History of St. Margaret Mary

The first Mass celebrated in Winter Park was in the “Crane Cottage,” the winter residence of John H. LaMontaigne, a Rollins College professor. Priests from St. James continued to offer the Mass.

The ceremony of blessing and laying the foundation stone was held on October 17th, 1924, the Feast of St. Margaret Mary. The Spanish style building was completed in December 1924. The first Mass was celebrated December 28 with a formal opening on March 15, 1925.

The mission of St. Margaret Mary was canonically established as a parish on November 5, 1947.

The church was severely damaged by a fire on February 3, 1948 (the Feast of St. Blaise) and was closed for several months. It was officially reopened in a ceremony presided over by Auxiliary Bishop of St. Augustine, Bishop Thomas McDonough on January 9, 1949.

Houses on the block of Park, Canton, Knowles, and Swoop Avenues were purchased to build a school. Until it was built classes were held in the new “L” shaped church wing and some of the purchased homes. 262 children made up the initial enrollment. The Sisters of Christian Charity of Mendham, NJ arrived to teach at the school.

In February a building fund campaign was launched to construct a new church building.  In June the Diocese of Orlando was created out of the Diocese of St. Augustine, with Bishop William D. Borders as the first bishop. In December groundbreaking ceremonies were held and construction began for a new church. The exterior was constructed from Miami Stone while the interior used imported Carrara marble from Italy.

The original church building was demolished to accommodate parking for parishioners. Plans for a parish hall were begun in June 1970 with construction beginning in 1971.

A chapel was built and blessed on October 16 by Bishop Thomas J. Grady. Jack Timmes was ordained as a Permanent Deacon to serve at the parish.

Korean Catholics began holding their Masses at St. Margaret Mary. This continued until their mission church, St. Ignatius Kim, was built in 1992.

The parish participates in activities associated with the Orlando chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews; Bishop Norbert Dorsey is the chapter president. The “Interfaith Caravan” visited the church to learn about the Catholic faith.

Major Interior renovations were made to the church building including new carpet, changes to the choir area, refinishing the pews and adding two wheel chair accessible sections, installation of a new baptismal font near the narthex, establishing the Chapel of Reservation in the sanctuary, repainting, adding new lighting, and a new acoustical sound system.

Construction began for a new Family Life Center which was dedicated in October 2002.

Parishioners attend a special Mass for the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for those who died on September 11. "We are asking the Lord to raise us up during this dark hour," said Father Walsh.

As part of the Year of Evangelization the parish produced a DVD titled “Real Presence,” featuring interviews with parishioners about their ministries in the church showing how they represent the real presence of Jesus Christ in the world.

Renovations were made to the church which included a new bell tower with a bell cast in France, and enlargement of the narthex with the addition of a rose window. Bishop John Noonan blessed the bell on October 18, and it was installed on October 22.

Bishop Noonan told us: "The Supreme Pontiff Francis enrolls Reverend Richard Marian Walsh of the Diocese of Orlando as Chaplain of His Holiness given at Vatican on June 28 during the Year of our Lord 2019." This letter states that Fr. Walsh is now a Monsignor!