Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church (Fredericksburg, Virginia)

 church, 1971_construction, Roman Catholic church, 1970s construction

1009 Stafford Avenue
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401
(540) 373-6491

stmaryfred.org

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Home to a chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

stmaryfred.org/ministries-outreach/

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(Former site is on Princess Anne Street in downtown Fredericksburg)

Late 1600s: The first Catholics in the Fredericksburg area receive sacraments from Maryland priests.

1856: The Rev. John McGill, bishop of the Richmond Diocese, visits Fredericksburg.

1858: A Norfolk man donates $3,000 to build a Catholic church in Fredericksburg.

Jan. 24, 1858: "The Catholicks of Fredg." ask the Common Council of the Town of Fredericksburg to use a public room for worship.

June 27, 1858: The cornerstone is laid on what is now Princess Anne Street for St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church.

December 1858: Services begin, although the church building is incomplete.

March 20, 1859: McGill dedicates the new building.

1862: St. Mary's becomes a makeshift hospital during the Civil War.

1871: St. Mary's goes from mission to parish, getting its first resident pastor, the Rev. Hugh McKeefrey. The Fredericksburg mission has nearly 200 Catholics.

May 6, 1956: St. William of York Church in Stafford County is dedicated.

1971: St. Mary's moves to its current location, on Stafford Avenue off William Street.

1974: St. Mary's switches from the Richmond Diocese to the Arlington Diocese.

April 24, 1983: St. Patrick's Catholic Church holds its first Mass at the Chancellor Visitors Center. The Spotsylvania County parishioners met at the Lake of the Woods clubhouse and the old Humpty Dumpty School until the church got a new building in early 1986.

February 1988: St. Matthew Church in Spotsylvania County, a spinoff of St. Patrick, is dedicated. St. Matthew becomes an independent parish with its own priest in 1999.

Nov. 29, 2003: St. Jude's Catholic Church, created to alleviate crowding at St. Mary's, holds its first Mass

2007: St. Mary's joins Micah Ecumenical Ministries, a group of city churches working with the homeless, at-risk and refugee populations.

2008: The parish numbers more than 14,000 members. St. Mary's holds nine Masses each weekend.

"St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception: The Story of a Church, 1858-1958" by Philip V. Brennan, Jr.; interviews with St. Mary's member Bill Shorter; and the Arlington Catholic Herald