Holy Trinity Catholic Church: About the Parish - History, The Chapel of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

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The Chapel of Saint Ignatius Loyola

At the request of the Rev. Dr. J. Carroll . . . Doctor of Divinity, superior of the Roman Catholic Clergy . . . John Threlkeld doth grant unto the said John Carroll . . . Lot Number seventy-two . . . for the purpose of erecting and maintaining a Chapple or house of worship” (Deed of Conveyance, April 24, 1787).

Thus John Threlkeld, an Anglican and second generation Marylander, and Dr. Carroll, eventually consecrated as the first American Catholic bishop, laid the foundation for a system of churches throughout Maryland and Virginia. In 1792, Dr. Carroll appointed Father Francis Ignatius Neale, S.J. and the founding pastor of Holy Trinity, to commission the first Catholic house of worship in Washington. Records substantiate the church’s completion circa 1794.

The parish originally served not only the growing Catholic population of Georgetown and the students of the College, but the entire area that now constitutes metropolitan Washington, DC. The building was beautifully sited on a high embankment overlooking “N” Street. Before the construction of modern buildings nearby, its steeple could be seen from most points of the busy Georgetown riverbank.

As the congregation grew, so did the needs of the Parish. By the mid-eighteenth century it was necessary to build and consecrate the “new” church where we worship today. The original church building was doubled in length in 1870 to serve as the parish school after the “new” church was built in 1851. It also served as the parish convent after two new school buildings were built in 1918 and was used as the Parish Center, a hub of myriad parish activities, from 1986 to 1999.

Statue in the Chapel (Click for larger view)

Ad Majorem
Dei Gloriam
Madonna and Child
in Carrara marble
Artist: Claire McArdie
Photo: Moreno Maggi

Holy Trinity Parish undertook the restoration of its original church building—the oldest church building in continuous use in Washington, DC—in 1999. The restoration of the worship space, approximately the size of the original church, was dedicated in honor of Saint Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. The chapel is two-and-a-half stories high exposing the original roof beams that may well have been first used in ships that plied the Potomac River.

One hundred people can be comfortably seated in the chapel. It serves as the setting for weekday Masses, small weddings and funerals, class Masses, prayer groups and other devotional purposes. It is hoped that the restored Chapel of Saint Ignatius will become a place of pilgrimage for the devout and for those interested in the history of American Catholicism, in the evolution of church building in America, and in the development of religious life in the Nation’s Capital.

The Chapel is an historic treasure and in its restoration the significant events in the history of this religious community are memorialized.

Parish Offices: 3513 “N” Street NW • Washington, DC 20007 • Phone: 202-337-2840 • FAX: 202-337-9048

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