From the Archives – Saint Mary Cemetery – 1795

The Basilica of Saint Mary Cemetery, located at 1000 South Royal Street, is the oldest public Catholic cemetery in Virginia, and the oldest continuously operating cemetery in Alexandria. The cemetery dates to the founding of theparish in 1795. The oldest known grave in the cemetery is that of Cavan Boa. From Ireland, he was a tailor and former indentured servant of George Washington. He died in 1798. At the time of his death, Boa was a shopkeeper at the corner of Prince and Washington Streets. Buried beside Cavan is his wife, Margaret, who later remarried Matthew Robinson, a grocer and ice dealer. Margaret and Matthew’s 1799 wedding is the first recorded marriage in Saint Mary’s sacramental records. Margaret died very young, at the age of 27.

In 2023, the Queen of Heaven Columbarium was constructed in the cemetery to accommodate the remains of those who have been cremated. The cemetery is open every day, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

— Excerpt from “Brick Chapel to Basilica, A History of Virginia’s Oldest Catholic Parish”

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.