Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southern United States. The Diocese of Arlington comprises 68 parishes located in the 21 northern-most counties within the Commonwealth of Virginia, including the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, King George, Lancaster, Loudoun, Madison, Northumberland, Orange, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Richmond, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren and Westmoreland, and Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Winchester.^[1] The Diocese of Arlington is led by The Most Rev. Paul Loverde, a bishop who resides at the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More in Arlington County, Virginia.^[2] In 2007, there were 258 priests who ministered to 402,541 registered Catholics in the Diocese of Arlington.^[3] The total population within the Diocese of Arlington, both Catholics and non-Catholics, was 2,715,932.^[4]

The Diocese of Arlington also has two missions in the Dominican Republic-- Banica Mission Parish and Pedro Santana Mission Parish, which are overseen by the diocesan Office of the Propagation of the Faith. The Director of the Propagation of the Faith in the Diocese of Arlington is currently Fr. Patrick L. Posey, who also serves as Pastor of St. James Church in Falls Church.^[5]

The diocese was canonically erected on May 28, 1974 by Pope Paul VI.^[6] The parishes which comprise the Diocese of Arlington were ceded from the neighboring Diocese of Richmond. The current Bishop of Arlington is Paul S. Loverde.^[7]

Bishops

The Founding Bishop of the Diocese, Thomas Jerome Welsh, was installed on August 13, 1974.^[8] Bishop Welsh served until February 8, 1983, when he was transferred by Pope John Paul II to become Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania.^[9] Bishop Welsh was previously Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

The second Bishop of the Diocese, John Richard Keating, was ordained as Bishop of Arlington on August 4, 1983,^[10] and served until his death March 22, 1998.^[11] Bishop Keating was previously Vicar General and Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Illinois.

The Diocese's third Bishop, Paul S. Loverde, previously Bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York, was installed on March 25, 1999.^[12]

Catholic Colleges and Universities

• Catholic Distance University
• Christendom College
• Marymount University

Catholic high schools

• Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School, Arlington
• Bishop Ireton High School, Alexandria
• Oakcrest School*, McLean
• Paul VI Catholic High School, Fairfax
• John Paul the Great Catholic High School, Dumfries
• Seton High School*, Manassas

* School operates independently but with the blessing of the Diocese.

Parishes

As listed in the Official Parish Locator for the Diocese of Arlington^[13]:

• All Saints, Manassas^[14]
• Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Manassas^[15] (located within the Arlington Diocese, but under the jurisdiction of the Melkite Eparch of Newton)
• Blessed Sacrament, Alexandria^[16]
• Cathedral of St. Thomas More^[17]
• Christ the Redeemer, Sterling^[18]
• Corpus Christi Mission, South Riding
• Epiphany of Our Lord Byzantine Catholic Church, Annandale (located within the Arlington Diocese, but under the jurisdiction of the Byzantine Diocese of Passaic)
• Good Shepherd, Alexandria
• Holy Family, Dale City
• Holy Martyrs of Vietnam, Arlington
• Holy Spirit, Annandale
• Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek-Catholic Church, McLean (located within the Arlington Diocese, but under the jurisdiction of the Melkite Eparch of Newton)
• Holy Trinity, Bristow
• Nativity, Burke
• Our Lady of Angels, Woodbridge
• Our Lady of Good Counsel, Vienna
• Our Lady of Hope, Potomac Falls
• Our Lady of Lourdes, Arlington
• Our Lady of the Blue Ridge, Madison
• Our Lady of the Shenandoah, Basye
• Our Lady of the Valley, Luray
• Our Lady Queen of Peace, Arlington
• Precious Blood, Culpeper
• Queen of Apostles, Alexandria
• Sacred Heart, Manassas
• Sacred Heart of Jesus, Winchester
• St. Agnes, Arlington
• St. Ambrose, Annandale
• St. Andrew the Apostle, Clifton
• St. Ann, Arlington
• St. Anthony, Falls Church
• St. Anthony of Padua, King George
• St. Bernadette, Springfield
• St. Bridget of Ireland, Berryville
• St. Catherine of Sienna, Great Falls
• St. Charles Borromeo, Arlington
• St. Clare of Assisi, Clifton
• St. Elizabeth, Colonial Beach
• St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Lake Ridge
• St. Francis de Sales, Kilmarnock
• St. Francis de Sales, Purcellville
• St. Francis of Assisi, Triangle
• St. Isidore the Farmer, Orange
• St. James, Falls Church
• St. John the Beloved, McLean
• St. John Bosco, Woodstock
• St. John Neumann, Reston
• St. John the Apostle, Leesburg
• St. John the Baptist, Front Royal
• St. John the Evangelist, Warrenton
• St. Joseph, Alexandria
• St. Joseph, Herndon
• St. Jude, Fredericksburg
• St. Lawrence the Martyr, Alexandria
• St. Leo the Great, Fairfax
• St. Louis, Alexandria
• St. Luke, McLean
• St. Mark, Vienna
• St. Mary, Alexandria
• St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Fredericksburg
• St. Mary of Sorrows, Fairfax
• St. Matthew, Spotsylvania
• Michael, Annandale
• St. Patrick, Fredericksburg
• St. Paul, Hague
• St. Paul Chung, Fairfax
• St. Peter, Washington
• St. Philip, Falls Church
• St. Raymond of Penafort, Fairfax Station
• St. Rita, Alexandria
• St. Stephen the Martyr, Middleburg
• St. Theresa, Ashburn
• St. Thomas a Becket, Reston
• St. Timothy, Chantilly
• St. Veronica, Chantilly
• St. William of York, Stafford

Notes

1. ^ "Fast Facts", The Diocese of Arlington, March 2007. See The Official Website of the Diocese of Arlington
2. ^ Andressi, Anthony D.,Walking in Faith: the first 25 Years. A History of the Diocese of Arlington, Editions du Signe:France 2002. ISBN 2-7468-0625-8 (This is an official publication on behalf of the Diocese of Arlington, see p. 3.)
3. ^ Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Official 2008 Directory, p. 177.
4. ^ Ibid.
5. ^ Contact Information: Propagation of the Faith, The Diocese of Arlington, April 2007. See The Official Website of the Diocese of Arlington
6. ^ Andreassi, p. 5.
7. ^ History of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, The Diocese of Arlington, April 2007.See The Official Website of the Diocese of Arlington
8. ^ Andreassi, p. 33.
9. ^ Andreassi, p. 37.
10. ^ Andreassi, p. 39.
11. ^ Andreassi, p. 43.
12. ^ See, History.
13. ^ Official Parish Locator for the Diocese of Arlington
14. ^ All Saints, Manassas
15. ^ [1]
16. ^ Blessed Sacrament, Alexandria
17. ^ Cathedral of St. Thomas More, Arlington
18. ^ Christ the Redeemer, Sterling

External material

References

• Andreassi, Anthony D.,Walking in Faith: the first 25 Years. A History of the Diocese of Arlington, Editions du Signe:France 2002. ISBN 2-7468-0625-8.
• The Official Catholic Directory (2006)

Links

• The Official Website of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington
• The Catholic Herald - the Official spaper of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington
• The Official Website of the Cathedral of St. Thomas More
• Catholic Hierarchy Profile of the Diocese of Arlington