“From the Archives” — Father Stanley J. Krempa
FATHER STANLEY J. KREMPA
The Reverent Stanley J. Krempa became pastor of Saint Mary parish in June 1991. A native of Buffalo, New York, he was ordained there in 1970. After earning graduate degrees in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Buffalo, he taught at Saint John Vianney Seminary in East Aurora, New York, before taking a leave of absence 
from Buffalo. He subsequently earned a law degree from The George Washington University and became a member of the Virginia Bar Association. During his law school days, Father Krempa assisted as a priest-in-residence at Saint Nicholas Church in Laurel, Maryland. He came to the Diocese of Arlington in 1985 and served as associate pastor of several parishes before coming to Saint Mary, his first post as a pastor.
When Saint Mary parish was established in 1795, Alexandria’s total population was only about 200. By the time Father Krempa arrived nearly two centuries later, more than that number were attending daily Masses at Saint Mary and the parish had more than 9,000 parishioners!
One early and enduring change made by Father Krempa was the addition of the 12:10 p.m. weekday Mass. That Mass continues to be well attended by regular parishioners and Catholics from other parishes who work in Old Town.
A soft-spoken and unassuming man, Father Krempa is remembered for his homilies. When asked about that, he commented, “I don’t know if I’d give any advice on preaching, but I know the pope said you shouldn’t go over nine minutes!” Father Krempa left Saint Mary in 2000. In 2018, he was given the honorific title of “monsignor” and is currently living in retirement. – Kitty Guy, Parish Historian
— 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 in 2022. An archive of the features is located here.