St. Veronica was established in 1945 when Fr. John Albert, S.S.J. visited Cherry Hill and recognized the need for a church in the area. He sought permission from the Josephites to buy the land and purchased 11 lots for a total of $9,000.00. Cherry Hill was a created community for returning veterans of color in response to political pressure about the way they were treated by Baltimore City. It was planned to be a poor community and natural boundaries cut it off from Baltimore City even though it was still within the city’s boundaries. The parish is located 7 minutes from the Maryland Cruise Terminal, 13 minutes from BWI Airport, and 13 minutes from downtown Baltimore.
In 1946 Fr. Francis Robbins, S.S.J., became the first pastor of St. Veronica and was responsible for developing the mission. He lived outside the community but visited every day to care for the sick, teach converts, and oversee the plans for building a church – both a physical structure and the evangelization of the community. Every Sunday he celebrated Mass in borrowed space in the Cherry Hill Homes Community Building or the Cherry Hill Town Center Movie Theater or any other space that was available.
In 1951, Archbishop Francis Keough approved the purchase of additional property on Cherry Hill Road at a cost of $14,000.00. Half of the land belonged to the Josephites, and half belonged to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. On the land was a former tavern which became the home of St. Veronica as soon as Fr. Robbins moved in. The tavern served as both a space for Sunday and Holy Day worship and a residence for Fr. Robbins.
On January 1, 1954, a tragic fire broke out in the building killing Fr Robbins and destroying the chapel that it housed. Understandably the community was devastated by this great loss. On January 31, 1954, Fr. Charles Coughlin, S.S.J., was appointed pastor and he took up the mantle to get a church built in Cherry Hill. With his tireless dedication and the support of both his parishioners and Archbishop Keough ground for the new parish church was broken on June 25, 1954. The Josephites donated $25,000.00 towards the $190,000.00 it would cost to construct a brick structure that would seat 450 people. On May 1, 1955, the new church was dedicated with great joy and the mission work of St. Veronica began in earnest. The Oblate Sisters of Providence came to the parish to provide religious instruction at all levels, as well as a summer camp for community children. After them, the summer camp was managed by Patsy Wright for 25 years, and Cathy McClain for 33 years to date.
In 1960 Fr. George Dahn S.S.J., was appointed pastor of St. Veronica. He served as pastor for three years and laid a strong administrative foundation for the parish.
In 1963 Fr. Daniel Cassidy, S.S.J., was appointed pastor. His infectious personality and quick wit as well as his love of the parish social life did much for the development of the parish community of St. Veronicas. At this time the community was growing with the development of Cherry Hill Homes, the largest public housing development east of Chicago, and the church was growing as well. At its peak, it had 1400 members. The temporary nature of public housing though caused many parishioners to move to other areas of the city and to transfer their memberships to those parishes in closer proximity to their dwellings.
In 1967 the services of the Sisters of Notre Dame of Ilchester were retained to carry on religious instruction and many of the men of the parish dedicated themselves to transporting the sisters every week to perform their duties.
In 1968, a pastoral team was assigned to St. Veronica in the persons of Fr. Paul Banet, S.S.J. and Fr. Richard Wagner, S.S.J. Fr. Wagner was reassigned by the Josephites in 1973, and Fr. Banet remained until 1976. During their apostolate however, St. Veronica spearheaded the establishment of a drug treatment facility for heroin addicts and established a program that became the largest Headstart program in the country. Two parishioners, Willard Pinkney (ordained in 1974) and Alexander Smith (ordained in 1976) joined the Diaconate program and once completed served the parish with distinction as permanent deacons until their deaths.
In 1973 The Thrift Store was erected behind the rectory, and it was staffed for more than 25 years by two volunteer parishioners Leroy and Mattie Johnson. It has been managed by volunteer parishioners since the death of the Johnsons.Donald Wise managed it and the Adopt A Family Program for more than 20 years prior to his death. The Thrift Store is currently being managed by Claudette Caldwell who is also a volunteer.
In 1976 Fr. Jim McLinden, S.S.J. was named pastor and he oversaw the construction of an addition to the rear of the parish hall in 1980 which became the permanent site of the expanded Headstart program. Under his direction the parish also purchased a vacation property in the Catskill Mountains. It was used for educational, spiritual, and recreational purposes. Also, in residence during his tenure as pastor were Bishop Carl Fisher, S.S.J., and Fr. Calvin Sinclair, S.S.J.
In 1989 Fr. Thomas Frank, S.S.J. was assigned as pastor. Under his leadership, the parish became a B.U.I.L.D. church and fought along with other churches in Baltimore City for better wages for workers in Baltimore City and more affordable housing. Fr. Frank was also responsible for the creation of the Damascus Center, an adult education program that promoted literacy. A parishioner, Patricia Gaither, managed the program. It eventually outgrew the basement of the church and became a program of Catholic Charities located in another community. When that program moved out of the Damascus Center, the work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society was expanded to include a food bank and eviction prevention. Thousands of meals are distributed each year and many families are assisted with eviction prevention and utility turn off protection.
In 1993, Fr. Donald Fest, S.S.J. was assigned as pastor. Under his direction, the first African American Knights of Columbus Council was established, and the parish did various spiritual development activities including RENEW. He directed the celebration of the 50th Birthday of St. Veronica. Also under his direction we began our sister parish relationship with Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ellicott City.
In 2003, the Jospehites entered into a partnership with the Missionaries of St Paul and appointed Fr. Augustine Inwang, MSP as pastor. He served the parish until 2011. He was responsible for the construction of the garage attached to the rectory as well as the handicapped ramp and the ADA-accessible bathroom in the church. The reconstruction of the front steps completed his work to restore much of the beauty to the church building. In an unprecenedented move, the Jospehites reassigned Fr. Donald Fest S.S.J., to come back to St. Veroncia In 2012 Fr. Ugochukwu Jerome Cletus, S.S.J. was assigned to St. Veroncia. His stay lasted only 18 months as the Josephites reassigned him to the House of Studies in Nigeria where he handled the formation of priests.
In July 2014 the Jospehites appointed Rev. Fr. Dr. Stephen Ositimehin as pastor of St. Veroncia. He has helped the parish to become debt free and more fiscally responsible. He has also managed the replacement of all of the roofs on parish property, the installation of new air conditioning equipment in the church, and the replacement of the parish hall floor. He has encouraged parishioners to take a more active role in every aspect of parish life and as a result the parish, which is vibrant, has no paid staff. He instituted "Coffee on the Hill" as a tool for evangelization where parishioners would greet passersby with a cup of coffee or oatmeal and let them know that God loves them and they are welcome to worship with us. He is also responsible for expanding our liturgies to accommodate the Spanish-speaking people who have joined the parish and the readings are now in English and Spanish. He is working with parish leadership to prepare us for the anticipated changes to the community and the needed evangelization of those who will be moving into the community in the years ahead.