“From the Archives” Saint Louis Mission
A century ago, many Saint Mary parishioners lived outside Alexandria City, some as far away as Fairfax Station, Warrenton in Fauquier County, and Manassas and Occoquan in Prince William County. Saint Mary’s Cemetery on South Washington Street was originally at least partially in Fairfax County. A number of early parishioners who were neighbors and friends of George Washington, in the Mount Vernon area, were also county residents.
Groveton, just south of Alexandria along Route 1 (Richmond Highway) was mostly rural until the 20th century. “Truck farms” and dairy farms abounded outside the city. Popkins Farm, on a hill overlooking Route 1 and Hybla Valley, was one of the prosperous dairy farms. Katherine Elizabeth and Earl Popkins, a convert, were active Saint Mary parishioners. Desiring a church closer to their home, they asked Fr. Louis Smet, Saint Mary’s pastor, to start a Sunday school in Groveton. Fr. Smet saw the need for a mission and in 1925 Saint Mary parish purchased at auction the old 1876 Groveton schoolhouse on Route 1. A team of horses and logs were used to turn the schoolhouse 90 degrees and move it a few yards. This allowed the congregation to enter from Clifton Road, now Popkins Lane. On June 13, 1926, the Sacred Heart Chapel was dedicated as a mission church of Saint Mary.
At first the congregation was very small, at times just 8-10 worshipers. But it gradually grew. Families with children came for Mass on Sunday, after which the Holy Cross Sisters from Saint Mary School taught Sunday school classes. In 1927, after he had returned to his home in Belgium, Fr. Smet wrote to a former Groveton parishioner: “I hope that you and the other friends of the little chapel do not think that I have forgotten you…I do hope the monthly Mass and Sunday school are still kept up. Some day, ‘the desert will bloom.’ ”
Fr. Thomas Rankin, pastor at Saint Mary, enlarged and remodeled the little chapel, adding electricity and a heating system in 1941. A sacristy was added to the new apse through the generosity of Saint Mary parishioner Michael Ahern. Fr. Rankin also renamed the chapel “Saint Louis” in honor of Fr. Louis Smet, the mission’s founder.
As the area south of Alexandria continued to develop, particularly after World War II, it was transformed from farms to a bedroom community with thousands of houses. Saint Louis also grew. After the war ended, Msgr. Edward Stephens, then Saint Mary’s pastor, purchased land and a house for a rectory across from the small church. In 1949, Saint Louis became a separate parish. The first resident pastor was Fr. Albert Preston Campbell, who also served at Saint Mary for several years. His successor was Fr. Michael Igoe, who had been a parishioner of Saint Mary.
In the 1950s, Saint Louis parish grew tremendously. A new school and convent were dedicated by Bishop Peter Ireton in 1956. The present large, imposing church was completed in 1962. Father Smet’s prophecy was correct. The desert did indeed bloom.
– 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 will continue the series in 2021. An archive of the features is located here.