The origins of Epiphany Catholic Church in Georgetown are rooted in the sinful soil of 
 segregation and the fertile fields of faith. For a century now, faith has proven stronger than sin, but faith still requires the tending of reconciliation and forgiveness. 
Epiphany’s founders came from a community of about 350 African American Catholics who were registered at Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown. 
For more than a century, Black parishioners—up to a third of the congregation—were required to climb steep stairs (originally outside the church) to segregated balconies on each side of the choir and the rear of the church. Since only about 100 spaces were provided for a population more than three times larger, not everyone who waited in line had the opportunity to attend Mass. Black congregants could not receive Holy Communion until after the White members received the sacrament. Black children were kept from Sunday school and other activities. Funerals could only be held in the basement. There were many other indignities for these parishioners; some free, others still enslaved—all of them subjected to racism. At last, they decided to put an end to these indignities and find a way to worship freely. 
In 1923, as the nation emerged from the First World War and a flu pandemic, these Black parishioners called their first meeting to organize a new church where they could practice their faith without discrimination. At first, the pilgrim parishioners attended Mass and held meetings in private homes and at Black-owned businesses in Georgetown. They staged a variety of fundraising activities.  
In February 1925, two vacant lots were purchased in the 2700 block of Dumbarton Street NW to build the church. The cornerstone of the red brick church was laid that July. Members of other Black congregations, sodalities, the Knights of Saint Augustine, Knights of Saint John, and Holy Name Society participated in a grand procession of celebration. “The women of the parish gave a banquet to a number of visiting clergy,” the Evening Star reported. 
The church’s first activities occurred in the basement community room in December 1925. Archbishop Curley traveled to Georgetown early in the new year for Epiphany’s formal dedication. 
The church he dedicated, though modified, remains in use today.
 

Text and Photos courtesy of Dorothy H. Gray and Linda Gray

Epiphany is very proud of having the first Black Pastor of a Roman Catholic church in Washington, D.C.

Father Chester C. Ball, S.S.J. served as pastor of the church from 1952-1958. Under his leadership, the parish flourished. The Annual Bazaar began under Father Ball's tenure, which was a major fundraiser for the church. Under his leadership, the needed repairs to the church, parish hall, and kitchen of the rectory were completed. Many church ministries grew in number and participation.