Franciscan Monastery (Mt. St. Sepulchre)
Washington, D.C.
Construction begun, 1898
For centuries, the Franciscans have been charged with the administration and care of Catholic shrines in the Holy Land. In 1880, the order established a Commissariat of the Holy Land in the United States to support the effort overseas. It was headquartered in New York and the founders' initial plan was to construct replicas of Holy Land sites on Staten Island. The vision was later moved to Washington, where a monastery and Holy Land reproductions were built.