The Bishop Patrick Lynch division.
Beaufort County, South Carolina.
Who we are
... the division is part of the Ancient Order of Hibernians of America, or AOH. Our membership is comprised of three parishes in the Hilton Head Island area of the "Low Country"; St. Gregory the Great in Bluffton, St. Francis by the Sea, and Holy Family on Hilton Head Island. The Division was founded in the summer of 2003 through the combined efforts of The Very Reverend H. Gregory West, JCL, VF pastor of St. Gregory the Great Church, and the division's first President Jerry Kelley, along with the then State Organizer Rafael M. O'G Jones. Together they secured the necessary members to get the Division Chartered in September 2003.
Our Name
... Our Division name was chosen by the charter members to honor the third Bishop of the Diocese of Charleston. Bishop Lynch had ties to the Pickney family who owned a plantation in our area. Also notable was the fact that the Pickneys were the only Catholics living in this area. Bishop Lynch also served as the Confederate envoy to the Vatican during the Civil War. Bishop Lynch was perhaps more noted for his rebuilding of the diocese after the disastrous destruction of the Civil War on his diocese.Our Purpose ... Our Division in accordance with the Motto of the AOH – "Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity" – raises funds for Catholic Education, financial assistance to the clergy, and other charitable giving. We also give of our time in doing road cleanup and helping the parishes with their requests.
