Evening star., 1940-05-05

Of early residents of Washington
who were living here In 1910, the
year the downtown church was re-
moved and the Southern Building
erected. But the chances are that
there Is not a soul living today who
can recall much of even the first
decade of this church, the corner
stone Of which was laid nearly lo1
years ago, and of which event, the
National Intelligencer Of Septembe,
a., 1888, has this to say:
THE new Catholic Church-The
ceremony Of laying the cornerstone
Of the new Catholic Church, dedi-
Gated to st. Matthew, took place on
Friday, September 81, pursuant to
previous arrangements. We had not
an opportunity of hearing the cere-
mony of the Rev. Mr. Ryder, previ-
Gus to the morning of the process
sion from st. Patrick's Church, but
from the well-known erudition and
eloquence Of the reverend gentle
men, we are well persuaded that no
selection for a like occasion could
have been more appropriate. The
weather was lowering and the crowds
were occasionally sprinkled from the
contents OF a passing cloud. The rev.
erend Clergy, the Sisters Of Charity,
and Orphans Of st. Vincent's
Asylum, with q large number Of
citizens, moved from st. Patrickis
Church, preceded by the Marine
Band, passing along F street, and
up Fifteenth to the corner of Fiji
teenth and H streets, where the
foundation of the new building was
dug and the stone work raised about
2 feet"
Origin in St. Patrick's.
St. Matthew's Church was the
outgrowth of st. Patrick's Church,
which formerly stood on the north
side of F street between Ninth and
Tenth streets, near the corner Of
Tenth, and which was the pio-
neer Catholic Church of Washing
ton, east of Rock Greek, and the
first reference to the beginning Of
st. Matthew's appears as an ad-
vertisement in the National Inteln-
gencer Of April 20, 1887, which
states:
"St. Patrick's Church - This
building being too small to accom-
modate the numerous congregation
belonging to it the pastors Of the
church have opened . subscription
for building another church. In
furtherance of this object q COL
lection will be made in st. Patrick's
Church tomorrow morning at IL
o'clock. Monthly donations will be
received until a sum is raised suf-
ficient to authorize the commence
ment Of the building"
Funds Raised.
In due time sufficient funds were
on hand to purchase the ground,
and four lots In square 220 were Sc
cured at a cost of about $1,000, the
deed being made to Samuel Eccles-
ton, Archbishop Of Baltimore. Then
following the laying of the corner
stone and later, on November !,
1910, the church was dedicated, an
item 1T the time saying:
Dedication of the new Catholic
church. Yesterday this handsome
religious edifice was opened for pub
lie worship in the presence of one
Of the largest congregations we
ever beheld in this city. The Arch
bishop OF Baltimore, in full pontif-
1cals, attended by q number Of
clergymen, commenced the solemn
1ties OF the day. An eloquent and
appropriate sermon was preached
on the occasion by the Rev. DR..
Moriarty Of Philadelphia, which we
regret we had not the opportunity
of hearing, owing to the extreme
pressure of the immense multitude
(probably 5000 persons) present in
the body of the church"
Citizens Interested.
The cost of the church was near
" $4,000 and, according to the
same authority, it was erected by
the voluntary contributions Of the
citizens of Washington, without re-
gard to their religious creed. How
ever, q story is told to the effect
that the Rev. John p. Donelan-
who was placed in charge of the
parish, which was the third in the
city, and which extended as far
west as Rock Creek-experienced
great difficulty In raising the nee
essary funds to build the church;
that at one period he badly needed
the sum of $500, and had about
determined to seek aid from char
itably inclined Catholics outside Of
the city, when the unexpected hap
pened.
A young man chanced to call upon
the priest for consolation in q love
affair. Indeed, the lady Of his
choice had rejected him for an
other and he was sorely disappoint-
ed and detected. Father Donelan,
after consoling the young man as
best he could, told him how vitality
necessary 1t was to raise the ST.
800 toward the church Indebtedness
= and forthwith the young man Is
said to have agreed to raise the
1. sum wanted, and, In fact, did re.
turn In three days with the entire
amount.
Love Story.
: The lady in the case, to continue
. the story, seems to have been in
quite as much trouble over her two
: lovers rs was the young man who
= called upon the priest, for she
soon sought the aid Of . fortune
! teller, who soothed her anxiety by
telling her that she would marry
: both suitors, since the first one
would not live long. OF course, the
prediction just had to come true,
and soon after the first husbands 3
demise the second lover became,
!. matrimonially, No. 2. Without any
intention, however, Of casting doubt
/. upon the story, but just to COM
plete 1t, we might add that 1t is pos
., sible that the second knot was tied
by Father Donelan. and that, "a
has often been said, "They put on
the kettle. boiled the tea, and lived