Located in the heart of Arlington, the community of St. Charles Borromeo Church reflects the diversity of its location. A short walk from the Metro and yuppified Clarendon, blocks from established single-family home neighborhoods, less than four miles from Fort Myer Military Base and convenient to immigrant-rich neighborhoods, St. Charles caters to individuals from just about every walk of life. From the Hispanic and Filipino communities, to young adults, to growing families, to at least two parishioners over the age of 100, St. Charles offers a niche for all.

“If you attend the 6 p.m. Mass, you would think 90 percent of our congregation are in their 20s and 30s,” Father Gerry Creedon, pastor, writes in the preface of “A Century of Spirit,” a booklet commemorating the parish’s 100th anniversary. “Yet we have a core of people who seem to have been here from the beginning. We have historic neighborhoods in our parish and many parishioners who live outside our parish lines; the members are as disparate as Northern Virginia.”

Members of each community, joined through their common bonds of faith and church, came together last Saturday for a Centennial Mass marking 100 years of parish life.

Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde celebrated the Mass along with Father Creedon; Father Jack O’Hara, parochial vicar; Father Clement Aapengnuo, in residence; Father Tuck Grinnell, former pastor and current pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Falls Church; Father Richard Mullins, formerly in residence and current administrator of St. Louis Parish in Alexandria; Retired Msgr. Thomas J. Cassidy, formerly in residence; Retired Msgr. Frank Mahler, former administrator; Father Luis “Louie” Valdivieso, formerly in residence; Father Robert Avella, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Arlington and graduate of St. Charles School; and Father John Adams, president of So Others Might Eat in Washington, D.C.

“We are gathered together this evening so that united with Christ Jesus we can offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise for the faith that has been lived here for a century,” Bishop Loverde said. “This 100th anniversary is a milestone in the journey that goes on. It is a particular moment in a harvest that repeats itself over and over.”

The bilingual Mass featured a combined choir from multiple parish liturgies. Prayers were read in an array of languages that represented what Bishop Loverde called the “rich, cultural diversity” of the parish. The Benedictines, including Sister Benedict Kesock, former school principal for 30 years, filled three rows in the center of the church for the liturgy. Members of the Filipino community attended in traditional dress and hosted a reception following Mass.

St. Charles was established in 1909 as the first Catholic parish in Arlington County. According to “A Century of Spirit,” Father Frederick Lackey, founding pastor, lived in two rooms in the back of the 350-person capacity brick church until 1914. He celebrated Mass in a grocery store and movie theatre for a mission, later established as Arlington’s St. Agnes Parish. St. Charles School, staffed by the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia, opened in 1922.

“I remember very much (one sister) in particular teaching us the liturgy of the Church, teaching us liturgical songs,” said Benedictine Sister Mary Patricia Herrity, a 1955 St. Charles graduate whose vocation was influenced by her teachers. “The sisters were very warm and accepting. The spirit of St. Benedict was alive then and it is now.”

In his 60 years as a parishioner, Lucas Kulczycki, a retired professor of pediatrics from Georgetown University, has witnessed St. Charles grow from a small community to a large self-supporting entity, with multitudes of ministries. Many of these ministries, from social justice to liturgy to service, were reflected in the patches of two colorful quilts hung at either side of the altar during the Mass.

A quote on a banner from the Rule of St. Benedict — “Let all guests who arrive be received as Christ” — highlighted a fundamental tenet of the Arlington church. The act of being welcoming is taken so seriously by St. Charles parishioners that it’s the first in a list of core values developed by the community as part of the jubilee.

“The first value is welcoming,” Father Creedon said. It’s “the reason for the existence of St. Charles.”

Joe Perez, a member of the St. Charles community since 1987, said the friendly, welcoming spirit enabled a core group of Filipinos to find a place where they felt comfortable while celebrating their faith.

“Look how many Filipinos,” he said, gesturing to the men and women serving food in Benedict Hall. “It’s something we appreciate.”

Father Mullins, in a recent interview, described the hospitable atmosphere of St. Charles as a “powerful example of people.”

“The Faith is handed from one person to the next,” he said. “It’s a place filled with the light of Christ.”