Built between 1857 and 1859, Saint Aloysius Catholic Church, with its handsome interior decoration, was designed by Father Benedict Sestini. Sestini, a Jesuit priest who was a well-known mathematician, astronomer, and physicist, designed the building in a restrained Italian Renaissance Revival style—an unusual choice for the time, when most churches were being built in the Gothic Revival style. Over the altar and the chapel are paintings by Constantino Brumidi, the artist of the frescoes on the dome of the U.S. Capitol.
Sestini was also responsible for designing two other religious buildings: Holy Trinity Church, also in DC, and a Jesuit seminary in Woodstock, Maryland.
The church is part of a Jesuit complex including Gonzaga College and several parochial schools.
DC Inventory: March 7, 1968 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: July 26, 1973
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