year in review

2006 Diocesan Year in Review

By Gretchen R. Crowe
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the Issue of 12/21/06)

In 2006, the Arlington Diocese celebrated its 32nd anniversary. The past 12 months have welcomed a myriad of changes, great expansion and outpourings of generosity — from expansion of policies to building new churches to truly “welcoming the stranger” following Hurricane Katrina. The following is a look back at the ways the diocese worked together in 2006 to live and serve as Church.

GROWTH
In the same year that Pope Benedict XVI issued his first encyclical “God is Love,” Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde issued six pastoral letters, three of them in conjunction with Richmond Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, and three authored by Bishop Loverde alone. The joint letters covered stem-cell research, the institution of marriage, and Church teaching and civic responsibility; Bishop Loverde’s letters highlighted Catholic schools, the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and pornography.
Seven new priests and one deacon, Chris Vaccaro, joined the ranks of Arlington clergy in June. Fathers Phillip Cozzi, Kevin Fimian, Bjorn Lundberg, Charles Smith, Gregory Thompson, Joseph Vu and Jamie Workman were ordained by Bishop Loverde at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington.
“What a glorious day for the Church of Arlington,” said Father Brian Bashista, vocations director. “God is so good to give us seven new men to serve the people of God.”
More than 1,000 parishioners filled the pews of Our Lady of Hope Church in Potomac Falls in January for the dedication of the new church. Also in January, the renovation and addition at St. Louis Church in Alexandria were completed. Six new classrooms were added in a new John Paul II wing, and the school is now equipped with a larger library, more offices and a new computer lab.
Construction began in February on Holy Trinity Church in Gainesville; the church is expected to be completed by fall of 2007.
In April, ground was broken for St. Dominic’s Monastery, a new home for the La Crosse community of cloistered nuns in Linden, just east of Front Royal. The site was dedicated in September and the project should be completed by the summer of 2007.
Ground was also broken in early September for the new diocesan high school on the Cherry Hill Peninsula, south of Woodbridge. The $60 million high school is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2008 and will be staffed by the Dominican sisters of Nashville.
In May, the Office of Migration and Refugee Services for the diocese started a new program called Strengthening Refugee Families and Marriages (SRFM) with the primary goal of facilitating communication within families. Also in May, a new 15,000-square-foot youth center was dedicated at St. Paul Chung Church in Fairfax. The center will serve 500 youths, most of them Korean.
The Tepeyac Family Center in Fairfax had a big year, starting right out of the gate with the announcement that they delivered a record number of babies in 2005. Tepeyac received national coverage when the Washington Post featured the center on its front page at the end of August. The Today Show also filmed, but never ran, an interview with Dr. John Bruchalski. Radio conglomerates NPR and EWTN also each interviewed Bruchalski and Bob Laird, the center’s executive director.
The diocese announced in December that it purchased the former Franciscan Monastery in White Post for $4.35 million to serve as a new spirituality center, a facility for retreats and conferences. The center will be ready by spring 2007.
A new church for St. Raymond of Penafort Parish in Fairfax Station was dedicated in December.

POLICY EXPANSION
In March, the bishop expanded the diocesan policy concerning altar servers and permitted women to serve on the altar during Mass. The first female altar servers participated during Mass at Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church in Arlington. He also approved the celebration of the 1962 Latin Mass at St. Lawrence Parish in Alexandria and St. John the Baptist Parish in Front Royal.

GENEROSITY, SERVICE and ADVOCACY
In January, the 33rd annual March for Life was held on the National Mall. Another march was held in April, this time with hundreds of thousands marching in support of immigrants.
More than 500 teens and adult volunteers worked through the rain during WorkCamp 2006 at the end of June. The heavy rains also led to local flooding problems in Alexandria, where the community, including young adult groups from local churches, pulled together in clean-up efforts.
The diocese welcomed Hurricane Katrina evacuees with open arms. Led by Dawn Kuras, coordinator for the post-Katrina task force Partners in New Hope, diocesan parishes, schools and families all worked together to offer housing, education and monetary assistance to temporarily displaced victims of the Gulf Coast hurricane. At the end of its yearlong mission, Partners in New Hope helped gather essentials such as food, clothing and furniture for 170 households (or 450 individuals) who relocated to Northern Virginia. Diocesan schools enrolled 76 evacuated children, and a January second collection specifically for Partners in New hope raised $240,000. Parishioners also donated thousands of dollars in gift cards and cars. As summer approached, many evacuees were faced with the choice of staying in the Washington Metro area or heading back to the Gulf Coast.
In addition, the 2006 Bishop’s Lenten Appeal pledges exceeded $8.9 million.

DIVERSITY
In February, the bishop visited the diocesan mission in the Dominican Republic as part of a five-person delegation. The bishop spent time touring and speaking to the native Catholics.
“The purpose of this pastoral visit is to enhance our faith and friendship and better know your religious life,” the bishop said.
Hispanics flocked to St. Joseph Church in Herndon in April for the parish’s first Spanish Mass. As a result, St. Joseph Parish became the 34th of the diocese’s 67 parishes to offer a Mass in Spanish, and the first one in the Herndon area.
St. Michael Church in Annandale also celebrated its first Spanish Mass on Dec. 12.
In June, more than 2,000 young Hispanic delegates from the diocese attended the National Hispanic Encuentro in June at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. At the Encuentro, Hispanics discussed issues that face youths and young adults in Hispanic ministry.

EDUCATIONAL CHANGES
In May, Deborah Mohney, principal at Holy Spirit School in Annandale, retired after 31 years of working with Catholic schools in the diocese. Corpus Christi Early Childhood Center director Allis Hanley retired after 27 years in education. Founding principal of St. Timothy School in Chantilly, Marilyn Valatka, retired after 48 years in education. Noreen Gilmour, principal of St. Louis School in Alexandria for 19 years, also retired at the end the school year.
In June, Phil Robey, principal at Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, stepped down after 15 years in education and seven years as principal at PVI. Virginia Colwell took over as interim principal in August.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE
In January, Oblate Father Raymond G. Collins, 80, former parochial vicar at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Vienna, died of complications following kidney failure.
Sister Michelle Murphy, formerly known as Sister Michael, died Feb. 27 at Marymount Convent in Tarrytown, N.Y., after serving many years at Marymount High School and University in Arlington.
Edsel Bryan Martz, a former Marine and founding member of St. Agnes Parish in Arlington, died April 9 due to complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 81.
Benedictine Sister Ernestine Johann died Aug. 7 following a brief illness. In October, a longtime St. James Parish volunteer, Simone LeBrun, 94, died. She had been a member of the parish since 1937.
Richard F. “Dick” Fallert died on Oct. 11 after battling acute leukemia. Fallert, 75, was a member of St. Louis Parish in Alexandria and a longtime volunteer with Catholic Charities.