history of the arlington diocese
The history of Catholicism in
Northern Virginia began 400 years before the establishment of the
Arlington Diocese and continues to experience extraordinary growth.
Colonial Era
- 1570: Jesuit Father John Baptist Sequia and companions
were brutally killed in the Virginia wilderness near what is now
Williamsburg.
- 1647: Catholicism in Virginia was revived
when Governor Giles Brent of Maryland and his sister, Margaret
maintained the first Catholic settlement in Virginia as one that
embraced religious tolerance.
- 1650: Pope Urban VIII established the
Prefecture Apostolic of Virginia, entrusting it to the Capuchin Fathers,
and appointed Father Martial, O.F.M. Cap., its first Prefect Apostolic.
Also, James II of England granted Proclamation of Religious Tolerance.
Catholicism in the State of Virginia
- 1785: Thomas Jefferson's Act for Establishing Religious
Freedom decreed that Catholics were free to worship openly in the Old
Dominion and the Church began to grow in the area.
- 1795: Thanks in part to George Washington, Alexandria became the first permanent site for Catholic worship in Virginia.
- 1820: Pope Pius VII decreed that the state of
Virginia (including what is now West Virginia ) would be contained in
the new Diocese of Richmond. In actuality, the Richmond Diocese was
governed by Baltimore until 1841.
- 1972: The priests of the Alexandria and
Arlington Deaneries requested the Most Reverend John J. Russell,
Richmond 's 10th Bishop, to initiate the process toward the
establishment of a new diocese in their part of the Commonwealth.
Catholic Diocese of Arlington
- August 13, 1974: Bishop Thomas J. Welsh,
auxiliary of Philadelphia and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
in Overbrook, Pennsylvania, was installed in St. Thomas More Church as
the first Bishop of Arlington. St. Thomas More Church was elevated to
become the new diocesan cathedral.
- 1974: The Diocese of Arlington had more
than 136,000 Catholics, 60 diocesan and 33 religious priests, 49
parishes and 7 missions.
- 1974-1983: Bishop Welsh opened 4
elementary schools, 1 high school, 6 parishes and dedicated 11 new
churches. He was also instrumental in the founding of Christendom
College in Front Royal, the then Notre Dame Institute in Alexandria, and
Catholic Distance University.
- 1983-1998: Bishop John R. Keating was named Arlington 's second Bishop.
Bishop Keating served until his death on March 22, 1998 and is best
remembered for his encouragement of vocations during the continued
rapid growth of the diocese.
He ordained 84 men and dedicated more than 20 new churches and 7
schools.
- 1999: More than 336,000 Catholics in the diocese welcomed Bishop Paul S. Loverde to
Arlington. Bishop Loverde established four primary goals for our
Diocese: evangelization, unity, reconciliation and service.
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Copyright, Arlington Catholic Herald. Reprinted with Permission