Lisa and Bernie Cieplak considered moving to Washington, Va.,
with their two children six years ago so the kids could
attend a school they all liked. During one weekend visit to
the country, the Cieplaks made sure to scout out Mass at St.
Peter Parish, just off of Route 211 and surrounded by green
grass.
“We didn’t want to (move) unless we could find a good fit all
the way around, the church being equally as important as the
right school for the kids,” Lisa said.
They didn’t have to worry. After the first Mass at St. Peter,
they knew they had found what they were looking for.
“We loved the fact that it was a very small church and that
it was very traditional in its worship,” she said. “We sensed
a reverence there and a commitment to the Faith that was
appealing to us, but yet at the same time a warmth and a
friendliness.”
Father Paul L. Dudzinski, pastor of St. Peter since July
2008, said he thinks it’s the quiet atmosphere of Little
Washington – only 13 miles east of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s
Skyline Drive – that attracts its residents, which include
government workers, contractors, professors and retired
professionals.
“It shows that people want the quiet, they want this pace,”
he said. “West Virginia talks about being wild and wonderful,
and the western part of Virginia is also wild and wonderful
in a very beautiful way.”
With 474 registered parishioners, St. Peter offers three
Masses a weekend and a daily 8:30 a.m. Mass (every day but
Tuesday). It remains, as it did when it was first formed a
little more than 30 years ago, the only Catholic church in
Virginia’s Rappahannock County.
In August 1979, a group of Catholics began celebrating Mass
at an annex of an old school building at the edge of
Washington. In 1981, the late Arlington Bishop Thomas J.
Welsh established St. Peter Mission under the wing of
Precious Blood Parish in Culpeper.
After more than 10 years of school-building Masses, ground
was broken for the mission church in June 1991, under the
leadership of then-pastor Missionhurst Father Albert Verbeke.
The church was dedicated March 22, 1992, by the late
Arlington Bishop John R. Keating. St. Peter was
elevated to a parish by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde in
2005.
“We’ve come a long way,” said Renate Chapman, a parishioner
since 1983. Renate and her husband, Ted, donated 25 acres of
land for the site of the current church, to which she is able
to walk from her home. Renate also grows the flowers that
decorate the sanctuary, then brings them to the church to
arrange and care for them.
“It’s been a blessing for us,” she said. “I think we have
gained more than what we have given.”
In 2006, St. Peter
opened a cemetery in a field adjacent to the church with
320 plots. Another cemetery, this one a “Cemetery of
Innocents,” was formed earlier this year on the edge of
church property near Route 211 by a pro-life committee. Each
flag in the grouping represents one of the approximately
3,300 lives lost to abortion every day in the United
States.
Father Dudzinski said he is proud of this type of outreach
and awareness efforts of parishioners. An assistance fund is
available for those who need temporary help paying mortgages
or utility bills. A Knights of Columbus council, recently
formed by Father Dudzinski, helps stock the food pantry in
the small town and also brings food items up to the newly
opened Loaves
and Fishes food pantry in Front Royal. The parish
recently formed a Legion of Mary group, hoping to reach out
to lapsed Catholics in the area.
The small parish does have some challenges, Father Dudzinski
said. Catholics are outnumbered in the Baptist-centric
county; physical space for youth activities is limited;
parishioners often are deterred from attending parish events
because of the distance from their homes; and Father
Dudzinski said he’d like the people that attend different
liturgies to get to know one another outside of “their”
particular liturgy.
But despite the struggles, Father Dudzinski said he sees the
parish as “the little train that could,” with the Eucharist
always as the heart and soul.
“The Eucharist (is) the center of our faith,” he said.
Jeff and Regina Knight joined St. Peter in 1996 – back when
it was still a mission – after moving from Alexandria. As
long as you “buy into” the fact that living in Little
Washington means a 50-mile round-trip outing to the grocery
store, life in the country is good, Jeff said.
“It’s a beautiful area (with) a lot of nice people,” he said.
“We were attracted to the quiet nature of the area.”
This quietness is “mirrored” in St. Peter, Jeff said. “It’s a
very understated, simple church, but we love it. It’s
beautiful in its simplicity.”
He especially appreciates that it’s home to people who are
strong in their faith, he said.
“It is a place where serious orthodox Catholics will feel
very comfortable,” he said. “I think it’s very welcoming, but
very serious about its adherence to Catholic principles.”
Quick facts
St. Peter Church
12762 Lee Hwy. (Rts. 211/522)
Washington, Va. 22747
540/675-3432
Pastor: Fr. Paul L. Dudzinski
Deacon: Charles A. Coutu
DRE: Bob Benyo
Mass Schedule:
Sat: 8:30 a.m.; 5:30 p.m. vigil
Sun.: 8:30 a.m.; 10:30 a.m.
Mon., Wed., Thur., Fri.: 8:30 a.m.
Parishioners: 474
