Madonna House
Washington, D. C.
In 1981, Cardinal James Hickey invited Catherine Doherty to open Madonna House on Capitol Hill in the Archdiocese of Washington. Our mandate is to pray for the government and to make ourselves and the house available for the spiritual needs of those who come.
Our prayer is, first and foremost, whatever God puts before us in the duty of the moment. This is expressed in the Divine Office with morning and evening prayer, as well as daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and the rosary. We are called, like all Christians, “to pray without ceasing,” and even to “become a prayer,” as Catherine said. We do this through our availability to those who visit or telephone, and by our attentiveness to everyday tasks done well for the love of God.
People come to the house to talk, pray, be prayed with, or just have a cup of coffee or tea. Many phone to chat or request prayers. It is our joy to be here, to stand with you and to hold you up before the face of God in prayer.
Here we also have poustinia rooms, sparsely furnished, where one can go for 24 hours to pray and fast in solitude. One reads the Bible and fasts on bread and tea. As Catherine describes it, “You are there with God and he speaks to your heart.” Poustinia rooms are available to anyone desiring to take time to stand before the Lord. Frequent poustinias by our staff here also enable us to bring before God the needs of all whom we serve.
Besides poustinia rooms, we have prayer rooms for shorter periods of time during the day and a chapel with the Blessed Sacrament. The staff are available to speak or pray with anyone who comes.
As all of Madonna House, we live by begging and it is the generosity and prayer support of our friends that continue to make our life here possible.
If you would like to come by, to reserve a prayer room, or find out more about Madonna House please give us a call.
