St. Teresa of Avila Parish is the Mother Church of Anacostia, Washington, DC.  On November 18, 1879, our church was dedicated and the service of God’s faith-filled people began.  The church was built on the current site in the former Union Town section of Anacostia in walking distance of the historic Frederick Douglass home. The parish has been an enduring Catholic presence in Southeast Washington, DC.  Over the years, our parish family has evolved into a diverse and vibrant community of about 334 families consisting of many racial and ethnic backgrounds. 
 
We are families with children, married couples, as well as single people of all ages and descriptions. Our parishioners live across the street in Southeast Washington and far beyond the traditional geographic "parish" boundaries, from the suburbs of Arlington, Virginia, to Prince George’s, Montgomery, Charles, Baltimore City, Hartford and Baltimore Counties in Maryland.
 
The uniqueness of our celebration of the Eucharist each Sunday is enhanced by sharing many gifts of hospitality, proclamation of the WORD and creative expression including dance, music and fellowship.

Saint Teresa of Avila is called to be an evangelized and evangelizing community of believers who bear witness to Jesus Christ present in our midst.  We seek to lead all people to a personal and life changing encounter with the risen Lord through the Word proclaimed, the sacraments celebrated, and the community gathered in prayer and thanksgiving.
 
Seeking not to conform to this world but to transform it by the liberating power of the Gospel, we proclaim Christ in our worship, in our educational efforts, in our recreation, in our defense of the powerless and in our loving service to all members of the wider community in which we reside.
 
Rooted in our rich African American heritage, our deep Catholic faith, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we put all our unique gifts, talents, and energies at the disposal of this one and greatest of causes: winning the world to Christ.