06/05/2026
Those who have taken my tour know that the story of Father Michael Costello is one of my favorites to tell.
Born in Galway, Ireland in 1833, Father Costello saw first hand the effects of the potato famine. Despite the hardships he must have experienced growing up, he dedicated himself to the Catholic Church at a young age.
He graduated from All Hallows College in 1857 being the first student to earn a Doctorate of Divinity from that institution. All Hallows specifically trained missionary priests for assignments abroad. The Diocese of Richmond was in dire need of priests, so Costello readied himself to minister to Catholics in Virginia, most of whom would probably be immigrants like himself.
He arrived in Harpers Ferry in November 1857, freshly ordained at the young age of 24. According to the Virginia Free Press, Costello was 'not much of a speaker' but was 'well versed in his profession'.
Father Costello was on the front line during John Brown's Raid in October of 1859, administering Last Rites to the Catholic casualties, including Pvt. Luke Quinn. He describes his perspective on the Raid in a letter to Father Daniel Harrington, a professor at All Hallows.
The letter to Harrington also describes Costello's meeting with John Brown in his jail cell as he awaited ex*****on in Charlestown.
It must have been quite a scene.
A young Irish Catholic priest about 26 years of age, highly educated and passionate in his faith facing a zealous and elderly John Brown who had little formal education but was just as passionate for his faith and his cause.
Costello had also only been in America for 2 years and hadn't been exposed to the horrors of the institution of slavery in the same way that John Brown had. Needless to say, Costello held a view that was very common for a 19th century Irish immigrant.
Two complete polar opposites debating scripture, morality, and theology. In the end, Costello did not seem to have a high opinion of Brown and the abolishionist probably thought the same of young papist priest.
