7. St Aloysius

We attended the 8am service here on July 4th.  St. Aloysius is attached to the Gonzaga Catholic School run by the Jesuits on the 800 block of North Capitol Street (technically the church is located on 19 I St NW - but it faces onto North Capitol).  The Mass was celebrated in the 'lower church' (the basement); we'll leave the historic main church for another day.

On this Indepdence Day morning, about twenty-five of us showed up for the early Mass.  A very joyous Jesuit priest celebrated Mass; he began by encouraging us all to move closer to the front of the church.  He also led the singing, chanted, and spoke to us afterwards.  The Mass itself was slightly unusual because of the placement of the sign of the peace.  Usually performed after the Our Father, this time is was done at the end of the Liturgy of the Word and before the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  Pretty much everybody greeted each other, even us guests.  Toward the end of Mass, the priest invited us to introduce ourselves briefly (along with the other guests); the congregation applauded us. 

The other unusual aspect of Mass was the process for receiving Holy Communion.  Most commonly started from the front of the church, the priest instructed us (for the guests' benefit - I think regulars know the score) to come up two at a time from the rear, return to our pew and kneel until everyone had received, and then stand.  The priest said that this was the Church's instruction "since 1969"; we do not know the particular directive to which he refers.  This was the first time either of us had heard or seen of this particular practice.

The congregation was mixed; some black, some white; some elderly, some middle-aged; mostly locals and a few visitors (perhaps on their way to or from Union Station).