What’s distinctive about your parish? What is your parish’s charism? St. Veronica Church always has been oriented toward passing on the faith. We have been blessed with priests who understand and clearly teach the faith through Mass and the sacraments. Parishioners and visitors often remark that they are very impressed by the teaching homilies they hear and are delighted to hear the faith explained so well.
What’s the one unique thing visitors to your parish should do or see while there? The focal point of our sanctuary is its beautiful new tabernacle and altar with the Veil of St. Veronica positioned on the front. However, most of our parish was built originally using decorations from older churches that had been closed. Our beautiful, 100-year-old crucifix, lovingly restored by Deb Lockwood, our former art teacher, is the center of our sanctuary.
Opposite the crucifix is our beautiful St. Veronica stained-glass window. We have several inspiring statues that grace our church as well as large, antique Stations of the Cross. The pews came from the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore and were restored before being placed in the church. One of the pews is a second-class relic as St. Mother Teresa prayed at it when it was in the cathedral. One quirky feature of these pews is that they are numbered. They are not in sequential order because they had to be retrofitted and couldn’t be installed in order.
What is a new ministry that you’ve started? Our Saint Mother Teresa Outreach ministry as well as our Knights of Columbus provide regular support to a parish in Madison County in the southern part of the diocese. The ministry provides food, gifts and gift cards to those less fortunate, makes bagged lunches for the Embry Rucker Community Shelter in Reston, and collects backpacks and school supplies for low-income students.
Is there a special way your parish encourages and supports faith formation? The reverence shown to the Blessed Sacrament at St. Veronica’s is spiritually inspiring; the use of our new communion rails enables all who want to kneel the opportunity to do so. Our priests offer the sacrament of reconciliation five times a week and three times on First Fridays. They do a great job encouraging and supporting faith formation in all they do both, on a daily basis in preaching and through the traditional ways of RCIA and Bible study groups.
How are you supporting the faith journey of particular cultures represented in your parish? We have shared our church facility with the Vietnamese parish, Our Lady of La Vang Mission, for 10 years. Their community uses St. Veronica’s to celebrate Mass and the sacraments in their native language on a weekly basis until they can build their own parish. They also hold their youth activities and other cultural celebrations in our facility.
What would a visitor say about your parish, and how do new parishioners get involved? Visitors to our parish services would see the loving devotion shown by our parishioners during the sacraments. They would see the frequency confessions are offered and the long lines that show a devoted congregation that takes the faith very seriously.
What’s something we should know about your clergy? We have been blessed with wonderful priests who are living examples of Christ’s calling for his shepherds. They are very spiritual individuals who inspire the faithful to follow their example of holiness. They work diligently to bring the faith to parishioners covering not only our church facility, but also Fair Oaks Hospital and four nursing homes.
Is there a standout or longtime staff member or volunteer you’d like to tell us about? It would be hard to single out an individual from among our very dedicated staff and volunteers. The facilities staff stand out as they keep the parish in top condition. Volunteers serving the Knights, 24-hour adoration, Legion of Mary, the Saint Mother Teresa Outreach, choir, lectors, altar servers and extraordinary ministers of holy Communion work tirelessly to provide spiritual opportunities. There are a few volunteers who stand out in the tireless support of St. Veronica’s:
Deb Lockwood is responsible for most of the artwork in our church including restoring our crucifix, creating plastic “stained-glass” windows of the sacraments, painting our statues, fixing broken statues and painting English verses on our Germanic Stations of the Cross.
Linda Loch is an angel to many of our sick parishioners. She organizes our 24-hour adoration chapel, visiting with Our Lord many times when other adorers couldn’t make their appointed time. She also has taught in our preschool.
Gina McCue is our sacristan attending and assisting with most Masses. Before accepting that position she was the head of our Saint Mother Teresa Outreach.
Would you like to share anything else about your parish? If you want to learn your faith and see it put into action, there is no better place to be than at St. Veronica’s.
Quick facts
3460 Centreville Rd.,
Chantilly, VA 20151
703/773-2000
stveronica.net
Mass Times:
Saturday: 5 p.m., 7 p.m. (Vietnamese)
Sunday: 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 5 p.m.
Sunday (Vietnamese): 2 p.m., 7 p.m.
Daily Mass Schedule:
Monday – Friday: 8:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m.
Wednesday and first Friday evenings: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: 8:30 a.m.
Confession:
Monday and Friday: 11:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
Wednesday: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Saturday: 9-10 a.m., 3:30-4:30 p.m.
First Friday of the month: after the 8:30 a.m. Mass, 11:30 a.m.-12 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
Pastor:
Fr. Dennis W. Kleinmann
Parochial vicar:
Fr. Richard E. Dyer
Deacon:
J. Paul Ochenkowski
Year Established:
1999
Total Parishioners:
3,534
St. Veronica Catholic School:
Pre-Kindergarten-eighth grade
stveronicaschool.org
