Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is a historic

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Located at 1315 8th Street Northwest, the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

, and

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

were placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2003. The cornerstone of the original church, located on a lot near the corner of 8th and N Streets took place on October 30, 1864.

Martin John Spalding Martin John Spalding (May 23, 1810 – February 7, 1872) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Louisville (1850–1864) and Archbishop of Baltimore (1864–1872). He advocated aid for freed slaves follow ...

, Archbishop of Baltimore, dedicated the new church on July 2, 1865, the

Feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

of the Visitation. The parish rapidly outgrew this structure, however, and on November 13, 1870, the cornerstone for the present

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

church was laid, with construction commencing the following year. Dedicated in 1874, at which time the old structure became the parish and school hall, the church was refurbished in 1939 and 1962–63.

History

The construction of the church was finished on October 30, 1864. Father Reverend Patrick F. McCarthy was the first Pastor of the church. Before Immaculate Conception Church was established, St. Patrick's Church built in 1794, was the first and only parish in the city. St. Patrick's was becoming overcrowded and to better suit its members, Immaculate Conception Church was founded in the Shaw neighborhood. Back to the beginning of the eighteenth century, most parishioners of the church were either Catholics who were original residents in this area or other immigrating

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and worshiping weekly was a part of their tradition. The land of Immaculate Conception Church originally belonged to William Jones, and it was deeded by him on October 6, 1864 for $16,000, with $8,000 paid up front. It can be seen that the church was under the construction even before the land was deeded. Father J. Walter began the project during the summer of 1864. The cornerstone was laid on Sunday, October 30, 1864. Construction was completed the following summer of 1865. On July 2, the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin, the Most Reverend Martin J. Spalding, Archbishop of Baltimore, dedicated the new church assisted by Father Walter and Rev P. F. McCarthy of St. Patrick's. The landowner's desire was to make this land a place for church and school. At the meantime, a school was also built associated with the church and it was named as Immaculate Conception Catholic School. The building was finished construction in 1908. Due to the creation and establishment of a school, the number of parishioners grew by over 2,000. As a result, the Immaculate Conception Church and School could not hold its growing population. The developments of the area in the two periods (1800–1850 and 1850–1880) are strongly related. Before 1850, when St. Patrick's Church was still the only Catholic parish in the city, it benefited the neighborhoods including

Shaw Shaw may refer to: Places Australia *Shaw, Queensland Canada *Shaw Street, a street in Toronto England *Shaw, Berkshire, a village *Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton *Shaw, Swindon, a List of United Kingdom ...

. However, parishioners in Shaw had to walk to St. Patrick's at 10th and G Streets Northwest. Since there was no Catholic Church in Shaw neighborhood prior to 1850, parishioners in Shaw tended to have their own church as well as a school. The lack of a local Catholic church in Shaw before 1850 really encouraged the establishment of the Immaculate Conception Church in 1860s. “It was located on N Street next to a vacant corner lot 8th and N Streets and was the first structure to be built in the area.” Therefore, it is a very significant landmark in Shaw neighborhood, and it helped the neighborhood build up a reputation.

References

External links

Immaculate Conception Church
{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, state=collapsed Roman Catholic churches in Washington, D.C. Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Gothic Revival church buildings in Washington, D.C. Italianate architecture in Washington, D.C. Churches completed in 1870 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Religious organizations established in 1864 1864 establishments in Washington, D.C. Roman Catholic churches completed in 1870 African-American Roman Catholic churches Italianate church buildings in the United States