Colonel John Fitzgerald hosted a dinner for prominent Maryland and Virginia citizens at his home in Alexandria, hoping to raise building funds for the first permanent Catholic parish in the Commonwealth.

[1][4] It is asserted by the church that verified documentation from the period exists to prove that General George Washington himself made a contribution to the fund, an amount equivalent to approximately $1,200 today.

The chapel's cornerstone was laid in 1795, and work continued in 1796, according to letters from Archbishop John Carroll, S.J.

At the church, there is a plaque which states:In grateful acknowledgement of their aid in establishing this church the three trees to the north of this stone have been dedicated as follows to General George Washington as subscriber to the building, Colonel John Fitzgerald, his favorite aide de camp, as the collector of the building fund, Colonel Robert Hooe, mayer of Alexandria, as the donor of the acre of land.

By 1827, Reverend Father Joseph W. Fairclough, Pastor, erected the Sanctuary and the major portion of the present church at its current location – 310 South Royal Street.

Virginia historian Wesley E. Pippenger in his “Tombstone Inscriptions of Alexandria” identified known revolutionary soldiers buried at St. Mary's that including Private Lawrence Hurdle who died in 1848 at the age of 98.