Basilica of St. Mary (Alexandria, Virginia)

On March 17, 1788, George Washington's former aide-de-camp, Lt. Colonel John Fitzgerald, hosted a dinner for prominent Maryland and Virginia citizens at his home in Alexandria. Fitzgerald hoped to raise funds for the first permanent Catholic parish in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to the church, surviving documentation verifies that George Washington contributed to the fund in an amount equivalent to approximately $1,200 today. Thornton Alexander, heir of Alexandria founder John Alexander, and Colonel Robert T. Hooe donated a portion of land at Church and South Washington streets, then just outside the Alexandria city limits. The first brick structure, known as the Church of Saint Mary, was built at Church and South Washington streets. The chapel's cornerstone was laid in 1795, and work continued in 1796, according to letters from Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore. == Second church ==

In 1810, the parish purchased land closer to the center of Alexandria for a new church. By 1827, Reverend Father Joseph W. Fairclough, the pastor, had erected the sanctuary and the major portion of the present church at 310 South Royal Street. The church is located within the Alexandria Historic District, a historic district encompassing Old Town Alexandria and adjoining areas. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark District on November 13, 1966, under reference number 66000928. File:Basilica of St. Mary interior - Alexandria, Virginia 01.jpg|Main nave toward altar File:Basilica of St. Mary interior - Alexandria, Virginia 02.jpg|Pipe organ File:Basilica of St. Mary interior - Alexandria, Virginia 14.jpg|Stained glass window File:Basilica of St. Mary interior - Alexandria, Virginia 07.jpg|Umbraculum File:Basilica of St. Mary interior - Alexandria, Virginia 08.jpg|Tintinnabulum == Cemetery ==

In the 1830s, the original chapel was demolished, and its bricks were used to build the Alexandria Lyceum. The land where the original chapel stood became St. Mary Cemetery, the first Catholic cemetery in the Commonwealth of Virginia. St. Mary School was later added to the site. Several Revolutionary War soldiers are known to be buried in the cemetery, although early burial records are missing. Alexandria historian Michael Miller, in Burials in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery 1799–1983, identified the first known burial in the cemetery as Caven Boa, who died on August 20, 1799. Boa was a member of the Corps of Artillery and was buried with full military honors, although the location of his grave is unknown. Virginia historian Wesley E. Pippenger, in Tombstone Inscriptions of Alexandria, identified known Revolutionary War soldiers buried at St. Mary's, including Private Lawrence Hurdle, who died in 1848 at the age of 98; Francis Ignatius Hagen, who died in 1830 at the age of 76; and Pierre La Croix, who died in 1830 at the age of 88. La Croix served in the French and Indian War under General Montcalm and later in the American Revolutionary War under General Montgomery. The cemetery also includes the graves of many soldiers from other wars, including more than 40 soldiers from the American Civil War. == See also ==