Local

Fr. Leo Day in Culpeper

Calvin "chip" Coleman | For the Catholic Herald

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This “letter to the editor” by Calvin “Chip” Coleman, mayor
of Culpeper, appeared in the July 8 edition of the Culpeper
Star Exponent. It is reprinted here with permission.

As we mature, a father figure affects who we are and who we
want to be. Whether as a youngster or an adult, a father
guides us, molds us, builds our character and impacts our
lives in so many ways.

I can think of no father figure providing more impact and who
standing taller than Catholic priest Father Leo Zonneveld.

After 33 years, Father Leo, as he is affectionately known, is
stepping down at the age of 77 as the shepherd of his parish
at the Precious Blood Catholic Church. He is retiring to
Arlington, leaving behind many friends and a legacy many
would envy.

Father Leo is credited with helping the church grow and
prosper in so many ways.

When Father Leo came to Culpeper in 1979, Precious Blood
Catholic Church’s tiny congregation totaled 139. Today, the
congregation boasts 1,100 families.

Like a shepherd tending his flock, Father Leo remains
responsible for many firsts for the church and its phenomenal
growth.

Father Leo was the inspiration for the opening of the
Epiphany Catholic School in 1997. Ten years later, the tax
service building along North East Street was purchased to
become a school annex.

Under his leadership, Father Leo orchestrated the
construction of a new parish hall with classrooms, a new
church and a new rectory. He also engineered land purchases
for much-needed additional parking. The church now owns one
entire block.

However, one of his crowning achievements was having the
church debt-free by 1995.

Father Leo has touched so many lives during his tenure in
Culpeper. His good deeds have been felt by many, regardless
of religious affiliation.

How does he touch so many lives? Just ask what it meant to
patients when Father Leo made more than 3,400 hospital
visits. Ask the 243 couples he married, the 1,597 people who
received their first Holy Communion, the 1,044 people
baptized, the 286 funerals presided over, the 143
confirmations or perhaps the countless parishioners he
counseled. Ask the parishioners who saw him celebrate 13,728
Masses through the years. Finally, ask those who he worked
with at the Hospice of the Rapidan or the Food Closet.

The list goes on and on.

Precious Blood celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1992 with
Father Leo at the helm.

Father Leo has accomplished so much. But his one
disappointment is that he never saw the church build a campus
for Epiphany Catholic School on property the church owns on
Madison Road near the Baptist Retirement Home. Even though
the property lies fallow right now due to a down economy,
some day Father Leo’s dream of a new school will grow in that
rolling field. And once again, his leadership, wisdom and
foresight will be felt.

Not only did the church develop and thrive under Father Leo’s
guidance, but also he used his green thumb to grow some of
the most beautiful flowers in the spring. Being a native of
Holland, who was raised on a bulb farm, Father Leo knew
something about obtaining bulbs for the church grounds and
how to make them grow. He meticulously tended to his flowers.

It’s not surprising that Father Leo’s last day at work would
be in the pulpit ministering to his parishioners and leading
his final Mass as the church’s pastor.

When Father Leo arrived in 1979, he had to fill the “big”
shoes of his predecessor Father Maurice duCastillon. A
waitress in an Orange restaurant where he was having lunch
with another pastor commented to Father Leo not to worry
about filling Father duCastillon’s shoes, to walk in his own.

By all accounts, Father Leo filled his own shoes admirably.

And I can’t think of a more fitting way to honor such an
admired man of the cloth than to proclaim today, Sunday, July
8, Father Leo Day in Culpeper.

Please thank Father Leo for his service to his church, his
congregation and to our community.

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