Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery Plaque Dedication

7 Dec 2015                                     Alexandria, VA

Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery

The color guard leads the procession, CMM President Bill Schwetke with the US Flag and George Washington President Dwight Whitney with the Virginia Flag.

      Today a crowd of over one hundred people gathered in Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Alexandria to honor five patriots buried there:

Francis Ignatius Hagan
Lawrence Hurdle
Pierre La Croix
Francis Murphy
John Riordan

  Saint Mary's Catholic Church was established in 1795 and is the oldest Catholic parish in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  The original chapel was on the grounds of the current cemetery and was funded by the efforts of Colonel John Fitzgerald, who had served as General George Washington's aide de camp.  General Washington was the first donor in support of the chapel.
     The ceremony today was conducted by the George Washington Chapter and included significant participation by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Children of the American Revolution, and students of Saint Mary's School.  Past President General Joe Dooley presented greetings to the gathering and noted the significance of the honor paid to these patriots by the school children.  Virginia SAR 2nd Vice President Mike Elston presented greetings from the Virginia SAR.  CMM President Bill Schwetke presented a wreath on behalf of the CMM and marched with the Color Guard.
     The biographies of the patriots being honored were read by students of Saint Mary's School, then the winners of the Louis Beach Memorial Scholarships read their winning essays on patriotism.  The sunny skies, cool, but pleasant temperatures, and the participation of so many young patriots made this a suitable tribute to the patriots buried here.

Participants in today's ceremony. CMM President Bill Schwetke is in back row, third from the right, and his wife, Cat Schwetke, is standing in front of him, second from the right on the front row.