Facing you now rises the Basilica of Saint Mary, a Catholic minor basilica and parish church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington here in Old Town Alexandria. This building sits within the Alexandria Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark District on November 13, 1966. It is the oldest Catholic parish in Virginia, founded in 1795 by Francis Neale, then the president of Georgetown College.
In recent years Pope Francis designated the parish church as a minor basilica on December 6, 2017; that decision was announced on January 15, 2018, and the new basilica celebrated its inauguration Mass on September 8, 2018. Inside, you will find a venerated 19th-century image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, enthroned in 1895 during the parish's centennial celebration. That same beloved image received an episcopal coronation on December 8, 2024, performed by Michael F. Burbidge, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington.
Notice the streets and historic facades framing the basilica, layered with more than two centuries of history.