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Four diocesan priests retire after spending lives in service

Catholic Herald Staff Report

Father Leo J. Zonneveld

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Father Mark A. Pilon

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Father Philip S. Majka

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Father Robert A. Lange

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Father Robert A. Lange

Father Robert A. Lange was born in Richmond June 13, 1944, to
Joseph and Thelma Lange.

He attended St. Paul School and graduated from Benedictine
High School, both in Richmond. After receiving a bachelor’s
from Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., in 1967, he
spent 15 years working in real estate.

He attended Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., and
was ordained by Arlington Bishop John R. Keating May 10,
1986.

Father Lange served as parochial vicar of Queen of Apostles
Parish in Alexandria, 1986-90; Church of the Nativity in
Burke, 1990-91; St. William of York Parish in Stafford,
1991-94; and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Arlington,
1994-97. He was rector of St. Peter Mission in Washington,
Va., from 1997-99, and pastor of Our Lady of Angels Parish in
Woodbridge from 1999-2005.

Father Lange was appointed pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in
Annandale in 2005 and served until his retirement Jan. 22,
2007, at which time he relocated to Shenandoah County. In
2011, he returned to full-time service as parochial vicar of
Our Lady of Lourdes for one year.

Following retirement, Father Lange will live in a private
residence in Shenandoah County.

Father Philip S. Majka

Father Philip S. Majka was born in New Britain, Conn., April
22, 1938, to Stanley and Helen Majka. He attended Israel
Putnam and Washington Jr. High Schools, New Britain; St.
Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield Conn.; Queen of Apostles
Seminary, Madison, Wis.; and SS. Cyril and Methodius
Seminary, Orchard Lake, Mich.

He was ordained May 1, 1965, at Sacred Heart Cathedral in
Richmond by Bishop John J. Russell. He celebrated his first
Mass at Holy Cross Church in New Britain.

He served as associate pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in
Alexandria, 1965-67; St. Mark Parish in Vienna, 1967-70; Good
Shepherd Parish in Mount Vernon, 1970-72; St. Michael Parish
in Annandale, 1972-75; and St. Mary Parish in Alexandria,
1975-76.

He was named founding pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Parish in Lake Ridge in October 1976. He also served as
pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Warrenton and St.
Patrick Parish in Fredericksburg, before being assigned as
parochial vicar of St. James Parish in Falls Church.

Father Majka received an award from the John Paul II
Foundation in 1996 in Washington, D.C., and was honored with
a national award by the Polish American Priest Association in
April 1999. He received the Cavaliers Cross of Merit from the
Polish Government for his service to the Polish American
Community in 1999.

Father Majka served as chaplain to various Knights of
Columbus Councils throughout Northern Virginia, to the Serra
Club, to the Alhambra Club and to the Fairfax County Fire
Department. He also is a member of various Polish-American
organizations, served as chaplain to the Polish Community of
the Metropolitan Washington area, and acted as host in both
1969 and 1976 for Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (later Pope John
Paul II) during his visits to Washington.

Father Majka has served as the Catholic chaplain at Dulles
International Airport since June 2006. He was elected vice
president of the National Conference of Catholic Airport
Chaplains in 2010. He will reside at the St. Rose of Lima
Priests Retirement Villa in Annandale.

Father Mark A. Pilon

Father Mark A. Pilon was born in Detroit March 23, 1943, to
Ernest and Elizabeth Pilon. He attended Our Lady of Lourdes
School in River Rouge, Mich. After receiving his bachelor’s
in English from the University of Detroit in 1966, he taught
at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria from 1966-70.

In 1970, he helped found the Institute for Study of Catholic
Culture, a summer program for American students in Spain. He
was publisher and assistant editor of Triumph magazine from
1970-73 and contributing editor until 1975, when he graduated
from Holy Trinity Seminary at the University of Dallas.

After his ordination to the priesthood by Arlington Bishop
Thomas J. Welsh Nov. 29, 1975, Father Pilon was parochial
vicar of St. Louis Parish in Alexandria. While in residence
at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Arlington, he began teaching
religion at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington in 1977
and, in 1978, he earned a master’s in educational
administration from Catholic University in Washington. He was
a lecturer in philosophy of education at the university from
1978-79.

He was in residence at St. Agnes Parish in Arlington from
1980-83 and at St. John the Beloved Parish in McLean from
1983-85. During this time, Father Pilon authored two books:
Understanding the Church from the Teaching of Lumen Gentium
(Kairos Publications, 1984) and Magnum Mysterium: The Dignity
of Marriage and the Family (Kairos, 1985).

Father Pilon lived in Rome from 1985-87 while studying at the
Pontifical Lateran University Instituto Giovanni Paolo II. He
was the second American to earn his license in sacred
theology, summa cum laude, from the institute in 1987,
followed by a doctorate in systematic theology from the
Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome in 1991.

He was parochial vicar of St. John the Baptist Parish in
Front Royal and then professor of theology at Christendom
College in Front Royal from 1987-90. From 1990-2000, Father
Pilon was pastor of St. Ambrose Parish in Annandale. In June
2000, he became a full-time faculty member at Mount St.
Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. He was named parochial
vicar of St. Raymond of Peñafort Parish in Springfield
in 2009.

Father Pilon has three brothers and a sister, 40 nieces and
nephews, and 87 grand-nieces and grand-nephews. One of his
nephews, Jerome, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of
Peoria, Ill., in 1989, and Jerome’s brother, Peter, was
ordained in 2000 for the same diocese.

Father Leo J. Zonneveld

Missionhurst Father Leo J. Zonneveld was born in Holland
Sept. 8, 1934, to Johannes and Querina Zonneveld, one of
seven children. He entered Missionhurst Congregation of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1952, pronouncing his first vows
a year later on Sept. 8, 1953. He was ordained to the
priesthood July 25, 1958, in Nijmegen, Holland.

Father Zonneveld’s mission assignment in the United States
began in 1959, and he continued studies at Catholic
University in Washington, D.C. During the assignment he did
parish work at St. John the Beloved Parish in McLean. He
taught at Msgr. Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, Pa.,
1961-64; and was parochial vicar of Holy Spirit Parish in
Annandale, 1965-67.

From 1967-69, Father Zonneveld was assistant director of
novices at Missionhurst. During those years he continued his
studies and obtained a master’s and a doctorate in philosophy
from Catholic U., where he lectured until 1969, the year he
became a naturalized U.S. citizen. Father Zonneveld was
appointed provincial superior of Missionhurst’s U.S. province
in 1969, a position he held until 1979. He also has held a
number of other leadership positions within the community.

Since 1979, he has served as pastor of Precious Blood Parish
in Culpeper. He has served as dean of Deanery IV, as a
diocesan consultor, as a member of the diocesan finance
committee and as judge on the tribunal.

Father Zonneveld will reside at Missionhurst in Arlington.

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