St. Aloysius Church is a parish church in NoMa, Washington, D.C. run by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It is named for St. Aloysius Gonzaga. It is often associated with Gonzaga College High School, with which it is physically connected. The church building was built in 1859.
The New York Times, in describing the dedication of the Church mentions that President James Buchanan and several Cabinet members were present. Jesuit Father Benedict Sestini, who taught Mathematics at Georgetown University at the time, was the church’s architect. The painting above the main altar, showing Aloysius Gonzaga receiving his first Holy Communion from the hands of Cardinal (St.) Charles Borromeo, was the work of the noted Constantino Brumidi, who is famous for painting the frescoes in the rotunda of the United States Capitol.
Brumidi was a friend of Father Sestini and painted him and the pastor, Father Bernadine Wiget, as kneeling in the Communion scene. The model for St. Aloysius’ mother was parishioner Adele Cutts Douglas, wife of Stephen Douglas, the “Little Giant” who was Abraham Lincoln’s rival in the historic debates of 1858 and the presidential campaign of 1860.
On September 9, 1862, three years after the dedication and in the dark days of the Civil War, Father Wiget received a requisition from the District of Columbia’s military governor to use the Church as a military hospital. The Pastor made a counter-proposal to build a hospital on K Street just north of the church according to the requirements of the military governor and according to his time-frame. Parishioners constructed a 250-bed hospital within eight days. In appreciation, the hospital was named St. Aloysius to honor the Church.
The church, one of the largest in Washington, D.C., has undergone several renovations/restorations. In 1892, the church was repainted, the current solid oak pews were added, and upgrades were made the heating system of the massive church.
The church's interior was again painted in the 1930's. In 1958, Gibbons and Associates, a renowned church-decorating firm created a new interior scheme that incorporated mauve and teal with silver leaf accents. In the mid 1970's with the majority of the neighborhood surrounded blighted and razed for office building construction, the dwindling congregation abandoned the upper sanctuary and retreated to the basement church for more than twenty-five years.
In October 1993 a complete restoration of the sanctuary was begin. Church Restoration Services was selected as the general contractor and decorator under the guidance of the architectural firm of Duane, Cahill, Mullineaux and Mullineaux. This $1.6 million dollar interior renovation/restoration featured scaffolding the entire sanctuary in order to replaster the more than 28,000 s.f. of wall area, installed 28 new ceiling panels with replicated plaster medallions. The sanctuary area was extended into the nave by removing much of the marble communion rail and building a larger altar area. In this renovation, the church was made handicapped accessible.
Under the direction of Stephen J. Ferrandi, the current color scheme incorporating various shades of blue accents over a base of cream colored walls accentuated by 23-carat gold leaf was installed. Upon completion of the restoration, the Painters and Decorators Contractors Association awarded this project the status of Best Restoration in the United States for 1994. The project was completed in July 1994.
- St. Aloysius Catholic Church Official site
- Gonzaga College High School Official Site
Coordinates: 38°54′06″N 77°00′37″W / 38.9017°N 77.0103°W
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