History

Historic St. Ignatius Church was founded in 1849 by Father Joseph M. Finotti, S.J. as a mission under the charge of the pastors of St. Mary' s Church of Alexandria, Virginia.
It was built to serve the community of southwestern Prince George's County, from the Potomac River to the west, and the town of District Heights to the east. The first building, a wooden structure which seated 100 people, was constructed on land donated by local Episcopalian gentlemen, and the funds for it solicited by local Catholic matrons Christiana Spaulding Edelen and Mary Surrat.



The current St. Ignatius Church was built on the same site beginning in 1890, and was consecrated on the 21 October 1891 by the cardinal archbishop of Baltimore, James Gibbons, who referred to it as "the prettiest little church in Southern Maryland."
St. Ignatius would best be described as Queen Anne in style, with its polychromatic siding, tower and decorative ornament. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 
After spending most of its life as a mission under the care of the Jesuits, then the Carmelites, the Dominicans, and finally the Josephites, the church was made a parish in its own right, assigned to the Archdiocese of Washington, in 1948.

Since then, rectory, school, and convent buildings have been added to the parish complex.