In his Second Letter to Timothy, St. Paul stated, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” In his homily, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge told St. Paul Mission in Hague that, like their namesake, they dutifully kept the faith during the 40 years they were without a church.
“With the grace of God, you have finished the race and you have given the Diocese of Arlington our newest dedicated church,” he said. Bishop Burbidge dedicated the church, built less than a mile from the site of the old church, during Mass March 27. Around 260 parishioners and guests filled the church, while a similar number watched the livestream from a tent outside. More people, including those from other Northern Neck churches, joined the community for a celebratory reception afterward.
St. Paul is a mission of St. Francis De Sales Church in Kilmarnock and Father Michael T. Orlowsky is the pastor. Father Andrew J. Heintz is the parochial vicar. The mission traces its beginnings to 1890, when Catholic tomato pickers and canners who had immigrated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire asked their Protestant bosses to help them build a house of worship. To celebrate Masses, priests came in boats from St. Mary’s City and Leonardtown, Md., across the Potomac River. They were picked up in a horse and buggy and driven to the little white church.
Though the church eventually fell into disuse, Paul and Jane Settle decided there had to be a Catholic church nearby before Paul accepted a job in the area. St. Paul was restored and rededicated with the support of Bishop Denis J. O’Connell in 1923-24. A parish hall was built in 1965. In 1982, extensive termite damage led to the church’s demolition. For years, the parish has worshipped in the parish hall.
“It’s really hard to put into words the joy that we feel in finally being able to fulfill our dream of building a new church at St. Paul,” said Father Heintz. “This has been a long time coming — 40 long years. The church building itself is beyond all of our expectations. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for how God has blessed us.”
The new St. Paul, located on Cople Highway, is a white brick church with a bell tower, a statue of St. Paul and the words “Domus Dei/Porta Caeli,” meaning “House of God/door of heaven” in Latin, etched in gold on the facade. The word “Excelsior” is above the back entrance. “I was so pleased when Father Heintz showed me that at the rear of the church is the Latin phrase that means ever upward,” said Bishop Burbidge. “A powerful reminder — don’t be consumed by the things of this world that so quickly fade but rather together as a community, let’s keep our eyes fixed on the things that are above. Let’s promise to lift up each other and help each other get to heaven.”
With assistance from the diocesan Office for Planning, Construction and Facilities, the church was designed by Nic Charbonneau of Harrison Design and built by Evans Brothers Construction, which was represented at the Mass by Stuart Evans and Jeff Post. The rite of dedication began outside the church, where the blueprints of the church, a ceremonial deed and a ceremonial key to the church were handed over to Bishop Burbidge.
Then he, the many priests present and others processed inside the warm yellow interior of the church. Bishop Burbidge sprinkled holy water throughout the church. After reciting the prayer of dedication, Bishop Burbidge anointed walls and the marble and golden altar with sacred chrism. Incense was burned on the altar, and Father Heintz walked around the nave, blessing the people with incense. Women of the mission cleaned the altar and dressed it with altar linens. Finally, candles were lit, a symbol of the light of Christ shining brightly.
Two shrines are on either side of the sanctuary, one dedicated to the Infant of Prague and Blessed Karl of Austria and the other to Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Joselito Sanchez del Rio, a Mexican martyr. “After some thought, we decided that the shrine to the left should be dedicated to the Infant of Prague, and the Bohemians who founded the parish, and the shrine to the right should be dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe and the new immigrants to the parish from Mexico,” said Father Heintz. Descendants of Blessed Karl, who was the last emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, attended the dedication.
After Mass, the Ladies of St. Paul hosted the reception. Over the years, they’ve also hosted many events including the annual spaghetti dinner, a big fundraiser for the mission, said leader Mary Arnold. She’s glad to see the church completed. “It’s been fantastic and long-awaited and now we’ll be working on trying to get a hall built.”
Mission historian Daisy Howard-Douglas is looking forward to seeing all the final touches of the new church, such as stained-glass windows. She and her daughter Jewel moved from Louisiana and began attending St. Paul in 1967. “I was accustomed to the big cathedrals with the stained-glass windows and all of that. I went to Father and he said, ‘First we’ve got to get the church built, then we can do the stained glass.’ ”
Though she’s excited for that next phase, she’s grateful for the beautiful church they have now. “We worked hard,” she said. “And 55 and a half years culminated in today. I feel blessed.”
