St. Augustine Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)

St. Augustine Catholic Church
Location	1419 V St., NW Washington, DC 20009
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	St. Augustine Catholic Church
History
Founded	1858 (1858)
Dedication	Saint Augustine of Hippo
Dedicated	1876 (1876)
Administration
Archdiocese	Washington
Province	Washington
Clergy
Priest(s)	Fr. Pat A. Smith

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St. Augustine Catholic Church (originally St Martin de Porres Catholic Church) is a Catholic parish in Washington, D.C.. It is considered by many to be the "Mother Church of Black Catholics", as the first Black parish in the district and the administrator of DC's oldest Black school.

History[]

Because of Jim Crow laws in the 1850s, emancipated black Catholic attendees of St. Matthew's Cathedral on Rhode Island Avenue were segregated and relegated to worship in the basement of the church.

In 1858, the group of emancipated black Catholics founded Saint Martin de Porres Church, in honor of Peruvian Dominican brother St Martin de Porres. It was the first Black Catholic parish in Washington D.C., and its original location was on 15th Street NW, near L Street.

That same year, the parish opened the first school for Black children in the district—inaugurated five years before the Emancipation Proclamation, after which education of Black children gradually became mandatory.

Saint Martin de Porres era[]

Old St. Augustine, circa 1899; view from 15th Street with two horse-drawn carriages. This photo was part of a display on the "present conditions" of African Americans for the 1900 Paris Exposition.

On July 4, 1864, their group raised building funds at the "strawberry festival" on the White House grounds, hosted by Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln.

Saint Augustine era[]

In 1876, the church building was inaugurated and re-dedicated to Saint Augustine. It was a 60-foot building with two Gothic spires, and seating for 2,500 people.

In 1946 the church was sold for $300,000 and the last mass was held in its original building on Christmas of 1947.^[1][2] It was demolished the next year. The site became the location of the Washington Post newspaper, and remained the Post's home until 2016 when the site was sold to private developers.

Current church and building[]

In 1961 St. Augustine Church merged with St. Paul's Church located at 15th and V Street, its current location. It was renamed to Sts. Paul and Augustine church until 1982, when it was renamed once again to Saint Augustine Catholic Church.

Today, the church has 3,000 members in an active congregation of approximately 1,000 families, primarily Black and middle-class.

The present building is made with crafted stone and also has two spires as the original building once had.

See also[]

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington
• Georgetown University
• Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
• Catholic University of America
• Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.)
• Howard University

References[]

External link[]

• Parish Website

Coordinates: 38°55′07″N 77°01′58″W / 38.918561°N 77.032895°W / 38.918561; -77.032895

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