“From the Archives” Introduction

As 2020 begins, we celebrate a milestone in the history of the Basilica of Saint Mary — our 225th anniversary as a parish. Since its founding in 1795 as the oldest Catholic parish in Virginia and West Virginia (West Virginia broke away from Virginia during the Civil War), our church and its parishioners have witnessed many historic transitions. Saint Mary has provided Mass and the Sacraments, support and consolation through 12 wars, including the Civil War right here at our Virginia doorstep. We have been led by 17 Popes, including the first Pope from the Americas, Pope Francis of Argentina. We have been a part of three dioceses (Baltimore, Richmond and now Arlington) and shepherded by 17 Bishops. Saint Mary has seen every U.S. President come and go (George Washington was an early financial contributor to the parish). In 1795, people communicated by handwritten letters; today computer technology digitally and instantly connects us with the entire world. This parish has seen a lot.

In his introduction to the 150th anniversary history of the parish, Bishop Peter L. Ireton compared Saint Mary’s long history to the chorus of a multitude of angels around God’s throne in the Book of Revelation: “The thousands upon thousands who have been born into eternal life through baptism, and the multitude of priests and people united at Saint Mary’s altar for the sacrifice of the Mass with their ‘Holy, holy, holy,’ echo the voice of the heavenly choir. The millions of times Holy Communion has been received at the altar echo Christ’s words, ‘He who eats my Body and drinks my blood…shall have eternal life.’  The whispered words of the confessional, bringing peace and consolation to those reconciled to God, the voice of thousands joined in holy matrimony, and the voice of all those who have died in the Lord give voice to the unending blessings God has bestowed upon Saint Mary.”

— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian