History

A Brief History of the CIC

Begun in 1957 by two Redemptorist priests, at the invitation of Cardinal O'Boyle, the Catholic Information Center began as a “street parish” -- a place where young DC workers could attend noontime Mass, attend courses before and after work, and peruse the “library.” Soon a community developed and with popular spaghetti dinners, in the first twenty years, the CIC saw over 2,500 converts walk through the front door.

In 1991, when the Redemptorists could no longer continue to staff CIC, Cardinal Hickey arranged for the Archdiocese to incorporate CIC into their work and asked for Opus Dei to oversee the operations of CIC.

Today, CIC still offers Mass as it did almost 50 years ago. No longer a library but a full fledged bookstore, CIC remains the “street parish” of downtown Washington, DC, serving nearly 1,000 individuals each week through Holy Mass, Confession, spiritual direction, lectures, discussion groups and special events.

Learn More