St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila Parish has roots which go back one hundred and twenty eight years. In 1879, the church was built on the current site in the former Uniontown section of Anacostia in walking distance of the historic Frederick Douglas home. The parish has been an enduring Catholic presence in Southeast Washington, DC. Over the 128 years, our parish family has evolved into a diverse and vibrant parish community of about 334 families. Our parish family consists of many racial and ethnic backgrounds.

We are families with children, as well as single people of all ages and descriptions. Our parishioners also live far beyond the traditional geographic "parish" boundaries from across the street in Southeast Washington and even far away suburbs of Arlington, Virginia, Prince Georges, Montgomery, Charles, Baltimore City, Hartford and Baltimore County Maryland.

The uniqueness of our celebration of Eucharist each Sunday is enhanced by sharing many gifts of hospitality, proclamation of the WORD, dance, music and fellowship.

Saint Teresa of Avila is called to be an evangelized and evangelizing community of believers who bear witness to Jesus Christ present in our midst.

We seek to lead all people to a personal and life changing encounter with the Risen Lord through the Word proclaimed, the Sacraments celebrated, and the community gathered in prayer and thanksgiving.

Seeking not to conform to this world but to transform it by the liberating power of the Gospel, we proclaim Christ in our worship, in our educational efforts, in our recreation, in our defense of the powerless and in our loving service to all members of the wider community in which we reside.

Rooted in our rich African American heritage, our deep Catholic faith, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we put all of our unique gifts, talents, and energies at the disposal of this one and greatest of causes: Winning the world to Christ in the new millennium.

For 6 1/2 years St. Teresa of Avila Parish has collaborated with Living Wages, a non profit organization, in providing adult education opportunities to members of the Anacostia community who are seeking to obtain their high school diploma.

Living Wages is a community based, non-profit organization that provides adult education in Southeast Washington, DC. since 1990. The adult education program administered at St. Teresa of Avila is the External Diploma Program.

The External Diploma Program is another choice for an adult eighteen years or older to earn a high school diploma. It is designed for adults who are competent in basic reading and math, self-directed and mature, interested in confidentiality, practical and highly skilled, concerned with flexibility because of job and family commitments, and possibly uncomfortable with timed testing. The program requires the demonstration of sixty-five generalized skills and one vocational skill in order to earn a Maryland State high school diploma.

St. Teresa of Avila participates in Project Educate A Child of Haiti (EACH) for St. Antoine Parish in Vieux Bourg, Haiti. Parishioners sponsor or co-sponsor student(s) each year. Student sponsorship covers the tuition, school uniform, school salaries and provide one meal on school days for each student.

Known as the "Mother Church of Southeast Washington," Saint Teresa of Avila laid its cornerstone on Sunday, May 5, 1879, was dedicated on Sunday morning November 23, 1879. The Eleventh Street bridge was originally built around 1798 or 1799. When Washington was invaded by the English Army, citizens of Good Hope burned their bridge. Eleventh Street bridge was reconstructed around 1818. Later the Pennsylvania Avenue and Eleventh Street bridges were built increasing the pathways for transportation and renewed interest in "East of the River." The church flourished with many new Anacostia Catholics. The word "Anacostia" denoting a river and an island near Georgetown was a compound Latin word made up by the early Jesuit missionaries. The meaning of the word is "prepared against the enemy." In 1886, Congress renamed Uniontown, Anacostia.

By 1904 when St. Teresa of Avila celebrated their Silver Jubilee Mass, the church was filled to capacity. As the church grew, racial tensions began to slowly surface in the predominately white church. Black Catholics became disappointed and dissatisfied with their positions and the limited roles they were allowed to assume in the church that they had helped to build. Although everyone believed in one unifying Lord, everyone did not believe in one unifying church. Blacks attended Mass seated in the upper church balcony or along the back pews in the sanctuary.

Two men of the parish journeyed to the Archbishop of Baltimore to request permission to establish a new church. Permission was granted. A growing number of Black Catholics held monthly meetings, during which they sang together, recited the rosary and prayed for change. Prayers were answered when plans for conceiving our first offspring, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, were established in 1920.

In the interim, they accepted a plan by Fr. Bart, Saint Teresa's pastor. They remodeled the basement and began holding a Sunday 8:00am Mass where they could practice their faith more freely in the richness of their culture.

Today, one hundred and twenty nine years later, we stand true to our vision. We stand on the firm foundation of our Catholic ancestors whose spirit of determination and moral strength still permeates these walls. We dance in the spirit of our patron Saint Teresa and boldly 'step out on faith' in the power of the Holy Spirit as we continue to win souls for Christ.