“From the Archives” First Diocesan Pastor and Major Reconstruction

The departure of the Jesuits as shepherds at Saint Mary in 1891 began a new era in the history of the parish. The first diocesan pastor to serve here was Father Henry J. Cutler (1849-1915), a native of Waterford, Ireland. He came to Virginia after his ordination in 1874 and served Saint Mary for almost a quarter of a century. On arrival, Father Cutler found the church building was in need of repairs and enlargement and embarked on a major renovation project. Many of the improvements he oversaw were paid for by donations from the Irish families of the parish, whose names can still be seen inscribed on our stained glass windows.

The architect for this project was a young parishioner named Philip Dwyer. He had previously planned an earlier, 1881, remodeling of the church, when he was only 21. He designed Saint Mary’s Lyceum at 313 Duke Street in 1888. Dwyer also designed two churches in Washington, DC: Saint Joseph on Capitol Hill and Saint Paul (now Saint Augustine) in Northwest DC.

In 1895, Dwyer provided plans to add 20 feet to the length of Saint Mary, bringing the church entrance to where it is today. The steeple was replaced with a bell tower surmounted by a gilt cross. The entire front of the building was constructed of Illinois limestone. Inside, a new brass communion rail and eight memorial stained glass windows were installed. The men of the parish, directed by the Hurdle-Monroe painting firm, plastered and painted the interior. When renovation work was completed, the frontage ran 75 feet on South Royal Street, the interior was 125 feet long, the ceiling was 40 feet high (present dimensions) and the church provided seating for 1,200 persons.

Sadly, the 1895 reconstruction project was Philip Dwyer’s last contribution to Saint Mary parish. The young architect died of heart failure in June 1897. He was only 37.

— 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 2021. An archive of the features is located here.