It’s recycling at its most profound. Dioceses across the
country are consolidating their parishes by closing churches
and merging congregations. The sacred artifacts from the
closed churches are being acquired by those building or
renovating their own. It can be a poignant time for the
parish that’s closed, but a joyous one for the community
receiving the sacred church objects.
St. John the
Baptist Parish in Front Royal built its new church more
than 12 years ago using sacred objects from closed parishes.
They bought stained glass windows, altars, tabernacles,
statues, Stations of the Cross, candle sticks, a baptismal
font and cruets from churches in Pennsylvania. The holy water
font came from a parish in West Virginia.
(See video
profile on the parish here)
The old church still stands beside the new one and is used
for eucharistic adoration and weddings.
The parish wove the story of other Catholic communities into
its own long and rich history.
The original church was built by the family of John Carrell
Jenkins, a Marylander who fought for the Confederacy. When
Jenkins contracted typhoid, he was treated by a Catholic
sister, and his last request to his family before he died was
that a church be built in appreciation of the sister’s
care.
His grief-stricken family donated the money for construction
near the place of his death and provided the altar, pews,
vestments and sacred vessels. There’s a tablet on the side of
the church that reads, “Pray for the Soul of John Carrell
Jenkins – Died October 11, 1861 – Out of Whose Means
Principally – This Church Has Been Erected.”
Construction began in 1883 under Father Denis J. O’Connell,
who was called to Rome before it was finished. Work was
completed by Father J.B. O’Reilly. St. John the Baptist
remained a mission church until it was designated a parish of
the Richmond Diocese in 1940.
The cost of the land and construction for the original church
was $5,500. The new church, built in 1998, cost nearly $1.4
million.
Father William Ruehl served as pastor for 22 years and
oversaw the building of the new church. The old church was
too small to contain the growing congregation. Father Ruehl
retired in 2005 and was followed by Father Edward Hathaway,
who served until 2007 when Father Jerome Fasano became the
current pastor.
Father Fasano attended Immaculate Conception Seminary in
Huntington, N.Y., and was ordained by the late Arlington
Bishop Thomas J. Welsh in 1977.
He’s a man who knew what he wanted to do since he was 3 years
old.
“I never had a conscious moment when I did not want to be a
priest,” said Father Fasano.
As shepherd of the parish, Father Fasano is impressed by the
“remarkable” dedication of his flock.
There are 100 people who attend daily Mass and the priests
hear confessions six days a week. Eucharistic adoration in
the old church begins Monday morning after Mass and continues
until Saturday at 10 a.m. It closes so the chapel can be used
for weddings or funerals. When it’s open, there’s someone
there at all hours.
St. John the Baptist is solidly pro-life and has a working
relationship with Human Life International, which lies within
its boundaries.
The parishioners are generous with their time and money,
supporting such community-based efforts as the
Congregational-Community Action Project, which helps people
with emergency food, clothing and financial assistance.
There’s a strong contingent of altar servers, with 60 boys
coming from the 1,000 families that make up the parish.
The large religious education program serves more than 360
students, plus nearly 100 home-schooled children.
Julie Luckey is religious education coordinator for first-
through second-graders.
She developed several programs including English as a second
language and a program to teach children to sing at Mass at
an early age.
“A lot of people didn’t sing,” said Luckey. “We developed a
hymn book so when they leave second grade, they could sing
everything in there.”
Catechist Carrie Brogan developed an innovative program for
non-Catholic children called “My First Catechism.” The
program teaches basic catechism and allows students to attend
Mass if they wish and do arts and crafts. Attendance averages
from16 to 20 children.
Luckey said children who attend the program are usually not
church-going, but many get into the spirit of things.
“Bringing these non-Catholic children to love Mother Mary (is
what) I find most rewarding about our religious ed program,”
she said.
Father Fasano said that the true spirit of the parish can be
seen at the annual Corpus Christi procession. More than 600
people kneel in the street during the march, serving as
witnesses to the faith and dedication of a parish constantly
growing in a spirit of rebirth and renewal.
Next week’s profile
Christ the Redeemer in Sterling
Quick facts
St. John the Baptist Parish
120 W. Main St.
Front Royal, Va. 22630
540/635-3780
Pastor: Fr. Jerome W. Fasano
Parochial Vicar: Fr. Richard T. Carr
DRE: Fr. Jerome W. Fasano
CRE: Onalee McGraw (seventh – 12th grade)
CRE: Julie Luckey (K – sixth grade)
Mass Schedule:
Sat.: 8:30 a.m., 5 p.m. vigil, 7:30 p.m. (Spanish vigil)
Sun.: 7 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 (extraordinary
form of the Roman rite, chapel)
Mon.: 7 a.m. (extraordinary form of the Roman rite,
chapel)
Wed.: 7 p.m. (extraordinary form of the Roman rite,
chapel)
Weekdays: 8:30 a.m.
Parishioners: 3,187
