Arlington diocesan schools have grown accustomed to the sound of wedding bells over the years. Many couples have been brought together through a shared love of teaching that turns into a vocation to marriage.
The spring of 2023 gave two Catholic schools in the diocese a cause to celebrate as they watched four of their teachers walk up the aisle. Joseph and Mary Claire Bender met while teaching in the language department at Saint John Paul the Great High School in Potomac Shores. Rory and Lana O’Donnell met while teaching theology at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria.
For Joseph and Mary Claire, their first meeting was delayed partially because of COVID-19.
Mary Claire said, “2019 was my first year of teaching so I didn’t get a chance to meet a lot of my coworkers in person.”
She came to the high school to teach French after a year of teaching English in Paris. After a period of discernment, she felt a strong call to pursue a more Catholic working environment.
Joe is a proud product of diocesan Catholic schools. He accepted a job as an English teacher at John Paul the Great straight out of college in 2016.
“I have always wanted to teach and try and give back,” said Joe. “I love the culture here. From day one I have felt this is what I am supposed to be doing.”
When Joe and Mary Claire were finally in the same building together, neither had dating on their minds. But soon their paths began to cross. The two bonded after a long conversation at a coworker’s house.
“I realized we shared so many values and were on the same page about so many things,” she said . They started dating six months later and managed to keep it secret from their students despite the kids’ best efforts to uncover the truth.
The students were in near hysterics when Mary Claire showed up to class with an engagement ring.
Joe and Mary Claire married May 27 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Fairfax with many of their students and coworkers in attendance.
“The Lord’s plans are so beautiful, even if they are so mysterious at times,” said Lana O’Donnell, who met her husband, Rory O’Donnell, at Ireton.
“I had some great theology teachers in high school. They were very transformative in my life,” she said. “Rory comes from a family of teachers. He has a love of wisdom and loves to be able to explore and share that with others.”
Lana began teaching in 2020 when the school was partially remote due to the pandemic. Rory joined the department the following year. At the time she distinctly remembers thinking that he did not like her at all.
“I made several attempts to be friendly. But at most I would get very brief responses,” said Lana. “Then one day he came up to me in the copy room and asked if I had any weekend plans. I didn’t even realize he was asking me out on a date at first.”
Thankfully it only took a couple of “not dates” to get them on the same page. They started attending Mass together at St. Rita Church in Alexandria on the weekends and weekly adoration at St. Mary Basilica in Alexandria. Despite these public outings, they managed to evade the attention of the student population. Aside from letting their school chaplain and department head know, they did not share their relationship with many others — which is why students and staff were blown away when the couple came back from Christmas break engaged.
“It cannot be said enough, just the outpouring of joy and support that the Ireton community had for Rory and me,” said Lana. “It was truly such a gift.”
Rory and Lana O’Donnell tied the knot June 30, 2023, at Christendom College’s Christ the King Chapel in Front Royal.
“Being able to have Christ be the center of your relationship is the most beautiful gift I could have been given,” said Lana. “Marriage is so worth fighting for when it’s centered in Christ.”
The wedding bells continue in 2024. Kaitlyn Long and Joseph Ciskanik, teachers at St. Patrick School in Fredericksburg, will be married in June.
Kassock is a freelancer in Fredericksburg.
