[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 154 (Friday, September 29, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S14698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC PARISH

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise paying tribute to Saint Mary's 
Catholic Parish in historic Old Town Alexandria. Tomorrow, September 
30, 1995 marks a true milestone, its 200th anniversary. Saint Mary's 
stands as the oldest Catholic church in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  Saint Mary's has called Alexandria home for two centuries and is an 
institution whose presence has extended over many generations. The 
actual parish was founded in 1795 at a time when the seeds of 
Catholicism were just planted: Virginia was home for only 200 Catholics 
at the turn of the eighteenth-century.
  Led by Colonel John Fitzgerald, then the Mayor of Alexandria and 
military assistant to General George Washington, Saint Mary's was 
erected. In 1869, the Sisters of Holy Cross School pioneered Saint 
Mary's School, which is still in existence and filled to capacity.
  The Reverend Stanley Krempa currently serves pastor to Saint Mary's, 
which boasts a membership of over 3,200 families. Its ``church family'' 
is fervently committed to taking on the twenty-first century with great 
energy and zeal. Saint Mary's family not only intends to expand, they 
are preparing for tomorrow, today: the church just successfully 
concluded an amazing fundraising drive that will build not only 
classrooms for the school, but assists with other renovation efforts 
associated with the church.
  I join the many friends and families in wishing well to Saint Mary's 
Catholic Parish. As we stand in the threshold of the twenty-first 
century, Saint Mary's stands as a body with tremendous outreach, Saint 
Mary's stands as a credit to its church body and its locality. Saint 
Mary's can stand tall.

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