[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 161 (Wednesday, October 18, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ST. MARY'S BICENTENNIAL

                                 ______


                         HON. ROBERT K. DORNAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 18, 1995

  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, St. Mary's Catholic parish in Old Town 
Alexandria, VA, is celebrating its 200th anniversary, founded in 1795 
when there were a mere 25,000 Catholics in the colonies and only 200 in 
the State of Virginia.
  Col. John Fitzgerald, the mayor of Alexandria and aide-de-camp to 
George Washington, headed the drive to establish St. Mary's, which is 
the oldest Catholic parish in the State of Virginia. In 1869, the 
Sisters of the Holy Cross began St. Mary's School, which today has over 
600 students and is still growing.
  Today, the Reverend Stanley Krempa serves as pastor for this parish 
of 3,200 families. The church is just completing a $2 million fund-
raising campaign that has seen to the restoration of the main church on 
South Royal Street, and the addition of more classrooms at the school 
on nearby Green Street.
  The bicentennial celebration will close on November 2, 1995, All 
Souls Day, when the Most Reverend Agostino Cacciavillan, the Apostolic 
Nuncio from Rome, celebrates a Mass in honor of all deceased 
parishioners.
  Mr. Speaker, I pause to congratulate St. Mary's on their 200th 
anniversary.

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