Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)

Holy Trinity Catholic Church is a Catholic church run by the Jesuit order that is located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D. C., in the United States. Holy Trinity Parish was founded in 1787 and is the oldest Roman Catholic community and house of worship in continuous operation both in Georgetown and in the larger city of Washington, D. C. The original church building was completed in 1794. It is now called the Chapel of St. Ignatius, and is used for smaller ecclesiastical celebrations and as an auxiliary space for parish activities. A larger church building, necessitated by the growing community, was dedicated in 1851, and still serves as the parish church today.

Holy Trinity Parish was established in 1787 at what is now 3513 N Street NW. The original building was originally called "Georgetown Chapel" because of the uncertainty of the laws against erecting Catholic churches. It was founded at the direction of Archbishop John Carroll, the founder of Georgetown College and, later, first Catholic bishop in America. (He was also a cousin of Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.) In addition to Carroll, the church had four lay trustees: Adam King, George King, George Fenwick, and James Simpson. This church faced south and included a bell tower. During the early years it primarily served the growing Catholic population of Georgetown and the students of Georgetown College (now University). The first pastor was Rev. Francis Neale, S. J. The congregation soon outgrew its original building, and in 1851 a larger structure was dedicated at 1301 36th Street NW. This structure faced west, and did not include a tower. The first church was retained and later renamed the Chapel of St. Ignatius. During the American Civil War, the federal government used the church as a hospital to treat more than 200 injured soldiers after the Second Battle of Bull Run in 1862. The government returned the building to the congregation in 1863 and later reimbursed it $350 for use of the building. Holy Trinity parish established a parochial school for boys, Holy Trinity School, in 1818. It originally occupied a house on N Street east of the original church, but in 1818 the parish built a schoolhouse at the northwest corner of N and 35th Streets NW. Holy Trinity School served grades one through eight. The school closed in 1829, but reopened in 1831. Holy Trinity Church remodeled its original church structure into a school in 1871, and moved classes into the structure. The parish built two school buildings in 1918: The "Lower School" at the northeast corner of N and 36th Streets NW, and the "Upper School" at the southeast corner of O and 36th Streets NW. Students were delayed in using the Lower School, however, when the federal government requisitioned the building for use during World War I. The building was finally occupied as a schoolhouse in 1919. President John F. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, and his family frequently worshiped at Holy Trinity. Kennedy's attendance is commemorated by a plaque in front of the church building. The church is also the place Joe Biden worshiped when he was Vice President and again as President as well as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi while she was in Washington.

A cemetery originally occupied what is now the site of the 1851 church and the Lower School. District of Columbia law required a forensic anthropological investigation, and one began immediately. The investigation turned up the remains of 44 individuals (men, women, and children). Evidence indicated that some of them had been buried as early as 1837 while others dated to 1865, and at least one was an African American; these were reinterred in another cemetery. Archeologists believed, however, that additional remains still existed. But with each day of delay adding $10,000 to the cost of construction, Church officials decided graves that would be undisturbed by the projectsuch as those beneath the basementshould remain where they were. The first burial occurred there on December 8, 1818. At some point, a small chapel dedicated to St. Francis Xavier was also built there. One of the most famous burials at College Ground was that of Susan Decatur, wife of United States Navy hero Stephen Decatur. In 1953, Georgetown University began preparing College Ground for new buildings. The university publicly said that only 189 sets of remains existed there. Fifty were transferred to Mount Olivet Cemetery,

Following the 1942 agreement, Holy Trinity Church has not maintained a cemetery for parish use. Parishioners rely instead on archdiocesan cemeteries in the area, such as Mount Olivet Cemetery in D. C. or Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland. In 2018, Holy Trinity and Georgetown University have announced a plan to restore Holy Rood Cemetery on Wisconsin Avenue, including repairs to existing infrastructure, enhancements to landscaping, and improvements to the cemetery entrance. The plan will also allow Holy Trinity to build a columbarium at the cemetery.