2002 Year in Review

By Irene Lagan and Mary McCarthy
HERALD Staff Writers
(From the issue of 1/9/03)

In the Arlington Diocese, 2002 was a year of new beginnings ranging from groundbreakings and dedications and the diocesan Capital Campaign to celebrations of newly canonized saints.

In May, Bishop Paul S. Loverde announced the official beginning of a "historic" $75 million capital and endowment campaign entitled "Rooted in Faith — Forward in Hope." The six parishes that agreed to serve as a test for the campaign all exceeded their goals.

The pilot phase of the Capital Campaign ended in August with $34.5 million pledged. In November the Capital Campaign surpassed $50 million.

Groundbreakings

St. Patrick Parish in Chancelorsville built a new rectory, the first onsite rectory at the parish. St. Patrick School kindergartners and first-graders joined Father Philip Majka for the groundbreaking ceremony in February. The building was completed in September.

St. Anthony of Padua Parish and Corpus Christi School in Falls Church broke ground for the new parish center and gymnasium in March. Father Tuck Grinnell, pastor, and George Chiplock, principal, presided over the ceremony. The new construction coincided with the parish’s 50th anniversary celebration. Bishop Loverde blessed the building on Jan. 5.

A new Catholic Charities office in Fredericksburg was blessed by the Bishop. The office serves the city of Fredericksburg and surrounding counties.

Bishop Loverde dedicated the first Catholic Church in Clarke County on Trinity Sunday, May 25. The St. Bridget "Chapel in the Field" in Berryville is a mission of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Winchester.

St. Mark Parish in Vienna broke ground on July 20 for a new Christian Formation Center. The 52,000-square-foot addition to the current parish facilities will include classrooms, a gymnasium, library, computer center, conference rooms and offices.

The bishop attended the first day of school at St. William of York School in Stafford on Aug. 26 to dedicate the newly renovated building.

St. Charles Borromeo Parish broke ground Sept. 7 for its new parish center. The structure will connect the church to the school and be used for CCD classes, parish group meetings and social functions, sports in the multipurpose gym.

On Sept. 7, Bishop Loverde dedicated the new St. Thomas á Becket Parish Center.

On Sept. 22, St. Bernadette Parish in Springfield honored former Pastor Father John Hughes by rededicating its parish center in his honor.

Bishop Loverde and Father John O’Neill, pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel, broke ground for a new parish center in Vienna on Sept 29.

Also, on Sept. 29, the bishop dedicated St. Joseph Hall at Queen of Apostles Church in Alexandria.

On Oct. 6, there was a groundbreaking ceremony for an addition to St. John Neumann Church in Reston. The addition will join the original church to the parish center. Included in the addition will be a new, larger church and staff offices. The original church will be converted into classrooms for religious education.

On Nov. 3, the bishop traveled to Orange County to dedicate St. Isidore the Farmer Church, formed in July when St. John Parish in Orange and St. Mark Parish in Gordonsville were suppressed to form one church.

In December, the bishop dedicated a new altar at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Great Falls. The relics of eight saints were inserted into the base of the new altar.

Names

On May 15, Bishop Loverde celebrated Mass for diocesan sisters who marked jubilee anniversaries and on the feast of St. Mathias, joined priests who serve in the Arlington Diocese assembled for fellowship at the annual Priest’s Jubilee Mass.

In early June, the bishop ordained five new priests, including Fathers Bryan W. Belli, Keith M. O’Hare, Michael D. Weston, James Edward Downs and Jerome A. Magat, at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington. Mark Mullaney was ordained to the transitional diaconate.

Deaths

Missionhurst Father Robert A. Timperman, a priest for 52 years, died at the age of 77 on Jan. 19 from complications following several strokes.

Father John W. Rea, who served both the Richmond and Arlington dioceses for 57 years, died at age 83 on Feb. 27. Father Rea was the author of an extensive list of travel books depicting the history and beauty of Scotland and Ireland.

David Coolidge, a prominent Catholic writer and researcher on family issues died on March 10 at age 45. Coolidge worked with Chuck Colson at Prison Fellowship for many years, then joined the Ethics and Public Policy Center in 1994, where he was founder and director of the Marriage Law Project.

Deacon Joseph L. Bosch, who served as a maintenance supervisor and then permanent deacon at St. Lawrence Parish in Alexandria, died on March 9 at age 82 after almost 30 years of service. Deacon Bosch had retired in 1998 and moved to Florida where he continued active ministry.

On Aug.14, Msgr. Edward P. Browne died at the age of 77. He served the Richmond and Arlington dioceses for over 51 years.

On Oct. 23, Father William Schopps, director of the diocesan Office for the Propagation of the Faith and auditor of the Tribunal, died at age 60.

Missionhurst Father Albert Verbeke died in Belgium Nov. 21. Father Verbeke served at Our Lady of the Blue Ridge in Madison from 1984-86 and as rector of St. Peter Mission Church in Washington, Va., from 1987-96.

Honors

Virginia resident Moreno Lopez of Virginia Beach celebrated her 110th birthday surrounded by family, including her great-great grandchildren.

In October, Msgr.Thomas Scannell celebrated his 92nd birthday with students at St. Agnes School in Arlington.

Edmund D. Pellegrino, M.D., professor emeritus of Medicine and Medical Ethics at Georgetown University Medical Center, was presented with the 2002 Marymount University Ethics Award for his vision and leadership in medical ethics.

Father Christian T. Connelly, former parochial vicar of St. Mary Parish in Alexandria, was promoted to the rank of Captain by Major General H. Steven Blum, commanding general of the 29th Infantry Division as Division Chaplain (LtC).

Permanent Deacon Lawrence Ziemanianski of St. Mark Parish in Vienna received the papal award Knight Commander of St. Gregory the Great. Archbishop Szcepan Wesoly, chairman of the John Paul II Foundation in Rome, bestowed the honor on Ziemianski, who was surrounded by his wife and family.

Army Captain Humbert "Rocky" Versace was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service and death as a POW in the Vietnam War. The award was presented by President George W. Bush to Versace’s brother, Steve Versace, at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington July 8.

In July, Eleonore Grimley, parishioner at St. Lawrence in Alexandria, made history as the first Virginian president of the National Board of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians.

The Friends of John Paul II Foundation honored Bishop Loverde at the Oct. 20 "Wadowice on the Potomac" celebration at St. Catherine of Sienna Church in Great Falls.

Benedictine Sister Anita Sherwood of the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia in Bristow was honored in October with special recognition from the pope in the form of the Pope John Paul II Benemerenti medal.

Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., was presented with the John Paul II Award for his extraordinary work as a theologian by the Institute for Psychological Sciences in November.

Father Ovidio Pecharroman, director of the diocesan Spanish Apostolate, was named national director of the Diocesan Laborer Priests, a secular institute of priests centered upon vocations, in December.

Events

The HERALD covered the 28th annual on Jan. 22 March for Life in Washington. Teens from New York and Massachusetts joined youths from the Arlington Dioceses for a pro-life youth rally at Bishop Ireton High School before the March. Parishes around the diocese held pro-life Masses to pray for an end to violence against life.

A three-person team from St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Arlington traveled to Haiti to visit sister parishes in Cavaillon and Gros Marin. The team included Father Gerard Creedon, and Larisa Epatko and Gail Goodridge, members of the parish Haiti committee.

Father Donald J. Planty Jr., a local priest who was the Nunziatura Aplostolica to Ethiopa, journeyed to Ethiopia and Eritria to serve the Church in two of the poorest nations in Africa.

Last May, students, alumni and faculty from Christendom College ventured far from Virginia to bring hope to the "poorest of the poor" in the Arlington Diocese’s mission territory of Banica, in the Dominican Republic.

The diocesan Office for Family Life initiated a new parish-level ministry, Project Gabriel, to help women in difficult pregnancy situations.

The first Virginia Chapter of Legatus, an international organization of Catholic CEOs, company presidents and business owners, was chartered on June 10 with an evening of prayer and fellowship.

Fathers Jack Peterson and David Sharland began their new assignments at the Youth Apostles Institute in McLean this summer, becoming the first priests to live at the Youth Apostles’ house.

A team of 26 delegates from the Arlington Diocese, led by Thelma Lucas, coordinator of the diocesan Office of Black Catholic Ministries, attended the National Black Catholic Congress in Chicago Aug. 31. The local delegates were commissioned Aug. 25 at St. Joseph Church in Alexandria. The theme for the Congress was "Black Catholic Leadership in the 21st Century: Solidarity in Action."

Twelve pilgrims from the Church of the Nativity in Burke traveled to Haiti with Food for the Poor to see for themselves the results of "Project Starfish." Over the last five years, the program has raised more than half a million dollars to help residents of Haiti.

On Oct. 5, Bishop Loverde met with more than 100 Latino members of various diocesan parishes. The two main topics of discussion were the diminishing number of Hispanic priests and resistance to establishing more Masses in Spanish.

In October, the Valley Council Knight’s of Columbus in Winchester turned 50. Three of the four living charter members were present at the annual Gala Dinner Dance to celebrate this milestone. This year marks the 120th anniversary of the fraternal organization.

Members of the Mildred Merrick Chapter of the Christ Child Society attended the opening of the school library at Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Catholic School in southeast Washington. The Christ Child Society had helped with the renovations to the library and the acquisition of books to fill the shelves.

In November, the Arlington Diocese Office of Resettlement received a contract from the state government allowing them to quadruple their staff size. The grant makes the office the largest service provider to refugees in the area.

Youths and College

Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington built a new Albrittain Academic Support Center. Sydney and Gloria Albrittain, parents of six O’Connell graduates, donated $1 million to build the center.

In late June, youths volunteered for the 11th annual diocesan WorkCamp to, among other projects, make major repairs on a 30-year old trailer for a family of six in Lancaster County.

On the morning of July 22, four buses left St. Luke Church in McLean headed for World Youth Day in Toronto. Nearly 800,000 youths from around the world gathered with Pope John Paul II.

Christendom College celebrated its silver anniversary in September. Cardinal Jan Schotte traveled from his post at the Vatican to take part in the celebration at the Front Royal campus.

Father William Saunders stepped down from his position as dean of Notre Dame Graduate School. He is currently pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Potomac Falls.

In October, St. Rita School celebrated its golden anniversary, and Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, first bishop of Arlington, celebrated a special Mass at Aquinas School in Woodbridge in honor of the school’s 25th anniversary.

On Nov. 16, Catholic Distance University remembered the life and work of Father William Kaifer, S.J., at its annual Gala Dinner.

On Nov. 18, Corpus Christi School Principal George Chiplock was honored by the Washington Post Educational Foundation and art teacher Sarah Schmitt was named Distinguished Teacher of the Year by the National Catholic Educational Association.

In December, the Order of Alhambra, a fraternal organization of Catholic men dedicated to assisting the mentally challenged in the community, donated $25,000 to the Paul VI Options Program.

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