[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8940]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING SAINT AUGUSTINE FOR THEIR 140TH ANNIVERSARY

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 13, 2008

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in 
recognizing the 140th Anniversary of Saint Augustine.
  Saint Augustine Church is the oldest Black Catholic church in the 
Nation's Capital. As the Mother Church of Black Catholics, Saint 
Augustine Church continues in the tradition, in which it was founded, 
as a strong Black Catholic institution which witnesses in faith the 
Living God, His Son and the Holy Spirit. Saint Augustine will continue 
to be a center which recognizes, proclaims and preserves our Black 
Roman Catholic Heritage. It will expand and improve activities to 
advance the education of our children; to continue work in 
evangelization, liturgy, music, ecumenism and in efforts towards the 
achievement of a spiritual, economic and social development of all 
people.
  Saint Augustine Parish traces its heritage to 1858 and the efforts of 
a group of dedicated emancipated Black Catholics. Faced with a society 
that was not yet willing to put off the last vestiges of slavery and a 
church that, at best, tolerated the presence of Black people in its 
congregation, these men and women founded a Catholic school and chapel 
on 15th Street under the patronage of Blessed Martin de Porres. In what 
is perhaps a touch of historical irony, this school was operating 4 
years before mandatory free public education of Black children became 
law in the Nation's Capital.
  After operations were briefly interrupted by the Civil War, a new 
church was built and dedicated to Saint Augustine in 1876. From its 
beginning, Saint Augustine was the parish of Black Catholics in 
Washington, DC.
  From its earliest years the school was staffed by the Oblate Sisters 
of Providence, the oldest religious order of Black women in the United 
States.
  The parish continued to grow and flourish with a strong commitment to 
education and good liturgy. In February 1928, under the pastorship of 
Father Alonzo aIds, the parish purchased the site of the Washington 
Home for Children at 1715 15th Street, NW., intending it to be the new 
home of Saint Augustine Parochial School. The school, a rectory and a 
convent were soon built and the construction of a new church begun. 
Most of the parish activities and operations were moved to the 15th and 
S Streets location, while the original church building at 15th and M 
Streets was maintained and used until 1946, when it was sold by the 
Archdiocese of Washington.
  One of Saint Augustine's neighbors was a large Catholic parish, Saint 
Paul, whose original membership was primarily of Irish and German 
descent. With the rise of integration and shifting urban demographics, 
membership at Saint Paul dwindled steadily until 1961, when Archbishop 
Patrick O'Boyle decreed that the parishes of Saint Paul and Saint 
Augustine would be united.
  In 1979, the Saints Paul and Augustine parish, through the parish 
pastoral council, staff and the Archbishop of Washington, made a 
decision to sell the Saint Augustine property at 15th and S Street. The 
old Saint Paul buildings at 15th and V Streets would be renovated to 
house the consolidated schools and other ministries of the parish.
  On November 12, 1982, Archbishop James Hickey decreed that the parish 
of Saints Paul and Augustine, served by the Church at 15th and V 
Streets NW, would again be called the parish of Saint Augustine. With 
2,000 registered members and 3,000 who call it their home church, Saint 
Augustine is now one of the largest parishes in Washington, DC.
  Saint Augustine's proud history continues. In November 1989, Father 
John F. Payne, OSA, was ordained and named as the first African 
American associate pastor assigned to the Saint Augustine Parish. In 
January 1991, Father Russell L. Dillard was installed as the first 
African American pastor in Saint Augustine's history. Father Dillard 
was elevated to Reverend Monsignor in May 1991. Father Lowell Case, 
SSJ, was appointed Pastoral Administrator in February 2003. On February 
5, 2005, Father Patrick Smith was installed as Pastor of Saint 
Augustine Parish.
  Now in its 147th year, Saint Augustine Roman Catholic Church and its 
parish continue to grow, learn, and rejoice in God's love.

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