On the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist, parishioners at St. John the Baptist Church celebrated the 25th anniversary of the solemn dedication of their church in Front Royal, closing a 40 hours devotion with Mass and a picnic. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge was the principal celebrant and newly ordained Father Andrew W. Clark was the homilist.
Father Clark recalled growing up in the parish and the importance of family. “When I think about this parish, I think about a parish that loves and encourages families. It nourishes people trying to raise their families in the faith,” he said. “Surrender that love of your spouse, of your children, into the arms of Mary, just as Zachariah and Elizabeth did, so you may love without fear and without anxiety… all this will free us as a parish family, as individual families, and bring peace under the roof of our own soul,” Father Clark said.
Father Daniel N. Gee, pastor, welcomed Bishop Burbidge. “It is a joy to have the Bishop here to close 40 hours and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the dedication of this church and to have newly ordained son of the parish, Father Andrew Clark, being able to preach for the third day in a row.”
Bishop Burbidge underscored the message of holy marriages and families. “Today was a beautiful day to celebrate 25 years of the dedication of this church and we also witness the growth of the church here in Front Royal filling this area with holy marriages and holy families. It is such an inspiration to see such a commitment to people living their vocation in such a worthy way,” he said. “It is holy marriages and holy families that will transform our church, so I ask God’s blessings upon all the people of St. John the Baptist Church on this historic and joyful day and in their commitment to living their call to holiness.”
The cornerstone of the original St. John the Baptist Church was laid in 1883 and the church was dedicated a year later. The church served as a mission parish until 1940, when it was designated as a parish. At the time, 114 adult parishioners and 59 school-aged children were registered.
St. John’s grew steadily and by the mid-90s, 575 families attended the 144-seat capacity church. Contractor Frank O’Reilly recalled that building the new church was very much a parish effort. What stood out to him was that the building committee worked hard to rescue and restore items for the new church from the consolidation of churches in the diocese of Harrisburg, Pa. June 24, 1998, the new, larger church was dedicated next to the original church. The original church was designated part of the Front Royal Historical District in 2003 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2006-07, the original church was renovated and today serves as an adoration chapel.
Frank O’Reilly, a parishioner since 1983, built the church with Mark Accettullo of Petrine construction. He recalled that when he and his wife got married, the parish was small.
“It was a great gift to be able to build the church,” O’Reilly said. “At the time we had no idea what God’s plan was for us and the community. In 1998, when the parish built this new church, it was a sign of what the future held. The dedication was a marvelous sign of God’s blessing on us. We saw Front Royal go from zero to 60 in the 10 years after we got married,” he said, referring to the parish’s growth from a tiny country parish to a Catholic destination.
New parishioner Betty Belk moved with her family from Maryland to the area for the strong Catholic community and to be closer to grandchildren. “Our parish community is vibrant, active, devout and growing. St. John’s also offers more opportunities for the sacraments of the holy Mass and confession than any parish I know, which is a great blessing for all the parishioners,” Belk said. “The parish is the center of our lives. We are offered countless opportunities to grow in our faith.”
Rutherford is a freelancer in Alexandria.
