“From the Archives” Anniversary of the Consecration of the Current Church Building

This Wednesday, March 4, is the anniversary of the 1827 consecration of a major portion of our current church building. The cornerstone was laid the previous year, on July 19, 1826. The engraved stone reads: “Built by the Rev. J.W. Fairclough A.D. 1826” and is preserved in the wall at the left of the doorway leading from the sanctuary to the sacristy. The new building measured 45 feet by 60 feet, with a large front yard facing Royal Street and is part of the present church structure. The building had an organ loft, unpainted pews covering half the floor space, an altar railing and three large entrance doors of donated mahogany, which are still in use today.

An article in the March 1, 1827, edition of the Phoenix Alexandria Gazette reported: The consecration of Saint Mary’s Church will take place on Sunday next…. The ceremony will doubtless be solemn and interesting to all; but more particularly to those persons who have never wit- nessed a similar one. The ceremony…will take place on the 4th of March at 10 o’clock AM by Rev. Francis Neale. Solemn High Mass will be sung by Rev. J.W. Fairclough on the occasion, and a collection will be made to aid the funds for the building. An early candlelight Vespers will commence and a discourse will be delivered by the Rev. Jeremiah Kiesley of Washington, when a similar collection will be made for the same purpose.

— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian

Throughout 2020, the Basilica of Saint Mary will present “From the Archives.” It is a weekly feature online and in our bulletin spotlighting the history of the parish. All of our “From the Archives” features are located here.