When the Arlington Diocese was carved out of the Richmond Diocese in 1974, a large, vibrant Catholic enclave of 134,000 members was created within the quiet bedroom community of Washington, D.C.

Since then, the Northern Virginia area has mushroomed into an economic and social force and the Catholic population of the diocese has ballooned to more than 413,000 registered members. Clergy to minister to the growing Catholic population increased to 251 priests, 57 permanent deacons and 140 religious brothers and sisters serving in 68 parishes. Since Bishop Paul S. Loverde’s installation in 1999 as Arlington’s third bishop, the number of registered Catholics in the diocese has increased by 23 percent.

In 2001, recognizing the need to help fund this rapid growth, the bishop initiated the diocesan capital campaign, Rooted in Faith — Forward in Hope.

The campaign’s goal was to raise $75 million, but response to the call was overwhelming and resulted in pledges of $110 million with more than $94 million collected to date.

Bob Mueller, diocesan director of development, said the bishop saw a need just a few years after his installation. With a growing population came a need for increased educational facilities, help for the poor and fixing aging infrastructures in churches and schools.

“Parishes were saying that we had things to do,” said Mueller. “The bishop rallied the troops and he led the diocese in the direction that it needed to go.”

Nearly 40 percent of the funds collected during the campaign, went to parishes for their individual projects. The funds helped to finance projects like church renovation for St. John Bosco in Woodstock; help with a church expansion for Holy Martyrs of Vietnam in Arlington; a new church for All Saints in Manassas and Holy Trinity in Gainesville; and a cemetery for St. Peter Church in Rappahannock, the first Catholic cemetery in the county.

The campaign helped many diocesan-wide projects get started.

The priests’ retirement home is under construction near St. Michael Church in Annandale. Groundbreaking took place October of 2008, with completion scheduled for 2010. The home will eventually house up to 20 priests, giving a home to those who have served the diocese.

Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Dumfries opened last fall. Funding for the construction of the school included seed money from the Rooted in Faith — Forward in Hope campaign. The new high school has an enrollment of 200 freshmen and sophomores and expects to enroll nearly 1,000 students when all grades are populated. The school boasts an innovative four-year bioethics curriculum.

The capital campaign set aside $10 million to fund a Catholic School Tuition Assistance Endowment, which is important in tough economic times. Other capital campaign funded endowments include; teacher development, catechetics, youth ministry and Catholic Charities.

The capital campaign also helped finance a Diocesan Spirituality Center in White Post, which will provide a place for the diocese to host functions and retreats.

Last fall, the diocese completed extensive renovations on Christ House, the Catholic Charities shelter. Christ House provides food, shelter and clothing for homeless men in Northern Virginia. The capital campaign provided funds for bedroom renovations, plumbing upgrades, a new fire safety system, and transitional housing.

Bishop Loverde can look back at 10 years of steady progress in assuring that the diocese has the infrastructure and resources to grow with the population and to continue to meet the spiritual needs of local Catholics.

Dave Borowski can be reached at dborowski@catholicherald.com.