About Saint Francis de Sales · Washington, District of Columbia
St. Francis de Sales is a Catholic parish in the Langdon neighborhood of Northeast Washington, D.C., part of the Archdiocese of Washington. Its congregation is the oldest continuing Catholic congregation in the District of Columbia, tracing its origins to a private chapel in the Queen family mansion in 1722. The parish was formally dedicated under the name St. Francis de Sales in May 1908 and moved to its present site on Rhode Island Avenue NE in 1927. Today the parish is a predominantly African-American community known for its Gospel music tradition at the Sunday Mass, its food pantry, an active Green Team, and a Traditional Latin Mass community that meets in its basement church.
- Established
- 1908
- Patron
- St. Francis de Sales
- Rector
- Rev. Brian P. Sanderfoot
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Washington
Why belong here
St. Francis de Sales is a living link to the earliest Catholic worship in the District of Columbia, with a congregation that has prayed on the same Langdon hill since 1722. Parishioners experience a warm, predominantly African-American community celebrated for its Gospel musicians and the Sunday 8:00 AM Mass, a quiet traditional Latin Mass community that gathers in the basement church, and an extensive outreach network — a monthly food pantry, an Annual Thanksgiving Dinner serving more than 100 homebound neighbors, weekly AA and Al-Anon meetings hosted since the 1970s, and a Green Team partnering with the D.C. Department of Energy & Environment to capture rainwater for the Anacostia watershed. For those looking for a parish with deep local roots, strong music, and tangible service to its neighbors, St. Francis de Sales is a faithful home.
Mass times at Saint Francis de Sales
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM (parish website)
- Saturday 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Archdiocese of Washington listing)
Adoration times
- Thursday 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Holy Hour)
Parish History and the Queen Family Legacy
The parish is the heir to the oldest continuing Catholic congregation in the District of Columbia. Catholics in what is now Northeast Washington first gathered around 1722 in a private chapel inside the Queen family mansion near present-day 20th and Evart Streets NE in Langdon. The chapel — known as Queen's Chapel — was destroyed and rebuilt three times: during the Revolutionary War, in 1814 when the British burned it on their march to the Capitol, and during the Civil War in 1862. In 1793 Richard Queen bequeathed the chapel and cemetery to Archbishop John Carroll, and Jesuit priests from Bohemia, Maryland and St. Mary's County originally served the worshipers, who included members of the Queen, Carroll, Fenwick, and Brent families.
- 1722 — Catholic worship begins in the Queen family mansion chapel
- 1793 — Richard Queen bequeaths the chapel and cemetery to Archbishop John Carroll
- 1908 — Chapel rebuilt and dedicated as a parish named St. Francis de Sales
- 1927 — Parish moves to its current Rhode Island Avenue NE site
- 1992 — 270th anniversary celebrated; church formally dedicated by Archbishop James Cardinal Hickey
- 2024 — D.C. Council recognizes 120th anniversary of the parish
The Move to Rhode Island Avenue (1927)
In 1927 Fr. James Edward Malloy decided to relocate St. Francis de Sales from 20th and Evart Streets to its present site on Rhode Island Avenue NE, arguing that the trolley line and a larger footprint would allow the parish to grow. The decision infuriated many parishioners who had built the earlier church with their own hands only about twenty years before. Fr. Malloy simultaneously directed parish funds to develop the mission church of St. James in Mount Rainier, Maryland as an independent parish — a move that further angered St. Francis parishioners. The stock-market crash of 1929 then halted construction, leaving only a basement church standing on Rhode Island Avenue.
- 1927 — Fr. Malloy moves the parish to Rhode Island Avenue
- 1929 — Stock-market crash halts construction; basement church remains
- Original Queen's Chapel later demolished; graves reinterred at Mt. Olivet Cemetery
St. Francis de Sales School (1946–2008)
St. Francis de Sales School opened in September 1946, fulfilling a long-held dream of Fr. Walter L. Read. At the April 1948 dedication, Archbishop Patrick O'Boyle praised the sacrifices of the parishioners, and Rev. William McManus noted that virtually all of the school's funding came from 'a parish of relatively low-income families…This school was built by little people who gave big gifts.' After six decades of service, the school was closed in June 2008, the same year as the parish's 100th anniversary, and a public charter school opened in its place.
- 1946 — School opens
- 1948 — Archbishop O'Boyle formally dedicates the school
- 2008 — School closes after 62 years
Mass & Sacraments
St. Francis de Sales celebrates Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:30 PM and Sunday Masses at 8:00 AM and 11:30 AM, with a 9:00 AM Mass on Holy Days. The parish also hosts a Sunday 10:30 AM Traditional Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form, Missa Cantata) organized by Juventutem DC, with confessions heard during the Mass on the first Sunday of each month. Confessions are heard Saturday afternoons. The Sacrament of the Sick, baptism, and marriage are arranged through the parish office.
- Saturday Vigil: 5:30 PM
- Sunday: 8:00 AM & 11:30 AM
- Sunday Extraordinary Form (Latin): 10:30 AM
- Holy Days: 9:00 AM
- Confessions: Saturday 3:00–5:00 PM
- Holy Hour (Eucharistic Adoration): Thursday 5:00–6:00 PM
- Sunday Rosary: 7:40 AM (before 8:00 AM Mass)
Parish Life and Outreach
The parish runs an active Food Pantry Program that distributes fresh, frozen, canned and boxed goods monthly to existing and new clients. Each Thanksgiving the parish serves more than 100 meals to homebound and other underserved neighbors, and the annual Christmas celebration committee distributes toys and gift cards to dozens of families with children and to senior households. St. Francis de Sales has hosted weekly Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon meetings since the mid-1970s, and partners with SOME (So Others Might Eat) and other local service organizations.
- Monthly Food Pantry
- Annual Thanksgiving Dinner (100+ meals)
- Annual Christmas toy and gift-card distribution
- AA and Al-Anon weekly meetings (since mid-1970s)
- SOME partnership
- Senior citizen programs
- Youth Organization
- St. Francis de Sales Dinner Theater
- Liturgical Dance Worship
The Green Team and Care for Creation
St. Francis de Sales' Green Team works closely with the District of Columbia's Department of Energy & Environment on a comprehensive campus system of rainwater capture and permeable pavement. According to the parish's 2024 D.C. Council anniversary resolution, the system captures thousands of gallons of rainwater and relieves runoff into the Anacostia Watershed.
- Rainwater capture system
- Permeable pavement campus-wide
- Partnership with D.C. Department of Energy & Environment
Music and Liturgy
For several generations the Sunday Mass has featured dedicated Gospel musicians, including long-time friends of the parish and voices drawn from its predominantly African-American congregation. A separate Traditional Latin Mass community organized by Juventutem DC has built a growing schola that sings the Gregorian Mass in the basement church, and offers a social hour (with a potluck on the second Sunday of the month) in the former school building behind the church.
- Sunday Gospel music ministry
- Juventutem DC schola (Latin Mass)
- Liturgical Dance Worship (encouraged under Fr. Cunico)
The Traditional Latin Mass Community
Since at least 2017, the parish has hosted a Traditional Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form) every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM in its basement church. Organized by Juventutem DC, the Mass is celebrated as a Missa Cantata and includes a men's schola for sacred polyphony. Confessions are heard during Mass on the first Sunday of each month, and the community gathers for additional solemn liturgies during Lent and Holy Week — including a Solemn Afternoon Liturgy of Good Friday with Stations of the Cross at noon, confessions from 12:30 to 2:45 PM, and the Good Friday Liturgy at 3:00 PM.
- Sunday 10:30 AM Missa Cantata
- First-Sunday confessions during Mass
- Lenten Stations of the Cross and Holy Week liturgies
- Potluck lunch on the second Sunday of the month
- Social hour in the school building behind the church
Faith Formation and Religious Education
Religious education at St. Francis de Sales is coordinated by Michael Howard. With the closure of the parish school in 2008, faith formation now operates outside a Catholic school setting. The parish does not currently list specific sacramental-preparation programs online; families are encouraged to contact the parish office for baptism, first Communion, confirmation, and adult RCIA preparation.
- Coordinator of Religious Education: Michael Howard
- Contact parish office for baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, and RCIA
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Augustus M. Mark1908–1924
First pastor of St. Francis de Sales; oversaw the 1908 dedication of the rebuilt Queen's Chapel as a parish.
- Rev. James Edward Malloy1924–1945
Moved the parish in 1927 from 20th & Evart Streets to Rhode Island Avenue; developed St. James, Mount Rainier as a separate parish; left only a basement church after the 1929 crash.
- Rev. Msgr. Walter L. Read1945–1963
Built and opened St. Francis de Sales School in 1946 and added the brick facade in 1954.
- Rev. Msgr. Thomas Lyons1963–1966
- Rev. James Malloy1966–1968
- Rev. William Tepe1968–1971
- Rev. Thomas Schaefer1971–1972
- Rev. E. Albert Hughes1972–1975
- Rev. Patrick McCaffrey1975–1982
- Rev. John Cunico1982–1989
Expanded lay roles on parish committees; encouraged the Dinner Theater, Youth Organization, and Liturgical Dance Worship.
- Rev. Carl Dianda1989–2013
A former child parishioner; led the 1992 270th-anniversary celebration; grew SOME, youth, senior and ecumenical ministries; ordained the parish's first black priest Fr. Samuel Craig.
- Rev. Brian P. Sanderfoot2013–present
Current pastor; leads the parish into its second century and oversaw the 2024 120th-anniversary recognition by the D.C. Council.