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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)

Catholic church located in Washington, D.C.

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 7, 2026
Entity authorityQ5886391 ↗
Source-derived summary

Holy Trinity Catholic Church is a Catholic church run by the Jesuit order that is located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. Holy Trinity Parish was founded in 1787 and is the oldest Roman Catholic community and house of worship in continuous operation both in Georgetown and in the larger city of Washington, D.C. The original church building was completed in 1794. It is now called the Chapel of St. Ignatius, and is used for smaller ecclesiastical celebrations and as an auxiliary space for parish activities. A larger church building, necessitated by the growing community, was dedicated in 1851, and still serves as the parish church today.

History

Holy Trinity Parish was established in 1787 at what is now 3513 N Street NW. The original building was originally called "Georgetown Chapel" because of the uncertainty of the laws against erecting Catholic churches. It was founded at the direction of Archbishop John Carroll, the founder of Georgetown College and, later, first Catholic bishop in America. (He was also a cousin of Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.) In addition to Carroll, the church had four lay trustees: Adam King, George King, George Fenwick, and James Simpson. This church faced south and included a bell tower. During the early years it primarily served the growing Catholic population of Georgetown and the students of Georgetown College (now University).

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)” as catholic church located in Washington, D.C. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1787, 1794, 1851—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1787. The account is most persuasive where Holy, Trinity and Catholic can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as catholic church located in Washington, D.C. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5886391. Authority coordinates are 38.907, -77.070. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1787, 1794 and 1851.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.) primary sources, Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.) archive and Holy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.