Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is a historic

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parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the

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Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Located at 1315 8th Street Northwest, the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

, and

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were placed on the

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

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

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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 St. Patrick's Church, Saint Patrick's Church, St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church or Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, and similar, may refer to: Australia * St Patrick's Church, Adelaide, a heritage-listed church in Adelaide, South Australia ...

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, 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. 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