Patrick Comerford
In my prayer diary on this blog this morning (27 May 2026), one of the images I used to illustrate the Gospel reading and my reflections is a stained-glass window in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Columbia, South Carolina, depicting the apostles Saint John and Saint James and donated by Michael Comerford, originally from Co Meath.
At least eight members of the Comerford family, including Michael Comerford, are buried in Saint Peter’s graveyard, which dates from before 1820. The earliest deaths with markers are of three Irish immigrants: Mary Jane Reilly who died in 1813, Owen McEgan who died in 1819, and Patrick Elroy who died in 1820.
Work on building the present church began in 1901. It was designed by the architect Frank Pierce Milburn, was built in 1906-1908, and it was dedicated in January 1909. An expensive part of the construction was the beautiful stained glass windows, mostly imported from Germany. At least 30 windows were given in memory of parishioners.
Many of the names on graves in the graveyard are the same as those off donors or parishioners named in the windows. One prominent Irish name among these is that of Michael Comerford (ca 1798-1883), originally from Co Meath, who died on 15 March 1883, aged 85. He is commemorated on one of the large monuments in the churchyard and on the window I used to illustrate my blog posting this morning.
The Comerford window depicts the Apostles Saint John and Saint James and the inscription says it was given ‘In Memory of Mr and Mrs Michael Comerford’. By then Michael Comerford was dead for about 20 years or more, and neither of his two wives is named in the inscription.
Michael Comerford was born Co Meath ca 1798, and later moved to US, settling in Columbia, South Carolina. His first wife, Mary E Dupuy, was born in San Domingo in the West Indies in 1790, and was of French descent. She taught music and French in Columbia, and donated an organ to the church where she also built up a choir. Mary had no children, and she died on 9 February 1860, aged 69.
Michael Comerford later married Catherine Johanna Bogan (1825-1900), who was also Irish-born, and who was 27 years his junior. They were the parents of a daughter, Mary Elizabeth (‘Mamie’) Comerford (1869-1929).
Father Jeremiah Joseph O’Connell, a priest at Saint Peter’s Church, wrote of him in 1879: ‘Michael Comerford is the oldest Catholic now living in the congregation, plain, honest, and without guile; his life was uniform in virtue and piety. Having been twice married, his first wife, who was of French descent, was always first in every undertaking connected with the promotion of religion during the trying and difficult times of the early priests; she taught music and French in the most respectable families in the city, furnished to the church an organ of moderate power, was the first who built up a choir, which she conducted in the most edifying manner. Her maiden name was Dupuy; she died the death of the just, about 1858, leaving no issue. His second wife, Catherine Bogan, is a Catholic lady in the true acceptation of the word; a woman of uncommon generosity, piety, and charity.’
Michael Comerford died on 15 March 1883, aged 85; his widow Catherine survived him for 17 years and she died on 11 August 1900 at the age of 74.
Their daughter, Mary Elizabeth (‘Mamie’) Comerford (1869-1929), was born in Columbia on 15 May 1869 and she married Lucius L Bultman (1866-1923) in 1891. They were the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters, including an infant son Willie who is buried with his grandparents at Saint Peter’s.
The inscriptions on the four sides of the Comerford monument read:
‘Erected by Michael Comerford. In memory of his wife Mary E Dupuy. Born in San Domingo 1791 and died in Col[umbi]a Feb[ruary] 9th 1860. She was a mother to orphans, a succor to the distressed, a refuge to the afflicted, a fountain of goodness to her clergy, the support for over 20 years of the choir of St Peter’s, and a constant benefactor of the church. Christians: pray for me.
‘Sacred to the memory of Catherine Comerford who departed this life Aug[ust] 11 1900 aged 74 years. A true Christian, and devoted mother.
‘Willie, son of Lucius & Mame Bultman aged 5 months.
‘Sacred to the memory of Michael Comerford, a native of Meath, Ireland. Departed this life March 15 1883, aged 85 years. Requiescat in pace.’
Michael Comerford’s daughter, Mary (Comerford) Bultman (1869-1929), is buried nearby with her husband Lucius LeGrande Bultman (1866-1923), and their daughter Louise Bultman (1899-1918). The Bultman family was descended from were immigrants from Hanover, Germany, who began a shoe business in Sumter, South Carolina, in 1871.
Two other members of the Comerford family are buried in a neighbouring grave in Saint Peter’s graveyard: Thomas Comerford (ca 1815-1843), who died in 1843 aged 28; and his widow Mary who was 83 when she died. Given their ago gap but the proximity of the grave, this Thomas may have been a younger brother or nephew of Michael Comerford.
Columbia is the capital of South Carolina and Saint Peter’s Basilica in Columbia is known as the ‘Mother Church of the Midlands’ in South Carolina. The need for a Catholic church in the area became pressing with the arrival of Irish workers brough there as a source of cheap labour for digging the Columbia canals. In 1821, Bishop John England sent an Irish-born priest, Father James Wallace, to minister to the Catholics there, in the hope of establishing a church with a cemetery.
The first church was designed by the architect Robert Mills and its cornerstone was laid in 1824. As it was the only church in the Midlands in South Carolina, Saint Peter’s Catholic Church became known as the ‘Mother Church of the Midlands.’
The parish continued to grow, and under the leadership of Father Thomas J Hegarty, the old church was razed and a new larger church was built on the same site in 1906. Frank Pierce Milburn, who designed the state capitol dome in Columbia, was chosen as the architect of the new church, which he designed in the Gothic Revival style. In keeping with a European burial tradition, Father Hegarty was buried in a memorial alcove within the church.
Pope John Paul II visited Saint Peter’s on 11 September 1987, before leading an ecumenical prayer service at the University of South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium. The chair and kneeler he used is near the entrance to the church, on the south side of the narthex.
Saint Peter’s continues to be a vibrant, diverse parish. In 2018, the Vatican declared Saint Peter's a Minor Basilica, recognising its historical significance, the quality and frequency of its liturgical activities and its vibrant parish life.
