A History of St. Aloysius Church

By Mrs. Mary Judd

(first published in America magazine, December 2000)

St. Aloysius Church located at 900 North Capitol St., NW, in Washington, D.C. has been in use since 1859 under the sponsorship of the Jesuit order. It is named after St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a young Italian Jesuit, who gave his life at the age of 23 caring for victims of the plague in Rome in 1581.

The New York Times, in describing the dedication of the Church mentions that President James Buchanan and several Cabinet members were present. Jesuit Father Benedict Sestini, who taught Mathematics at Georgetown University at the time, was the church’s architect. The brilliant painting above the main altar, showing Aloysius Gonzaga receiving his first Holy Communion from the hands of Cardinal (St.) Charles Borromeo, was the work of the noted Constantine Brumidi, painter of the frescoes on the inside of the U.S. Capitol dome.

Brumidi was a personal friend of Father Sestini and painted him and the pastor, Father Bernadine Wiget, as kneeling in the Communion scene. The model for St. Aloysius’ mother was parishioner Adele Cutts Douglas, wife of Stephen Douglas, the “Little Giant” who was Abraham Lincoln’s rival in the historic debates of 1858 and the presidential campaign of 1860.

On September 9, 1862, three years after the dedication and in the dark days of the Civil War, Father Wiget received a requisition from the District of Columbia’s military governor to use the Church as a military hospital. The Pastor made a counter-proposal to build a hospital on “K” Street just north of the church according to the requirements of the military governor and according to his time-frame. Parishioners constructed a 250-bed hospital within eight days. In appreciation, the hospital was named St. Aloysius to honor the Church.

At the turn of the century, the parish kept growing and was extremely active during the 1900’s serving the needs of the heavily-Catholic residential area. After World War II, however, the congregation decreased considerably. It was a time of urban renewal in the area and many homes were torn down, never to be replaced. Some people left the neighborhood and never returned. With the arrival of the remarkable Jesuit Horace McKenna as Associate Pastor, things began to change.

“I believe that every person is a revelation of the love of God,” Fr. McKenna used to say. In his dealings with the members of the parish and the poor people, he lived out that belief. He saw Christ in the poor, the homeless, the friendless, the evicted and the illegal refugees. When he died in 1982, the church was filled with old and young, rich and poor, men and women, black and white. The preacher spoke for all when he said, “we are bound together in our love and affection for Father Horace. We are one today because of him. In his own person, he has broken down all lives, barriers and distinctions between us.”

The Father McKenna Center in the basement of the church continues the wonderful work of Horace McKenna. It is the parish’s outreach to the poor program. The space provides a year-round drop-in center and a winter shelter for up to ten homeless men. Parishioners volunteer for the night shelter for other aspects of the work. Several parishioners provide a Wednesday night meal for the poor and homeless that now serves 200 people every week. The focus of the shelter is to help its residents to become self-sufficient, to be able lead meaningful lives through employment and a having a place of their own, and to live and freedom from addictions to hard drugs and alcohol.

The Center, which has been in operation since 1984, and the historic Church are but two parts of the parish’s extended community which anchor the Jesuit presence at the corner of North Capitol and Eye Sts. Sharing the Church with the parish is Gonzaga College High School, now in its 180^th year of operation. Standing between the parish and schools is the Jesuit Community Rectory. Finally, the smaller and intimate Lower Church and Social Hall serve as the focus of most of the parish’s liturgies and its spiritual and social life.

The ministries at St. Aloysius are many and varied. They are coordinated under four standing committees. The Spiritual Life Committee includes Eucharistic Ministry, Lectors, Liturgy and Music Ministry in the form of the Gospel Choir, the Sunday Afternoon Mass Choir and Young Adult Choir. The Religious Education Committee includes Altar Servers, Child Lectors, Children’s Liturgy of the Word, Faith Formation, RCIA, Sacramental Preparation and Youth Ushers. The Justice and Service Committee includes the HIV/AIDS Ministry, The McKenna Center, the Wednesday night PeaceMeal, Pro-Life Committee, Social Justice subcommittee, and Washington Interfaith Ministry. Finally, the Hospitality and Community Committee includes the Sick and Homebound Committee, Socials and Benefits committee, St. Al’s Young Adults, Teen Club, and Ushers.

St. Aloysius also hosts other organizations that work for justice on local, national and global issues. The Church has been the site of meetings, discussions, and prayer services and has hosted travelers who have journeyed to the nation’s capital to participate in gatherings and demonstrations. A local chapter of Pax Christi, the international peace organization, meets there, and the building houses the offices of C.U.R.E. (Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants), a prison reform group.

With these ministries, the people of St. Aloysius Church hope to bring the strengths of the people who have preceded them, as well as their own gifts, into the service of God and God’s people. They also hope to put their own stamp on the current mission of Society of Jesus: the service of faith and the promotion of justice.

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