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History
Though not a territorial parish until the middle of the 20th century, St. Ambrose has a regional history in the Landover area that dates back to the late 19th century. Originally part of St. Jerome’s in Hyattsville, the Catholics of the Landover area were blessed with the generous gift of land for a chapel in 1886. According to historical records of the time, land was donated by the Wilson Family, and for the next 74 years the St. Ambrose Chapel served as a place of worship for the Catholics of this region.
As the suburban development of the Washington area began to spread out from the city after the Second World War, new housing was rapidly developing outside of the District of Columbia. The town of Cheverly, already a stable community of the region since 1918, was among the places that saw a surge in growth.
With the general increase in suburban population throughout
the area, the young Archdiocese of Washington under the leadership of
Archbishop O’Boyle saw the need to create new parishes to serve
Catholics in the growing metropolitan area. It was decided that one of
these new parishes would be St. Ambrose, and in 1948 Fr. Ronald Fannon
was named the first pastor of the new territorial parish. Over the next
12 years Fr. Fannon along with his successor Father Philip Brown, later
Msgr. Brown, brought about the development of the parish complex. Following
a model that was duplicated in many parishes during this period, the parish
of St. Ambrose grew around its school, convent and rectory, with the parish
church to be built sometime in the future.
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Finally, in 1960 the parish received permission to build a church building. Up till this point in time the parish had used the auditorium of the school for its place of worship. Completed in just under a year, the new church was dedicated in December of 1961. It was also at this time that the old chapel off of Landover Road was demolished to make way for the John Hanson Highway to Annapolis. The movement from a mainly rural community worshipping in the small chapel to a fast growing suburban parish with a four building complex was realized in just over ten years.
Because of its location in the residential neighborhood of Cheverly, St. Ambrose played an important role in the life of the community. The school especially was a strong magnet for most of the Catholic families. It was there that the Benedictine sisters guided the course of education in the school community for almost fifty years of the parish’s life. An entire generation from the 1950’s through the 1980’s benefited from their presence.
Along with the school the church itself quickly became a focal point for a great amount of community life in the town of Cheverly. It served as a place of prayer and sacramental life for the parishioners, but it also became a source for community development and growth. The Parish Hall (Fannon Hall), was well utilized for many social and community functions.
Parishioners at St. Ambrose also helped to shape future generations by their commitment to youth programs that included the Boy and Girl Scouts, the Cheverly Boys and Girls Club and the CYO youth activities and sports programs. Parish organizations such as the Home and School Association, Ladies of Charity, the Men’s Club, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, The Prince Georges Hospital Volunteers, and Sodality, were influential in the life of the parish, and in service to the community.
In more recent times St. Ambrose has continued a tradition of spiritual and educational life in Cheverly. Beginning in the late 1990’s, there was an increased awareness that it would be necessary to go beyond the local neighborhood to create an environment for fostering growth in the parish. To accomplish this, two decisions were made that have played a key role in the current life of the parish.
First, it was decided that the parish complex, especially the aging school building needed modernization. This was accomplished through a massive fundraising effort, the 50th Anniversary Campaign, that made it possible to bring needed renovations to the school that included new windows, ceilings, air conditioning, a new roof, and a state of the art computer lab.
Secondly, in the past several years the parish has experienced renewed growth because of a concerted effort to create an atmosphere of inclusion and evangelization toward new immigrants. As with many communities in the Washington Area, a great number of these new immigrants are Hispanic. The parish now comprises a fast growing Spanish speaking population. These families have come to be a part of the community, and they will be a part of the next chapter in the history of St. Ambrose Parish.
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