Toward the end of the nineteenth century, railroad employees began to establish their homes in what is now the Huntington Area of Bowie, Maryland. The Jesuit Fathers decided to establish a new church to accommodate the growing number of families. The cornerstone of Ascension Church was laid in late 1893. The church cost approximately $7,000 and had a seating capacity of 366. Father Michael A. Noel, S.J., was the pastor. Cardinal Gibbons dedicated the new church, and on September 9, 1894, confirmed 16 adults and 128 children. The rectory was subsequently built in 1902 by the Wyvil brothers. Our cemetery is a small parcel of land on the corner of the church property and the first person to be buried was Robert Hicks (09/26/1856 - 09/09/1908). Our church bell was made by the McShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore, Maryland in 1903.

The original church building was noted for its architectural structure which contained large stained-glass windows and historic bell tower. Housed within its interior were furniture, religious artifacts and statues from early in the nineteenth century. A large painting of the Ascension, displayed above the altar, was considered priceless and attracted many people to see and visit the church. The church's steeple was a familiar sight and could be seen for miles throughout the community. November 27, 1977, on a cold winter morning, shortly before 3:00 am a fire destroyed the eighty-four-year-old church.

Although our church building was in ashes, our parish continued to be a thriving community.  During the next two years, McNamara's Barn became our "parish church", providing a place to worship and to hold religious education classes and meetings. The parish raised money to help build what is now Bates Hall and liturgies moved to the new hall as the parish community continued working towards buidling a new church.

Cardinal Baum approved construction and a budget of $585,000 dollars for the new church building. Plans were started in 1984 with construction underway in December of 1985. Work on the church was completed in November, 1986 by Volpe Construction Company. The pulpit was fabricated from an altar given to the parish by the Sacred Heart Church in Washington.  The shrines and altar were obtained from St. Aloysius which was being renovated. The Ascension stained glass window was a part of the original contract.

The tapestry of Maximilian Kolbe in the right transcept was a gift from Pope John Paul II to Fr. Henry Januszkiewicz for the people of Ascension. We acknowledge the hard work, determination and vision of Fr. Henry, who in five short years made the dream of a new church a reality. Under his leadership as pastor, a 2.4 million dollar debt was retired in the Fall of 1996. Under the pastorate of Fr. James Betz and associate priest Fr. Sam Craig, the parish began construction of a new rectory in 1998 which stands today.  Prior to this, priests resided in the original rectory, now the office building. 

Ascension Parish continues to grow since the time of reconstruction.  Some years after the turn of the century and with the closing of Fr. Jim's pastorate, Fr. Joseph Calis was assigned to our community.  We were soon blessed with Fr. William Goode, retired, who remained in residence during the next two pastors.  We were then graced with Fr. Kyle Ingels who was from, and has since returned to the Diocese of Colorado Springs as pastor;  and with Fr. Juan Esposito-Garcia as administrator who was assigned in early 2014. Fr. Larry Young was assigned Pastor in 2014 and broke ground on a new construction phase, the Patio/Gathering Space Project at the entrance to the church.  Since Fr. Larry's reassignment to St. Mary of the Mills in Laurel, we have been so very blessed with Fr. Tim Daniel who is excited to guide our parish community.