Mount St. Sepulchre | |
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Basic information | |
Location | 1400 Quincy St. N.E. Washington, D.C., United States |
Geographic coordinates | 38°56′15″N 76°59′07″W / 38.9375°N 76.9853°W |
Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
District | Archdiocese of Washington |
Country | United States of America |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Friary/Monastery |
Website | www.myfranciscan.org |
Architectural description | |
Architect(s) | Aristide Leonori |
Architectural type | Friary |
Architectural style | Neo-Byzantine |
Groundbreaking | 1898 |
Completed | 1899 |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
Added to NRHP |
17 January 1992 |
Franciscan Monastery and Memorial Church of the Holy Land
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Coordinates | 38°56′15″N 76°59′7.1″W / 38.93750°N 76.985306°WCoordinates: 38°56′15″N 76°59′7.1″W / 38.93750°N 76.985306°W |
Area | 44 acres (18 ha) |
NRHP Reference # | 91001943 |
17 January 1992
The Mount St. Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery (Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America) is located at 14th and Quincy Streets in the Brookland neighborhood of Northeast Washington, D.C. It includes gardens, replicas of various shrines throughout Israel, a replica of the catacombs in Rome, an archive, a library, as well as bones of Saint Benignus of Armagh, brought from the Roman Catacombs and originally in the Cathedral of Narni, Italy.
The Very Reverend Charles A. Vassani (1831–1896) established the U.S. Commissariat of the Holy Land in 1880, in New York City. It was from this location that Rev. Vassani and Father Godfrey Schilling, O.F.M. (1855-1934) began to plan to build a "Holy Land in America" and a Holy Sepulchre. They envisioned building on a high hill on Staten Island, overlooking the entrance to New York's harbor. These plans were later dropped. Eventually the plans changed to a wooded hilltop in Brookland, Washington, D.C.. In 1897, Fr. Godfrey purchased the McCeeney Estate in Brookland in order to found a monastery and church.
The six Brothers lived in the abandoned McCeeney house. After purchasing the site, Fr. Schilling visited the Holy Land and took measurements and photographs of the Holy Sites. In February 1898, ground was broken, and the cornerstone was laid on the Feast of St. Joseph.
Construction of the Holy Shrines, Gardens, and Rosary Portico continued for several years. The Church was consecrated in September 1924, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of its dedication.
In January 1992, Mount St. Sepulchre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.