From the Archives – Early Parish Church Buildings

The original Saint Mary chapel in the cemetery on South Royal Street was located far from the center of town, so Father Francis Neale, S.J., pastor from 1811-1818, purchased the former Methodist chapel and its small parsonage in Chapel Alley (back of the present rectory driveway, behind the rear wall of the Basilica), in 1810. He raised $900 for the purchase. Several years later, an elderly parishioner, Ignatius Junegal, bequeathed his entire estate to the parish. This gift enabled Father Neale to expand the chapel and erect a bell tower in 1816, making the property recognizable as a church.

In 1826, Father Joseph William Faircloth, pastor from 1818-1830, purchased lots adjoining the chapel and added on to it, erecting the oldest part of our present Basilica. We have no photos of this building, but Father Richard Carne left a description of it in his 1870s history of the parish. The original dimensions were 45 x 50 feet, including the sanctuary and body of the church closest to the sanctuary. There were no galleries or transepts, but there was an organ loft. Pews, high and made of unpainted wood, occupied half of the floor but were sufficient for the small congregation. An altar rail and three large doors (still in use today) at the entrance were mahogany, donated by a merchant who had just imported a large cargo from the West Indies. The tabernacle was also mahogany, inlaid with maple.

The parish grew rapidly as Irish Catholic immigrants arrived in Alexandria in the 1840s. By 1854-1857, the church again underwent a major remodeling and expansion. Additional renovations followed over the years, giving us the current Basilica structure.

— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian

In 2020, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of our parish, we started “From the Archives” as a weekly feature online and in our bulletin to spotlight the history of Saint Mary’s. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the series. An archive of the features is located here.