St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill, the second Catholic parish in Washington, will launch a year of bicentennial observances Sept. 25 with a 4 p.m. opening Mass.

Father Gary Studniewski, the 23rd and current pastor and a retired Army chaplain, said the bicentennial is a time to look forward as well as back. “It is exciting to celebrate a proud history and so many faithful people that have contributed to making St. Peter’s what it is today,” he said. “Our bicentennial will do much to motivate people to be a part of our mission and to inform what that mission looks like well into the future.”

He noted that for 200 years, St. Peter’s “has extended the mission of Christ to parishioners, visitors, Congress members, and neighbors, with far-reaching influence.”

The first Mass at St. Peter’s was celebrated Oct. 14, 1821. The land had been donated by Daniel Carroll of Duddington Manor, a prominent landowner and businessman. His holdings also included the land that was used to build the Capitol. St. Peter’s currently serves 1,200 households

Anniversary events in the coming year will include a Mass of Remembrance in November at Mount Olivet Cemetery, where St. Peter’s was given a dedicated section in 1867, after the former parish cemetery, bounded by Fourth and Fifth, H and I Streets, N.E., was closed and the remains there were disinterred for the transition.

Other activities will include a daylong retreat in January, a liturgy of atonement and dedication of an atonement plaque in February, a Seder dinner on Holy Thursday, church tours in conjunction with the Capitol Hill Restoration Society House and Garden Tour next May, a block party for younger parishioners in the spring, a St. Peter’s Day at Nats Park and a closing Mass next fall.

Also for the observance, the parish will host rosary prayer groups, publish an Advent calendar and holy cards, update parish historical booklets and conduct oral history interviews with parishioners. The parish Social Justice Initiative will highlight St. Peters’ long history of community service and parishioners will be invited to join small groups studying Catholic social teaching and participate in activities focused on caring for creation and working for racial justice.

Among the historical highlights of St. Peter’s Parish:

 -- The parish school opened at the corner of Third and E Streets, S.E., in 1867.

-- Baltimore Cardinal James Gibbons laid the cornerstone for a second, bigger church in 1889 at the same site as the original building.

-- The cornerstone-laying events included a procession from McPherson Square to the church, with John Philip Sousa conducting the Marine Corps Band.

-- In 1921, the centenary of the parish was marked by the installation of electricity in the church.

-- A 1940 fire begun by a spark from a workman’s torch destroyed most of the church, including the collapse of the steep Gothic roof.

-- A third church building replaced it, opening the following year in time for Easter. The reconstruction preserved the original exterior walls and French stained-glass windows.

 Recent updates to the church have included interior design updates in keeping with the changes of the Second Vatican Council, installation of an elevator in 1992 and, after a 2011 earthquake, extensive repairs to mortar, stone, the roof and a four-foot marble cross that fell from the façade onto the roof and front steps.