“From the Archives” — President George Washington & Saint Mary Parish

As we celebrate Presidents’ Day this week (February 22), we can reflect on the unique connection our parish has with this nation’s very first president, George Washington.

An Episcopalian in Virginia, a colony where it was illegal to practice the Catholic faith until after the Revolutionary War, Washington nevertheless supported this area’s Catholics by making a sizeable contribution toward purchasing land for a Catholic church here in Alexandria. He reportedly discussed the subject while celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day at the home of his close friend, Colonel John Fitzgerald, an Irish-born Catholic who served as General Washington’s aide-de-camp. The Fitzgerald home was located on the southeast corner of King and Fairfax streets, now the site of the Burke and Herbert Bank building. The land that was eventually purchased for the original Saint Mary church, with Washington’s financial aid, is now the site of our parish cemetery at 1001 South Royal Street.

In 1932, Alexandria joined the nation in celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of George Washington’s birth. At that time, Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon, south of Alexandria, was within the boundaries of Saint Mary parish. Father Thomas Rankin, Saint Mary’s pastor from 1930-1942, was an avid student of Virginia history. He orchestrated a Solemn High Mass of thanksgiving here on February 21, 1932, to honor the nation’s first president.  Father Richard Blackburn Washington of Hot Springs, Virginia, a descendant of President Washington, was the celebrant. The church was, of course, decorated in red, white and blue bunting! Bishop Andrew J. Brenna of Richmond, Bishop John J. McNamara of Baltimore, plus 30 other priests, participated. U.S. Marines provided an honor guard and a trumpeter from the Marine Band accompanied the parish choir.

According to the February 22, 1932, Baltimore Catholic newspaper, the church was packed for “one of the most colorful celebrations ever staged in historic Saint Mary’s Church.” — Kitty Guy, Parish Historian