St. Charles-Parish History

The History of St. Charles Church

Our Parish is in the process of collecting information on the history of St. Charles Church and the surrounding area. If you have a piece of history, please let the parish office know.

Early Parish History

In 1909, Rt. Rev. Augustine Van DeVyver, DD, Bishop of Richmond, instructed Rev. Frederick P. Lackey to found the parish of St. Charles Borromeo, which would "embrace the village of Clarendon and the surrounding country of Alexandria County for about forty (40) square miles."

Ground was broken on August 10, 1910, for the first Catholic church in Arlington County, on land donated by Charles Rauscher. The cornerstone for the church was blessed on September 10, 1910, by his Excellency Diomede Falconio, Apostolic Delegate, and on March 26, 1911, His Excellency dedicated the new church in the presence of Bishop Van DeVyver.

For many decades, St. Charles has offered the model of a Catholic way of life to Arlington County. In its beginnings, its Gothic style church would seat about 300 for a Latin Mass. Today, our modern church offers English and Spanish Masses as well as a choir and folk Mass which often ends in spontaneous applause for the participants.

Rapid Growth
During its first 17 years, Fr. Lackey guided the parish through the building of the first church, rectory and school. Before the school was built, Fr. Lackey taught older children the faith in his office; before the rectory, he lived in two small rooms in the church.

From its beginning, St. Charles was a community of action, not mortar and bricks, and grew more quickly than anyone anticipated. The priest of St. Charles said Mass in a grocery store in Cherrydale, and rented a movie theatre to accommodate the growing numbers who attended Mass. Finally, a new church was built in Arlington - a mission church it was called. From these chaotic beginnings, both St. Agnes' and St. Ann's parishes were born.

All this growth was reflected in the parish's spiritual growth as well. Many priest joined St. Charles over the years to help with the full spiritual schedule. Fr. Lackey's work was continued by Fr. Rankin and then Fr. John A. Curran, who served the parish for seventeen years. The living rosary was brought to Virginia by the St. Charles Holy Name Society. The parish began teaching Catholic doctrine to adults as well as children. Baptisms, weddings and first communions blended each year with special spiritual events.

A driving force in the parish's middle years was the Catholic Women's Club of St. Charles. It is fondly remembered for both spiritual and community leadership. The women visited sick parishioners, cared for the needy and held parties for the sisters. They handled many successful fund raising events for the school. The Catholic Women's Club provided a foundation of caring and kindness that supports many of today's activities.

Our 50th Anniversary
For its 50th Anniversary, St. Charles parishioners delivered a very special gift to the community - three new buildings. The present school, St. Charles Church, and the Rectory were all constructed between 1955 and 1965. It was a tremendous undertaking for the parish and for Fr. Leonard Koster, who served as pastor during these years of change.

After World War II, school registration boomed. From a beginning in 1922 of an enrollment of eight pupils and a staff of three Sisters of the Benedtictine Order, the new school - dedicated in October of 1955 - had an enrollment of over 450 pupils and 9 sisters. Fr. Lackey would tell a story about getting permission from the bishop to build the original school. It seems that he was $5,000 short of what the bishop thought was needed to build the school. So the bishop, on an overnight visit to the parish, told Fr. Lackey, "If you can come up with a practical plan for raising that additional $5,000 by morning, you'll have permission to go ahead." In the morning, Fr. Lackey told the bishop he had a plan" "You can give us the $5,000." That plan evidently worked. Today's school, still run by the Benedictine Order of Sisters, has an enrollment of approximately 200 students and continues to strive for the ideals set forth by Fr. Lackey in 1922.

Vatican II Changes
As the Church changed after the second Vatican Council, so did St. Charles. Renovations were made in the early 1970s to turn the altar to face the people. The Parish Advisory Board was founded and for the first time the parishioners had a formal voice in the affairs of their church. Committees were started to bring the parish into the liturgy. Lectors and leaders became an important part of Sunday Mass.

Also during this transition time, Fr. Koster retired after being honored by Pope John XXIII and raised to the rank of Monsignor. His successor was Msgr. Gabriel T. Maioriello from St. John Vianney Seminary.

Among his official duties, Msgr. Mairoiello served as principal of O'Connell High School and diocesan director of education for the newly created Diocese of Arlington in 1974. His death in August 1975, was mourned by educators from all over the United States, as well as those he touched closer to home in St. Charles and the dioceses of Richmond and Arlington.

Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, bishop of the newly-created Diocese of Arlington, appointed Fr. Edmund Kollar, pastor of St. Joseph's in Front Royal, Virginia, to St. Charles. After an all-too-short stay, he was reassigned to St. William of York in Stafford, Virginia. Fr. Thomas A. Casey was assigned the new pastor in May 1976.

Fr. Casey brought to St. Charles a firm belief in parish involvement and commenced the awakening of a latent desire for involvement, which made St. Charles the focal point of the lives of many parishioners. Among his numerous accomplishments during his five-year stay were a major renovation of the church and adding a chapel to the rectory building. Fr. Casey was unexpectedly transferred to Blessed Sacrament parish in Alexandria in March 1981. Fr. J. Steward Culkin was appointed in June 1981, having served as administrator of the parish when Fr. Casey was transferred. Fr. Culkin lived at St. Charles as a priest in residence while serving as Spiritual Director of O'Connell High School from 1977-1981. Among his other pastoral duties, Fr. Culkin initiated a new evangelization program and tithing program for the parish. He continued the promise made by Fr. Lackey years ago - service to God and to the community....