In 2001, realizing the need to fund a growing diocese, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde initiated the Rooted in Faith — Forward in Hope capital campaign. The campaign set an ambitious goal of raising $75 million, but in an interview in a May 2002 issue of the Catholic Herald, the bishop was thinking bigger.

“We’ll do more than $75 million,” Bishop Loverde said. “I’m convinced of that.”

His prediction was correct with $110 million pledged. Those pledges are now being fulfilled with nearly $95 million collected to date.

Most of the “brick and mortar” projects are completed or near completion.

The San Damiano Spirituality Center in White Post is tentatively scheduled for completion this fall and will offer retreats in a quiet meditative environment. Father Sam Vaccarella, Franciscan Friar of the Third Order Regular, was named the executive director.

The St. Margaret of Cortona Transitional Residences opened in Prince William County in March. Families in crisis can stay from six months to two years in one-, two-, or three-bedroom units. In addition to providing a safe and stable shelter for families, the residence offers life skills and vocational training. Catholic Charities reports that there are 25 residents at the center, including 17 children.

Renovations for Christ House shelter in Alexandria were completed in October 2007. The six-and-a-half-month project saw new kitchen appliances and carpeting installed, plus interior and exterior painting and 18 new beds for homeless clients.

After more than a year of construction, the St. Rose of Lima Priest Retirement Home is nearing completion with occupancy scheduled by mid-2010. In addition to capital campaign funding, a generous contribution was made by Rose Benté Lee.

The retirement home project is two-phased.

“The facility should be able to house eight priests initially and get up to 20 retired clergy after the completion of phase two,” said Francis Parek, construction manager for the diocesan Office of Construction, Planning and Facilities.

Parek added that no date has been set for the beginning of phase two, but it’s designed and ready to begin whenever a decision is made.

Phase one has a wing with eight apartments with four on each floor. There’s a chapel, meeting and community rooms, a staff suite, plus an elevator.

Timothy Cotnoir, Arlington diocesan financial officer, said that about a dozen retired priests live within the diocese and reside in church rectories or choose to live on their own.

“We’re adding another option,” he said.

Cotnoir said that the retirement home option is one that will allow priests to live with and care for each other in a community setting.

The diocese’s newest high school, Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Dumfries, opened its doors to more than 200 freshman and sophomores last fall. The 2009-10 school year will host ninth-, 10th- and 11th-graders, and the following year the school expects to have four grades. Full capacity of 1,000 students should be reached within the next few years.

In addition to providing a portion of the funding for Pope John Paul the Great, the capital campaign also gave preliminary funding for a second high school that is planned for Loudoun County.

Besides the construction programs, the Rooted in Faith — Forward in Hope campaign had several endowments that are funded fully and that have produced about $2 million in income over the last three years. These include $10 million for tuition assistance; $2.5 million for Catholic school faculty development; $2 million for catechetic training; $500,000 for youth ministry and $5 million for Catholic Charities.

Cotnoir said that in addition to diocesan-wide projects, the capital campaign provided seed money that helped fund many parish projects like the renovation of St. John Bosco Church in Woodstock, construction of Holy Trinity Church in Gainesville, new churches under construction for All Saints Parish in Manassas and St. Theresa Parish in Ashburn, and many parish renovation and maintenance projects.

Funding for parish projects are a big portion of the capital campaign. Lori Konecni, senior development associate in the diocesan Office of Development, said that after all pledges are paid, “37.7 percent of the funds collected will have gone back to the parishes.”

The campaign has been a success by all measures.

“More than 28,500 parishioners participated in the Arlington Diocese’s first capital campaign, Rooted in Faith — Forward in Hope. As a result of their remarkable generosity, our diocese has been able to embark on vital pastoral projects that are helping to better serve the needs of the faithful and our parishes throughout our diocese,” said Bob Mueller, director of the Office of Development.