When he was young, all Father Bob Cilinski wanted was to make
sure, when he looked back on his life, that he had done
something “really worthwhile.”
The 57-year-old pastor of All Saints Church in Manassas has
since spent more of his life as a priest than not. He’s
celebrated countless sacraments. He’s guided the formation of
hundreds, maybe thousands, of youths in four different
settings. He’s overseen the building of two new churches. He
serves as the president of the Board of Directors of Gabriel
Homes, an outreach for mentally challenged adults. And he’s
helped lead many a sports team to victory.
Sound worthwhile? Read on.
A local guy
Father Cilinski comes from a strong local stock. Born June
25, 1953, in Alexandria to Edward and Catherine Cilinski,
Father Cilinski was one of six children. His father was one
of seven, including Msgr. John T. Cilinski, Father Julius
Cilinski and Holy Cross Sister Camilla Cilinski, all
deceased. The constant presence of these religious figures in
everyday family life planted the seed of priesthood in Father
Cilinski’s mind as early as the fifth grade.
“There were priests always in our home,” he said. “I felt
very comfortable with (them).”
Father Cilinski grew up in Alexandria, attending St. Louis
School and graduating in 1967. He sang in the children’s
choir and his mother would drive him to serve at 6:30 a.m.
daily Mass.
The Church “was always a part of the fabric of my life from
the very beginning,” he said.
Surrounded by young, involved priests at the parish who took
“an active interest” in youths, via sports and other
activities, Father Cilinski continued to be interested in the
priesthood.
But when he entered St. John Vianney Seminary High School in
Richmond at age 14, things weren’t as smooth sailing as he’d
hoped. For the young man, away from his family for the first
time, it was a year of homesickness and misery.
“I can say honestly the first year in the seminary was the
worst year of my life,” he said.
On the verge of dropping out, Father Cilinski decided,
encouraged by his father, to give it one more shot. It turned
out that a new, young faculty of priests made all the
difference the following year.
“They were consumed with life and joy and energy and spirit
and that attracted me,” he said. It presented a “more
realistic and more inviting” aspect of the priesthood.
So Father Cilinski stuck with it. Four years of high school
turned into four years of college at St. Meinrad College in
Indiana, from where he graduated in 1975 with degrees in
philosophy and religion.
St. Meinrad was a college seminary that achieved the
“normalcy” of a college atmosphere with a great sports
program, he said.
“I liked that it had a feel of a regular college experience
in addition to the fact that everyone there was considering
the priesthood,” he said. “It was the best of both worlds.”
It was especially good for Father Cilinski, who was
undergoing a vocational tug-of-war as he tried to discern
between priesthood and marriage. Later, during his four years
of seminary at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.,
he turned his decision completely over to God. Thirty-one
years later, he knows it was the right choice.
The early years
Though Father Cilinski had begun his formation in Richmond,
when the Arlington Diocese was formed in 1974, he decided to
come back up north.
“These were my people,” he said, laughing. “It’s where my
family was.”
After four years at Mount St. Mary’s studying theology,
Father Cilinski was ordained by the late Arlington Bishop
Thomas J. Welsh on May 12, 1979.
“It was exciting,” Father Cilinski said. “It was great to be
one of the new priests for a new diocese.”
Because of the encouragement he’d received from various
mentors as a youth, Father Cilinski made it a priority to
engage young people in the Church. In his first assignment,
as parochial vicar of the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in
Arlington, 1979-82, he spent a lot of time developing
relationships with the young people and bringing them to
Christ.
“They were just a joy of my priesthood,” he said. “I was
closer to their age, so I thought they could relate to me.”
It was natural for Father Cilinski, a true sports lover, to
use those activities as a way to reach out to young people.
He played sports growing up, in high school, college and
after. He founded the Earthen Vessels priests’ basketball
team in the early 1980s and now regularly plays golf with
three other priests – an activity that refreshes his spirit
as much as it does his ability to putt.
For his first youth ministry event at the cathedral, he took
youths hiking on Old Rag Mountain in the Shenandoah National
Forest and got everyone lost. On his birthday, the young
people gave him a compass. And so began a rapport with young
Catholic faithful that continues to this day.
When Father Cilinski was transferred to Holy Family Parish in
Dale City in 1982, he continued forming relationships with
young people and families.
“God’s love is shown to us through God’s people and through
the Church and people caring for us and being there for us
and celebrating our gifts and bringing out the best in us,”
Father Cilinski said. “For me, I had that experience in the
Church growing up, and I wanted other young people to have
that experience, to know that they’re loved.”
A brand new chaplain
It was probably this devotion to young people that inspired
then-Arlington Bishop John R. Keating to ask Father Cilinski
to be the first full-time Catholic chaplain at George Mason
University (GMU) in Fairfax.
So, in 1986, Father Cilinski moved to an acre and a half of
land in Fairfax, on which stood an old farmhouse, and
established a Catholic presence on campus. He oversaw the
building of St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel, which replaced the
farmhouse as the hub of all campus ministry activities. The
farmhouse continues to serve as the priests’ rectory.
Though challenging, serving as campus minister at GMU was a
“great gift of my priesthood,” Father Cilinski said. Living
and working among the students and faculty, he learned to
empower them and engage them in the Faith. The students, he
said, were inspirational, involved deeply in their faith and
campus activities.
After 14 years at GMU, Father Cilinski was transferred back
to parish life, this time at All Saints.
“I went from a very large university to a very large parish,”
he said. He remembers greeting the children at the school at
the start of the academic year in Manassas. It was the same
as at GMU, he said, “they were just a little smaller.”
At home in Manassas
Shepherding the flock of the largest Catholic parish in the
diocese is never easy, and it’s a special challenge when that
flock wants a new church. For the last 10 years, the
parishioners of All Saints have been struggling with an
outdated church with too many leaks and not enough seats.
When Father Cilinski arrived in 2000, he listened to the
needs of the parishioners, agreed with them, and got the
33,000-square-foot church underway.
The generosity of the parishioners during this process has
been overwhelming, Father Cilinski said.
The new church is scheduled to be dedicated by Arlington
Bishop Paul S. Loverde this Saturday.
“It’s a moment to re-dedicate ourselves as the Church, the
living stones,” Father Cilinski said. “The building is an
expression of the community. It not only houses the
congregation, but it tells their story.”
As the new church opens, the story of All Saints is now even
more a part of Father Cilinski’s story. In that building
he’ll be able to continue the priestly ministry he began
three decades ago. He’ll continue doing what he loves –
“sharing the sacraments and Christ’s love with others at the
significant moments of their lives.” And, when Father
Cilinski looks back on his life, it’s a good bet he’ll
consider it, without a doubt, as nothing short of worthwhile.
