One of the most intriguing and overlooked aspects of America’s 250th anniversary celebration is the connection between Catholicism and George Washington.
Many are surprised to learn that Washington was the first benefactor of St. Mary’s Church, (now the Basilica of St. Mary) in Alexandria. “In his financial ledger, dated March 17, 1788, he wrote that he gave one pound and 10 shillings to the construction of a ‘public house of worship,’ ” said Virginia Nyce, archival manager and curator of the basilica museum.
The little-known but significant historical moment that occurred on St. Patrick’s Day was a result of Washington’s friendship with Col. John Fitzgerald, who was Catholic.
“Every day, Washington would write down what he did, and he wrote, ‘Dined at Col. Fitzgerald’s,’ and at one point, Fitzgerald proposed to build a Catholic church and Washington gave the first donation,” said Nyce. “That donation would have amounted to the equivalent of about $300.”
A bronze bas-relief outside the basilica depicts America’s patriarch handing the donation to Fitzgerald who was Washington’s aide de camp in the Revolutionary War and former mayor of Alexandria.
Though Washington was Anglican, Nyce said that he was intentional in his friendly gestures toward Catholics. “The official religion of the colony was explicitly anti-Catholic, and anyone coming here had to swear the Oath of Supremacy, which recognized the English monarch as their spiritual authority,” she said. “That would have been an act of apostasy for a Catholic and they couldn’t in good conscience do that.”
But Nyce thinks it’s important to understand that Washington had a deep respect for religious freedom and knew that he wouldn’t have defeated the British without the aid of French Catholics.
“There were even instances on Nov. 5, Guy Fawkes Day, when traditionally effigies of the pope would be burned and Washington censured the troops, saying, ‘We’re not going to behave like that,’ ” said Nyce. “Washington said that we need to respect the majority religion of the nation to which we are deeply indebted. So, I think we can turn to him as someone who really understood just how central a life of faith is to the life of Americans.”
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Washington, “Washington: A Life,” Ron Chernow notes that Washington attended Mass Oct. 9, 1774, at St. Mary’s Church in Philadelphia during the First Continental Congress to show respect to the local Catholic population. Chernow also highlights Washington’s warm relationship with America’s first Catholic bishop, John Carroll.
“He obviously was very friendly to Catholicism and that set the stage for the foundation of the liberty that we enjoy in our country today,” said newly ordained Father Alex Solsma, history enthusiast and parochial vicar of St. Theresa Church in Ashburn. “A lot of the founding fathers helped pave the way for us to be able to practice the faith freely in Virginia.”
Father Solsma also thinks it’s worth pondering the significance of two portraits that Washington displayed of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Beloved at Mount Vernon. While the portrait of St. John was recently sold at auction, the portrait of Mary remains.
“That leads to all kinds of speculation and mystery, doesn’t it?” he asked. “It would be pretty curious for a non-Catholic to have those images in his home.”
A towering juniper tree is the only thing remaining that dates back to the original site of St. Mary’s Church that was founded in 1795, now St. Mary’s Cemetery. As Nyce walked through the headstones recently, she stopped to point out the oldest recorded burial in the cemetery that provides more evidence of Washington’s Catholic social connections.
“Cavin Boa died in 1798,” she said. “He was an indentured servant from Ireland who came to the United States. He worked as a tailor in Alexandria and one of his famous clients was George Washington. He’s in our sacramental records for his burial.”
A copy of the famous Washington portrait by Gilbert Stuart hangs in the basilica rectory out of respect for the first president, who surely knew that history would record his role in the founding of Virginia’s first Catholic Church.
“In his famous farewell address, he talked about the necessity of religion and how we can’t be a nation if we’ve written God out of the picture,” said Nyce. “Washington knew that our nation needed to be oriented toward God and that’s why he was so good in ensuring the freedom of religion and that freedom to worship would always be respected and protected.”
