Our Lady of the Valley Parish in Luray is in a serene setting, bordered by the Blue Ridge and Massanutten Mountains. Third Order Regular Franciscan Father Christopher Lemme, pastor, ministers to the 125 families who are members. It is the only parish in Page County.

"It’s a small place, the people are friendly," said Father Lemme, who has been there three-and-a-half years. "It’s nice to know all the parishioners," he said, describing it as "a lovely assignment." As the sole parish staff member, Father Lemme performs the bookkeeping, cooking, secretarial and maintenance duties, as well as groundskeeping for the 11-acre parish site. Parishioner Bob Forrest helps produce the bulletin.

Founded nearly 50 years ago in a predominantly Protestant area, the parish and its Catholics are still a minority in the Shenandoah Valley, said Father Lemme. Originally, the parish was a mission of Elkton Catholic Mission in Elkton, Va., now Holy Infant Parish. Our Lady of the Valley was founded as a parish by the Redemptorist Fathers, a missionary order of priests, in 1954, for a small number of Catholics in the valley. The area was still part of the Richmond Diocese. The Redemptorists served at the parish until 1968.

Our Lady of the Valley was then staffed by diocesan priests. Father Charles Ryan, a former pastor who served at the parish during the 1970s, founded Page-One. The charitable organization is an ecumenical county social services agency for the needy, to which the parish still contributes substantially. The last diocesan priest to serve at the parish was Father Joseph Loftus, who was there until 1992.

The parish has since been served by Third Order Regular Franciscans, first by Father Gervase Cain, pastor from 1992-1997, and then by Father Andrew Draper, associate pastor for a year and then pastor from 1997-1999. Father Lemme arrived as associate pastor in late November 1998 and has been pastor since March 2000.

Most of the parishioners are retirees. Year round, about half of the Mass attendees are tourists, visiting nearby Skyline Drive and Luray Caverns. There are also many bed-and-breakfast inns and resorts in the vicinity which draw vacationers. The parish population remains steady, with no growth, but some transience, Father Lemme said.

The parish Sunday afternoon Spanish Mass is celebrated by Missionary of the Holy Apostle Father Joseph Salazar, in residence at St. John Bosco Parish in Woodstock. Our Lady of the Valley CCD classes are held between the two Sunday morning Masses.

Kathleen Calen has helped with the CCD program since 1990, when she moved to the area from New York. At that time, the program was run by the Missionary Servant Sisters from St. John Bosco Parish. Calen is currently co-DRE (Director of Religious Education) of the parish with her daughter, Eileen Luckey.

"You always come away with more than you put into it," said Calen of her ministry.

Thirty children, from age 3 through seventh-graders, and six teachers participate in the program. Due to a shortage of CCD teachers and substitutes at the small parish, many classes had to be doubled-up this year.

Calen teaches the penance and first Communion class, for students who are at least in second grade or age 7. She stresses the importance of penance to them because she feels that it is crucial that they be comfortable partaking of the sacrament, she said.

"I tell them that God loves them, is always there for them and they should never be afraid," she said. "I tell them it will make them feel better through the wonderful grace that God gives them." Four children received first Communion recently.

Luckey, who has two elementary-age children in the program, teaches the kindergarten and first-graders. Some of her goals each year include teaching them how to bless themselves and say certain prayers, such the Hail Mary and Our Father.

CCD program participants make more than 250 placemats for local nursing homes for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. The fifth-and-sixth-grade CCD teacher, Patricia Prahlad, coordinated a Christmas Show performed by the children for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

Father Lemme teaches the eighth-grade confirmation class at a different time than the CCD classes. Confirmations are held every two years for parishioners. This year, six teens were confirmed at the ceremony held at St. John the Baptist in Front Royal. Last time, Bishop Loverde confirmed youth at Our Lady of the Valley during his first year serving in the diocese.

The parish has an active women’s group. For several hours every Wednesday, they handmake a quilt, which they raffle off annually to benefit the parish. Some of the proceeds are used to purchase altar cloths, cleaning materials and flowers for the church. On Fridays after Mass, the ladies clean the church and rectory. Twice a year, during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season and Easter, they make fruit baskets for the homebound. After a funeral Mass, the women prepare and serve a meal and provide bereavement support. They also coordinate a canned goods collection for Page-One.

The parish Knights of Columbus, Msgr. Paul V. Heller Council No. 8393, serve as ushers at Mass. They host an annual members’ picnic and fishing tournament as well as the parish picnic. They foster vocations and also help the local poor. During Lent, they host a parish pot-luck dinner on Fridays. One of the Knights, Chester Taylor, instructs the altar boys in their ministry.

Last September, high school senior Katherine Prahlad started the parish youth group. Members have two main annual service projects. On the second Sunday of each month, they volunteer at the Page County Senior Citizen Center, where they serve a luncheon. During the holidays, they visit the sick of the parish in their homes and nursing facilities and deliver the baskets compiled by the women’s group.

Though Father Lemme lives by himself, he regularly visits the two other Franciscan communities in the diocese for community and prayer. About 45 minutes away is Sacred Heart Friary in White Post and St. Joseph Parish is in Herndon, where he was previously assigned for several years. He also occasionally has the company of two cats he feeds. They live outdoors near Our Lady of the Valley and come to the rectory’s back door twice a day.

Father Lemme belongs to a local ministerial association and is the Catholic chaplain to Page Memorial Hospital, where the parish ministers also. Several of the Catholic clergy who staff the parishes and missions in Deanery IV meet every Monday evening for a fellowship dinner.

One unique aspect of the small parish is the members’ "contribution to the church," said Father Lemme. "They take a great interest and pride in the parish," from their high attendance at daily and weekend Mass to the physical plant, he said. "They truly believe in the Holy Father and truly love their parish priest. They’re good people who support their church."

At a Glance

Our Lady of the Valley Parish

200 Collins Ave.

Luray, Va. 22835-1747

540/743-4919

Pastor: Third Order Regular Franciscan Fr. Christopher Lemme

Mass Schedule:

Sat. 5 p.m.

Sun. 9, 11 a.m., 3 p.m. (Spanish)

Weekdays: 8 a.m.

DREs: Kathleen Calen and Eileen Luckey

YM: Katherine Prahlad

Parish Founded: 1954

Deanery: IV

Parish Boundaries: All of Page County