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District of Columbia

1910 New Catholic Dictionary

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1910 New Catholic Dictionary
• Washington, District of Columbia, Archdiocese of
• District of Columbia
• Columbia, District of

The seat of the federal government, ceded to the United States for that purpose by Maryland, and established, 1790-1791; area, about 6,914 square miles. Its early Catholic history coincides with that of Maryland. Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic institution of higher education in the United States, was founded in 1789, two years before the selection of the site of Washington. The first church in Georgetown was that of Holy Trinity, built in 1792; and the first church in Washington was Saint Patrick's, built soon after 1794 by Reverend Anthony Caffrey. The District of Columbia is included within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Catholic influence on place-names within the District is limited to one: Saint Elizabeth.