Our Lady of Lourdes: Small Parish, Great Faith

By Alfonso Aguilar
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 2/7/02)

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Arlington is physically a small church but has a great sense of devotion. It has 1,000 registered families encompassing different generations and cultures, the oldest, Americans, make up two-thirds, and Hispanics, the youngest, almost a third. But it also has parishioners from Italy, the Philippines, China, India, Japan and Africa.

"I would say that our parishioners are very devoted to the Church, very generous, supportive, traditional, most of them are retirees," said Father Robert J. Rippy (pictured at right), pastor for the past four years and also chancellor of the Diocese of Arlington.

Parochial Vicar Father Francis M. de Rosa expressed similar thoughts in describing the parishioners as "very friendly, kind and devout."

In a recent fundraising bazaar held at the Lourdes Center, adjacent to the church and used by the church’s numerous religious and social groups, any visitor or parishioner, new or old, could not help but notice the gentle manners of the group of ladies offering the merchandise as if they were gifts.

This unique sense of community, along with a strengthened faith are considered by Father Rippy as two of his accomplishments since he was named pastor in June 1997, after nine years of being associate pastor of this church.

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish (a name that honors the Virgin’s appearance to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, in 1854) was established in 1946 when Father Beattie was installed as pastor. The current church was dedicated March 7, 1964, by Richmond Bishop John J. Russell.

An article in The Washington Post reported that the new church was built with a $430,000 budget with the idea of shutting out the outside world and of creating "an atmosphere of peace and harmony conducive to prayer."

The same article says the church has no "visible windows, but exterior light is reflected to the interior through horizontal concealed bands of glass, and vertical slats to emphasize the altar area."

The second pastor was Father Charles Comaskey, an Irish priest ordained in 1927, the same year in which Bishop Andrew Brennan bought the property where the church and the Lourdes Center now stand, in Arlington, close to the Pentagon.

The church has a separate baptistry tower connected to the interior by a low passageway. Inside there is an altar to Our Lady of Lourdes and numerous stained glass windows.

Although it was built 56 years ago, the church looks new thanks to the careful stewardship, renovation and landscaping. For the near future, Father Rippy hopes to revitalize the church with more involvement of young parishioners, given that a majority of the congregation are retirees.

Another priority is "to integrate the Hispanic congregation, which is very important," he said.

The Hispanic presence in this parish is not new as Spanish Masses were introduced almost 10 years ago and there are many active Hispanic groups.

"Next May 10th we will celebrate 10 years of Masses in Spanish," said Ana Rivera, a liaison between her community and the church. "We are growing, constantly growing, with an average of 400 persons attending the Sunday Mass," she said.

Father de Rosa’s estimates are similar for the Mass that he celebrates in Spanish. Given that many parishioners are newcomers with limited or no English, there is the idea of establishing English classes, which Father Rippy welcomes, but the problem of scheduling in a church with more than a dozen groups (Legion of Mary, Marian Prayer, Catholic Mothers, Women’s Council, Religious Education, and more) with daily activities at the Lourdes Center is challenging.

"I am open to the idea and I think it is just a question of finding the right time," said the pastor.

In the meantime, the pastor’s main goal is to solidify the integration of the many ethnic groups of this parish of old and young parishioners.

Our Lady of Lourdes at a Glance

830 South 23rd St.

Arlington, Va, 22202

Pastor: Fr. Robert J. Rippy

Parochial Vicar: Fr. Francis M. de Rosa

In Residence: Fr. Joseph J. Loftus

Deacons: Dr. James F. Ambury and Keith O’Hare

Minister of Religious Education: Rev. Francis M. de Rosa.

Director of Music: Michael A. Tronzo

Mass Schedule:

Sunday 8 and 10:30 a.m., 12 Noon, 5 p.m. (Spanish)

Saturday 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (Spanish)

Monday-Friday 6:45 a.m., 12 Noon

Parish Boundaries: Beginning at Memorial Bridge—South along the Potomac River (including National Airport) to Four Mile Run—West along Four Mile Run to I-395—North on I-395 to Columbia Pike and Rte.27 at Navy Annex—North on Rte 27 to Memorial Bridge. Henderson Hall, Navy Annex and the Pentagon complex are within the parish boundary.

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