“From the Archives” — Church Organs

Sacred music has been an integral part of the Catholic Church’s liturgies since its earliest days. We know very little about Saint Mary’s early years because the Masses were offered in private homes. The first evidence we have of music at a Mass in Alexandria is an account of Mass at Col. John Fitzgerald’s home in the 1790s. His daughter, Fanny Fitzgerald, played the organ. The congregation may have sung the traditional Latin Mass responses.

There is no mention of music occurring in the original, little Saint Mary’s chapel in the cemetery. The chapel was never finished; for a time, it is said to have been roofless—no place for an organ! Nor do we know if there was an organ in the 1826 parish church. As the congregation expanded and had a residential pastor, music likely became an important part of its liturgies. When the church was remodeled and expanded in 1857, The Alexandria Gazettereported it had “a fine new organ made by Wright of Philadelphia… The case is Gothic… grained oak and surmounted by a large gilt cross.”

Although the church was remodeled and expanded three more times in the late 19th century, the 1857 organ was not replaced until 1906. During this period, the grand organ was used for Sunday Masses, vespers, novenas, rosaries, benediction and other liturgies. Many funerals were Solemn High or High Masses. This organ’s sad demise came when it was destroyed when fire struck the church in 1929.

During the post-fire restoration, the new pastor, Father Thomas A. Rankin, faced the daunting task of buying an organ, a great expenditure during the Depression. When he learned a church in Maryland was selling its used organ, he asked Joseph Monroe, the long-time Saint Mary organist, to travel with him to test it. Monroe’s 13-year-old granddaughter, Catherine Adcock Wallen, accompanied them. Years later, she described the trip as very far away, but did not know where in Maryland they went, or the name of the church. That remains a mystery. The organ passed the test and Father Rankin bought it for $1,800 plus a few repairs and installation.

It lasted until the 1970s when Monsignor Joseph L. Wingler replaced the aging instrument with an electric organ, which was far less durable than its predecessors. In 1985, Monsignor Frank J. Hendrick replaced it with a custom-made German pipe organ, which is still in use today.

— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian