Saint Stephen Martyr Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)
church in D.C., United States
Saint Stephen Martyr Catholic Church is a Catholic parish church located at 2436 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. The parish was founded on August 4, 1867, and the first church building consecrated and used for worship on December 27, 1868. This brick structure closed on July 15, 1959, and the current new building was consecrated and first used for worship on June 11, 1961. The church was a favorite of President John F. Kennedy.
Establishment of the parish and construction of the original structure
In the summer of 1865, Martin John Spalding, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore, suggested to the Reverend Dr. C.I. White, pastor at St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., that a new parish be created in the city's west end to meet the needs of the area's rapidly growing Roman Catholic population. Dr. White purchased land at the corner of 24th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue (today 2436 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) from a Dr. Newman at a cost of $8,575 ($180,355 in 2025 dollars) for the parish church, and began raising money for the building.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Saint Stephen Martyr Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)” is church in D.C., United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Saint, Stephen and Martyr, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “church in D.C., United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q23138252. The first chronological checks are 1867, 1868, 1959 and 1961.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. 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.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Saint Stephen Martyr Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Saint Stephen Martyr Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.) primary sources, Saint Stephen Martyr Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.) archive and Saint research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Saint Stephen Martyr Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Saint Stephen Martyr 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.