Atonement Father C. Donald Howard, former pastor of Christ the
Redeemer Church in Sterling, died Jan. 6. He was 72. He retired from the parish
in 2013 after nearly 25 years of service.
Visitation at Christ the Redeemer, 46833 Harry Byrd
Hwy., Sterling, will be Jan. 16 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian
Burial will be offered Jan. 17 at 11 a.m.
He was born June 14, 1945, in Phoenixville, Pa., to George and
Agnes Howard. He is survived by two sisters, Marilyn Miller and Ellen Piskai. He
entered the Atonement Friars in 1959. He graduated from the St. Pius X Seminary
in Garrison, N.Y., in 1968. He earned his master’s in liturgical studies at the
University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. He was ordained June 3, 1972, by
Bishop Joseph M. Pernicone.
Father Howard was appointed director of the office of liturgy for
the Diocese of Richmond in 1978 and served as director of worship (1976-79) before
becoming associate pastor of St. Bede’s Church in Williamsburg. He was the
associate director and coordinator of retreats at the Christian Unity Center at
Graymoor in 1981. He was appointed moderator of the Atonement Friary in
Washington in September 1982 and served as retreat director at the Washington
Retreat House (1984-85).
Father Howard served as director of the office of liturgy for the
Archdiocese of Baltimore (1985-88) and as associate pastor at Christ the
Redeemer in 1988. He became pastor in 1990. While at Christ the Redeemer,
Father Howard was credited with overseeing a diverse congregation of Hispanics,
Filipinos, Vietnamese, Indians, Pakistanis and Africans.
