When Rev. Charles Trinkhaus became the seventh pastor of St. Mary’s in 1922, he found himself at the helm of a church with hardly a parish. The congregation and neighborhood had changed greatly since the new church was built in 1890, and the parish was German in name only. Demographic shifts were changing the face of eastern downtown, with waves of Italian immigrants moving into the area between St. Mary’s and Union Station; and the Chinese relocating west of St. Mary’s, having been displaced by the construction of the Federal Triangle in their community at the old Center Market. After the First World War, many of the German families who founded St. Mary’s in the mid-nineteenth century began to move to more fashionable neighborhoods away from downtown such as Capitol Hill, Northwest, and the new suburbs.

More significantly, the anti-German sentiment that spread across the country during the First World War had a profound and lasting effect at St. Mary’s. Sermons were no longer preached in German and German was no longer taught at St. Mary’s School. For many, the loss of the German language removed a major incentive to remain attached to the parish. As the old German congregation was dying out, those who remained, with notable exceptions, found it more convenient to go to church nearer to their homes.  

The parish’s financial situation was not good. If St. Mary’s were to continue as an institution, it would need to attract and cultivate new people. Merely being a church for transients could not guarantee its future.

Against this backdrop, Fr. Trinkhaus began instituting an array of novenas to attract more of the faithful to St. Mary’s. In the early years, these were scheduled around the feasts of Our Lady, The Lord, and the saints. For a while, St. Mary’s became known as “the Novena Church” in Washington and drew large crowds to these special devotions. But as other churches in Washington began conducting novenas of their own, attendance at St. Mary’s flagged again.

In 1930, the Vincentian Fathers of Germantown, Pennsylvania, began a perpetual novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in honor of the centenary of St. Catherine Laboure’s Marian apparitions. This novena became enormously successful and gained national attention for attracting large numbers of people, many of whom bore powerful witness to the graces they received through Mary’s intercession. Several friends of Father Trinkhaus suggested that he bring the Miraculous Medal novena to St. Mary’s. 

Initially, he was reluctant to commit to a “perpetual” novena, worried about it becoming a failure. After much deliberation, however, still looking to reinvigorate St. Mary’s congregation, he sent his assistant pastor, Fr. William Hoffman, to Pennsylvania to learn about the novena from the Vincentians. He returned to St. Mary’s with such enthusiasm that the pastor decided to inaugurate the Miraculous Medal novena on January 8th, 1934, after the celebrations of Christmas were over. Fr. Hoffman would lead the novena from thereon in until leaving St. Mary’s in 1941.

Even early on, the novena attracted noteworthy attendance. That night about 300 people came to St. Mary’s. But the first real test came the very next week. January 15th was cold with snow and sleet. Fr. Hoffman writes in his memories of St. Mary’s that the priests in the rectory had an early dinner and all talked about the adverse effect the weather would have on the fledgling devotion. One of the priests walked over to the church a little early to have a peak and, to his surprise, the crowd filled the church to capacity.

Over the weeks and months, the numbers increased until it was standing room only. At Easter, an additional service was added to accommodate the growing attendance. Soon, this proved to be inadequate. Ultimately, fourteen Miraculous Medal novenas were added through the day every Monday to fit everyone in. What began with about 300 people grew to over 10,000 annually. The success of the novena benefitted the faithful, St. Mary’s, and ministries well beyond the parish. 

In 1935, St. Alphonsus in Baltimore reached out to Fr, Hoffman to ask if he would get the novena started there. It became a resounding success in that city for years. Fr. Trinkhaus, who had a special affection for the Catholic missionaries, sent half the collections received at the Miraculous Medal novenas to those spreading the Faith in foreign lands. He directly helped over 300 priests by that effort. Regular radio broadcasts of the novena on WOL carried it to shut-ins and the sick in homes and hospitals throughout the Washington broadcast region. And during his tenure as pastor, Fr. Trinkhaus modernized the convent with heating and electricity, installed the new lighting system in the church to illuminate the decorative ceiling, and erected the Calvary crucifix in the parish garden, all largely with contributions received through the novena.

Attached is a copy of the novena booklet published by St. Mary’s in 1939. Excerpted here are poignant personal testaments from the congregation to the power of Our Lady’s intercession through the Miraculous Medal. It is well worth the read.