week 10 Worship: Andrew Keene Gwynn, Evangelist of the Piedmont

 

My 2X-great uncle, Monsignor Andrew Keene Gwynn, was the oldest son of Andrew Jackson Gwynn and Marie Louise Keene, both devout Catholics.  He was born in Baltimore MD 12 June 1870, but the family moved to Spartanburg SC shortly after his birth, where Andrew was raised along with his three sisters (Effie, Louise, and Mary) and two younger brothers (St. Charles and John).  That's him on the right in the picture with his two brothers. (I think that St. Charles is at the top left and John at the bottom left in the bowler.)

Andrew attended Wofford College, a private liberal arts institution in Spartanburg before moving on to St. Charles College, a minor seminary of the Sulpician Fathers, to begin his study for the priesthood. He graduated from St. Charles in 1890 with a certificate of distinction in classical studies. He continued to study at All Hallows College in Dublin, Ireland and finally completed his theological studies at Mt. Saint Mary's College in Emmitsburg MD. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 28, 1895 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Charleston SC. 

Thus began a long career of service to the Catholic Church in South Carolina, at a time when Catholics were definitely in the minority in the South. (Even as late as 1950, there were only about 14,000 Catholics in the state.) Fr. Gwynn was assigned as pastor to St. Joseph's parish in Charleston and then to the Aiken Mission where he built a new church at Blackville.  In 1900, he was assigned as pastor of Greenville SC, where he spent the next 52 years until his retirement in 1952, making him the longest serving pastor in Greenville's history. 

Fr. Gwynn's new territory covered nine counties or about one-third of the state of South Carolina. Recognizing the importance of education, his first effort was the erection of a parochial school.  Working with the Ursuline Sisters of Columbia, he rented a small house a few blocks from St. Mary's Church to serve as a school. In 1930, he was finally able to build a large, modern school, dedicated by Bishop Fulton Sheen. 

However, Fr. Gwynn did not stop with a school.  He also oversaw the construction of a new convent, a new rectory and a new church for St. Mary's and was also instrumental in the establishment of a Catholic hospital in Greenville, opened in 1932.

The original wooden church at St. Mary's (ca. 1872) was moved to make room for the brick church which still serves the parish, dedicated in August 1903. 

St. Mary's Greenville SC 1904

Fr. Gwynn did not limit his efforts to the city of Greenville. He regularly braved the hardships of his scattered missions to bring Catholic services to congregations throughout the state.  He was responsible for building a number of new churches outside Greenville, including St. Joseph's in Anderson, St. Francis in Walhalla, Our Lady of Lourdes in Greenwood, and a chapel in Clemson. He also designed the chapel at the Charlston Cathedral. He served as dean of the Piedmont district of the diocese of Charlston for many years, winning "the esteem of his brother clergy and of the people of the Piedmont because of his priestly character and his prudent and zealous care in attending to his duties." (Greenville News, 23 February 1930)

In recognition of his parochial achievements, in 1929 Pope Pius XI elevated Fr. Gwynn to the dignity of domestic prelate with the title of Monsignor, becoming at the same time an honorary member of the Pope's household. The reception for his investiture was the first use of the newly built parish hall at St. Mary's. 

On the occasion of his jubilee (50 years in the priesthood) in 1945, Pope Pius XII named him Prothonotary Apostolic, making him an honorary member of highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia. 

In September of 1952, ill health forced Msgr. Gwynn's retirement at the age of 82, "regretfully and with a profound feeling of sorrow." In retirement, he went to live with his sister, Mary Gwynn Hammond at her home, Kathwood, in Aiken SC. He died there on the 5th of March, 1953.

His body was brought to St. Mary's in Greenville, his beloved parish, that he served for more than 50 years, where it lay in state for several days before a solemn requiem Mass. Speakers had to be installed so that all those who could not be seated in the Church could hear the service.

 He was buried in the churchyard at St. Mary's where his memorial still stands. 

Right Reverend Monsignor

Andrew Keene Gwynn, V. F., P. A.

Ordained: Charleston, S. C. July 29, 1895

Domestic Prelate August 29, 1929 - Prothonotary Apostolic December 21, 1945

The Builder of St. Mary's Church and St. Mary's School, Greenville. Sacred Heart, Blackville. St. Francis of Assisi, Walhalla. Our Lady of Loures, Greenwood. St. Andrew, Clemson.

Pastor of St. Mary's, over 52 years. First Dean of the Greenville Deanery.

Erected by the grateful parishioners of Saint Mary's Church and Friends

On a more personal note, Msgr. Gwynn officiated at the marriages of his sisters Mary Gwynn Hammond and Louise Gwynn Scrivener (my great-grandmother), as well as of his nephew Frank Scrivener (my grandfather) and his great-nephew, my father, Frank Scrivener III.