“From the Archives” Anti-Catholic Sentiment

In the late 19th century, a wave of anti-Catholicism swept through the United States as immigrants from Ireland, Italy, and Central and Eastern Europe flooded into the country. Nearly all of these new arrivals were Roman Catholic.

Condescension toward Catholics led churches to develop their own parish culture centers – libraries, reading rooms, even athletic facilities. Organizations that sought to instill pride in Catholics and promote Catholic heritage also became popular. Active examples at Saint Mary parish were the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Knights of Columbus and Daughters of Isabella, later renamed the Catholic Daughters of the Americas. They marched proudly in parades and participated in many of Alexandria’s civic and cultural events.

However, the specter of anti-Catholic bigotry was never far away. One small but frightening act of vandalism was reported by the Alexandria Gazette (April 11, 1898):

Some individual, animated by fiendishness or intemperate zeal for ecclesiastical preferences, entered St. Mary’s Church recently and emptied carbolic acid into the receptacles for holy water. On entering the church subsequently, a lady detected the odor of the acid for which she was unable to account. The pastor of the church was notified and on investigation it was found that a quantity of the deadly drug had been poured into the holy water and also into the baptismal font…. The incident has caused considerable comment in the community, and both Catholics and Protestants are indignant and disgusted at such an act of vandalism in old Alexandria, where no matter at what shrines we worship, all are supposed to have been taught to respect each other’s ecclesiastical preferences and to live as one in a peaceful body politic.

– 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.