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Welcome to the
Internet Home of Historic St. Mary's Church on Capital Hill
In visiting historic old St. Mary's on Capitol Hill in Albany,
you have joined a long line of notables from the earliest
settlers to the happy warrior, Al Smith, in coming to this
sacred spot to pray. St. Mary's has been hallowed in many ways
since St. Isaac Jogues prayerfully knelt on its
soil as a prisoner of the Iroquois. The history of St. Mary's is of equal age with the
first missionary work in the country and dates from the period in the 17th century when
Albany was the eastern gate to the land of the Iroquois through which the martyrs of
Auriesville passed to the scenes of their triumph and their death. Dr. Matthew O'Brien,
O.P., who baptized St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, was once the pastor of St. Mary's. St. John
Neumann offered Mass more than once on the altar of St. Mary's. Fr. Theobald Mathew, the
renowned temperance leader from Ireland, preached and offered a novena here. The leader of
the Oxford Movement in America, Fr. Clarence Walworth, was pastor here for many years. Fr.
Walworth petitioned the American Bishops gathered at the Third Plenary Council of
Baltimore and there introduced the cause of the Lily of the Mohawks, Blessed Kateri
Tekawitha. We invite you to take a few minutes and to enjoy the art and architecture of
St. Mary's, reflections of God's many gifts He has shared with His people, talents given
to them to create beauty for His honor and glory.
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