The Cathedral of Saint Thomas More located at 3901 Cathedral Lane is the
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington
The Diocese of Arlington ( la, Dioecesis Arlingtonensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The Diocese of Arlington comprises 70 parishes across 21 counties and se ...
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and the seat of
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. The rector of the cathedral is the Very Reverend Patrick L. Posey, V.F. Fr. Posey was appointed in June 2019.The Rev. Robert J. Rippy was the rector from 2005 to 2019. The cathedral also has a Parochial Vicar, two resident priests, Director of Religious Education, Youth Minister and Music & Liturgy Coordinator.
Description
The cathedral is a modern design and is constructed with a basilica floorplan. The exterior is red brick with three doors at the front. The doors are in shallow porticos formed by
barrel arches that extend to the roof and contain a stained glass window above each door. The sanctuary houses a three-manual
M.P. Moeller organ with 28 ranks of pipes installed in 1961.
The organ was redesigned and expanded to 53 ranks in 1980 by organ builder Robert Wyant. Wyant served as cathedral organist from 1964, after two years as assistant was the okayes casthederal organist, until his retirement in 1998.
History
The parish was established in 1938 and named for
St. Thomas More. Until the sanctuary was completed in 1950, Masses were held in what is now the school gymnasium. The current church was constructed in 1961 above the 1950 sanctuary. It was elevated to a cathedral when the northern counties of Virginia split from the
Diocese of Richmond
The Diocese of Richmond ( la, Diœcesis Richmondiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its current territory encompasses all of central and southern Virginia, Hampton Roads ...
to form the Diocese of Arlington and the first bishop was installed on August 13, 1974.
The parish currently consists of 2,500 members.
In 1944, the parish established St. Thomas More Cathedral School.
It currently offers grade levels pre-kindergarten through eighth
and has approximately 400 students.
The school was operated by the
Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (I.H.M.) is a Catholic religious institute of sisters, founded by Fr Louis Florent Gillet, CSsR, and a co-founder of the Oblate Sister of Providence, Mother Theresa Maxis Duchemin, in 1845.
...
who established a permanent community at St. Thomas More August 25, 1945. Due to declining numbers, the order withdrew from the parish in June 1998.
See also
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List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington
This is a list of current and former Roman Catholicism in the United States, Roman Catholic churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington. The diocese includes approximately 80 churches spread across the 21 northernmost counties and independ ...
*
List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
The following is a list of the Catholic cathedrals in the United States. The Catholic Church in the United States comprises ecclesiastical territories called dioceses led by prelate bishops. Each bishop is assigned to a cathedral from which he ...
*
List of cathedrals in the United States
This is a list of cathedrals in the United States, including both actual cathedrals (seats of bishops in episcopal Christian groups, such as Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy and the Armenian Apostolic Church) and a few prominent church ...
References
External links
*
Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington Official Site{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington, state=collapsed
Churches in Arlington County, Virginia
Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
Christian organizations established in 1938
1938 establishments in Virginia
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1961
20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States